Each time I attend a gathering with fellow Young Global Leaders, I can't help but feel like I am in a scene of one of those Superhero movies, where they bring together individuals with special powers and abilities who, together, join forces for a better world.

Here we are together in our group photo, wearing brightly coloured t-shirts that we were provided based on random selection. In our small groups, we had reflective discussion circles and were also given a unique martial arts lesson where we learned the power of a soft and open hand.

This year was especially unique, as I had a lot to share with the group in my role as a newly designated YGL Alumni! On our first day together, I was asked to speak and close a session on mentorship and how to gain the most from the YGL experience. My key message was about the importance of contribution to the community, and how we need to both be generous, while also being open to the generosity of others.

Our program also included an interactive dramatic arts presentation and workshop, where teams were challenged to address a conflict from the perspective of one of the characters.

Our Purple Group explored the character of a woman who was living alone in the United States, child and parents in Eastern Europe, and working without a legitimate visa. She was contemplating employment options and in a moment of deep isolation and rejection.

Our task was to create a series of three freeze-frame snapshots, illustrating the problem, solution, and the process to getting there. Here we see a woman who is faced with rejection, yet looking at an offer that would likely compromise her values and integrity.

What was fun about this excersize was the immediate bonding and team-building that took place in the process. It was also interesting to observe how other groups interpreted the challenges of the various other characters in the skit.

A critical milestone for me in Dalian was having an opportunity to showcase the Youth Effect publication, created by 21 Young Global Leaders since Davos 2010. This book and blog (www.youtheffect.org), is aimed at supporting decision-makers at more effectively engaging youth. The Youth Effect played an instrumental role in supporting World Economic Forum founder Professor Klaus Schwab in creating Global Shapers, a new community within the World Economic Forum to engage youth in their 20s. The Global Shapers are based in over 100 cities, as part of local hubs that are recruited through YGL curators.

While making a short presentation to our group about the importance of engaging youth, I could not help but feel as though I was part of an important milestone in history, as I truly believe that many other institutions will follow the lead of the World Economic Forum, prioritizing their own youth engagement strategies. I look forward to keeping track of this evolution and would also like to thank YGL supporters as well as one of my mentors, Kim Samuel-Johnson, who played an instrumental role in championing our effort.

Collaborating with fellow Young Global Leaders throughout the year contributes to growing excitement for the times when we come together in person. Over the past year, I've been working very actively as the Country Chair for Global Dignity Day in Canada. During our group session, we had a chance to encourage many others to facilitate the Dignity Day lesson plan in as many classrooms as possible on October 20th. In Canada, we have incorporated the Dignity principles as part of TakingITGlobal's national Defining Moments program. We have also registered over 56 people, including 30 schools, and expect to reach over 5,000 students this year.

We will be conducting a live video conference as part of our Canadian activities, in partnership with the Centre for Global Education, based in Edmonton, Alberta.

An unexpected surprise was being invited to co-facilitate a session on Managing Hyperconnectivity. I chose the breakout group on health and our discussions looked both at the issues of global pandemics and mental health. We imagined future scenarios where a new immunity drug could be created to protect people from any kind of virus, building a stronger resiliency to disease. We also spoke about how Social Media and digital connectivity can often leave people feeling a strong sense of isolation - or addiction to instant feedback and response. The emergence of the "hive brain" could result in a loss of individuality, memory and creativity while increasing stress and anxiety.  That said, the benefits could lead to greater efficiency, empathy and less reliance on central government control.  It was rewarding for me to be part of such a vibrant debate that allowed us to take a deeper look at the implications of hyperconnectivity on health.  Overall, I believe it is critical that we do not allow ourselves to lose our sense of self, in the midst of the non-stop stimulation and interactions our digital worlds provide access to.   

[breathe]

The theme of technology carried forward on the last day of the Annual Meeting of New Champions, where I joined the closing plenary session entitled "Mastering Quality Growth: Passing the Test of Technology". My session was moderated by Nik Gowling from the BBC, who offered us punchy questions with a great flow, allowing us to discuss how to foster new innovations, managing risks, privacy implications, and the evolution of cultural norms online.

For a full viewing of our session, you can check it out on YouTube!

Each time I attend a gathering with fellow Young Global Leaders, I can't help but feel like I am in a scene of one of those Superhero movies, where they bring together individuals with special powers and abilities who, together, join forces for a better world.

Here we are together in our group photo, wearing brightly coloured t-shirts that we were provided based on random selection. In our small groups, we had reflective discussion circles and were also given a unique martial arts lesson where we learned the power of a soft and open hand.

This year was especially unique, as I had a lot to share with the group in my role as a newly designated YGL Alumni! On our first day together, I was asked to speak and close a session on mentorship and how to gain the most from the YGL experience. My key message was about the importance of contribution to the community, and how we need to both be generous, while also being open to the generosity of others.

Our program also included an interactive dramatic arts presentation and workshop, where teams were challenged to address a conflict from the perspective of one of the characters.

Our Purple Group explored the character of a woman who was living alone in the United States, child and parents in Eastern Europe, and working without a legitimate visa. She was contemplating employment options and in a moment of deep isolation and rejection.

Our task was to create a series of three freeze-frame snapshots, illustrating the problem, solution, and the process to getting there. Here we see a woman who is faced with rejection, yet looking at an offer that would likely compromise her values and integrity.

What was fun about this excersize was the immediate bonding and team-building that took place in the process. It was also interesting to observe how other groups interpreted the challenges of the various other characters in the skit.

A critical milestone for me in Dalian was having an opportunity to showcase the Youth Effect publication, created by 21 Young Global Leaders since Davos 2010. This book and blog (www.youtheffect.org), is aimed at supporting decision-makers at more effectively engaging youth. The Youth Effect played an instrumental role in supporting World Economic Forum founder Professor Klaus Schwab in creating Global Shapers, a new community within the World Economic Forum to engage youth in their 20s. The Global Shapers are based in over 100 cities, as part of local hubs that are recruited through YGL curators.

While making a short presentation to our group about the importance of engaging youth, I could not help but feel as though I was part of an important milestone in history, as I truly believe that many other institutions will follow the lead of the World Economic Forum, prioritizing their own youth engagement strategies. I look forward to keeping track of this evolution and would also like to thank YGL supporters as well as one of my mentors, Kim Samuel-Johnson, who played an instrumental role in championing our effort.

Collaborating with fellow Young Global Leaders throughout the year contributes to growing excitement for the times when we come together in person. Over the past year, I've been working very actively as the Country Chair for Global Dignity Day in Canada. During our group session, we had a chance to encourage many others to facilitate the Dignity Day lesson plan in as many classrooms as possible on October 20th. In Canada, we have incorporated the Dignity principles as part of TakingITGlobal's national Defining Moments program. We have also registered over 56 people, including 30 schools, and expect to reach over 5,000 students this year.

We will be conducting a live video conference as part of our Canadian activities, in partnership with the Centre for Global Education, based in Edmonton, Alberta.

An unexpected surprise was being invited to co-facilitate a session on Managing Hyperconnectivity. I chose the breakout group on health and our discussions looked both at the issues of global pandemics and mental health. We imagined future scenarios where a new immunity drug could be created to protect people from any kind of virus, building a stronger resiliency to disease. We also spoke about how Social Media and digital connectivity can often leave people feeling a strong sense of isolation - or addiction to instant feedback and response. The emergence of the "hive brain" could result in a loss of individuality, memory and creativity while increasing stress and anxiety.  That said, the benefits could lead to greater efficiency, empathy and less reliance on central government control.  It was rewarding for me to be part of such a vibrant debate that allowed us to take a deeper look at the implications of hyperconnectivity on health.  Overall, I believe it is critical that we do not allow ourselves to lose our sense of self, in the midst of the non-stop stimulation and interactions our digital worlds provide access to.   

[breathe]

The theme of technology carried forward on the last day of the Annual Meeting of New Champions, where I joined the closing plenary session entitled "Mastering Quality Growth: Passing the Test of Technology". My session was moderated by Nik Gowling from the BBC, who offered us punchy questions with a great flow, allowing us to discuss how to foster new innovations, managing risks, privacy implications, and the evolution of cultural norms online.

For a full viewing of our session, you can check it out on YouTube!

في منتصف خمسينات القرن الماضي ازدهرت المقاهي الشعبية وتطورت فاعلية الجلوس فيها إلى نمطيات إنسانية في مجالات متعددة منها الفنون الموسيقية والغناء، حيث اتخذ مطربو المقامات ومادونهم من المقاهي ملاذاً لفعالياتهم الفنية، فيما اتخذ الأدباء والصحفيون المقهى ملاذاً لنقاشاتهم وقراءاتهم، فصار لكل مجموعة أصوات أدبية أو فنية مقهى خاص تتردد عليه فئة محددة دون غيرها باستثناء الاستضافات التي قد تحصل بين الفينة والأخرى كأن يصطحب هذا الفنان أو ذاك الأديب زميلاً له أو قارئاً معجباً برواية أو قصة أو مقال أو هاو لقراءة المقام أو مستمع إليه. كان التقليد يقضي بقيام الفئة الفنية أو الأدبية الاحتفاء بالضيف الزائر من خلال تكريس الحديث في تلك الجلسة معه دون غيره تصاحبها الطلبات الكثيرة لأنواع المشروبات التي يختص بتقديمها المقهى مثل الينسون والشاي والكاكاو والقهوة أو بعض المرطبات.

مقاهي الانترنت ما دمنا بصدد الحديث عن مفهوم المقاهي كحالة اجتماعية متعارف عليها منذ نشوء المدن الحضرية، فلابد من التوقف عند حالة ظهرت حديثاً، وانتشرت في المدن الكبيرة انتشاراً هائلاً فاق ما موجود أو ماحققته المقاهي الشعبية من حيث العدد أو النكهة أو الموقع بكثير من الأشواط. تلك هي مقاهي الانترنت التي تفردت بحالة واحدة عن المقهى الشعبي بكونها تستقبل زبائن من أنواع خاصة، زبائن صامتين، بعيدين عن الثرثرة والقيل والقال، بعيدين عن لعب الطاولة، إذ إن رواد مقاهي الانترنت هم رواد صامتون، منعزلون داخل مكعبات صغيرة لا يزيد حجم الواحدة منها بأكثر من متر مربع واحد. يتعاملون مع شاشة الكمبيوتر وفق حالة مزاجية خاصة أو وفق تأملات طويلة يقضونها بالتحديق فيما تظهره لهم تلك الشاشات العجيبة الغريبة. وهنا نتساءل هل إن هذا النوع من المقاهي الحديثة التي لا يتوفر في الكثير منها مشروبات مثل الشاي أو القهوة ولا تعتمد على مردودات الألعاب الشعبية أو الزيارات المفاجئة لضيوف يحلون على روادها القدامى، هل بإمكانها الصمود أمام تاريخ وتقاليد المقاهي الشعبية التي أسست لها قاعدة عريضة من الزبائن الدائمين عبر أزمنة طويلة قد تزيد على عمر جيلنا الحالي إلى أجيال الآباء أو الأجداد؟

الجواب على ذلك هو نعم، والنعم هذه تأتي لصالح مقاهي الانترنت التي غزت أسواق وشوارع المدن الكبيرة والمباني، بما في ذلك بصفة خاصة مدينة القاهرة.

مقاهي الانترنت في مدينة القاهرة حريصة على مثل هذه التقاليد الشعبية كما حصل مع المقاهي التقليدية خلال السنوات الأخيرة من القرن الماضي والسنوات السابقة في هذا القرن.
ومن خلال جولة معمقه الأهداف والرؤى بين مقاعد مقاهي الانترنت في القاهرة أو في أي مدينة في مصر و بالنظر إليها من خلال جولاتي في مقاهي الإنترنت داخل القاهرة أو بإحدى المحافظات سواء الساحلية أو بصعيد مصر نجد التقاليد موجودة من حيث الوضع في الازدهار والنمو وأنواع الزبائن والفئات العمريةوعلى المستويات الثقافية والفكرية كافة.
الزبائن هم غير زبائن المقاهي التقليدية، قبل أي اعتبار، فإن المقاهي التقليدية في المائة عام الماضية لم تكن لاستقبال السيدات أو الفتيات للجلوس بها أو ممارسة حياتهن كما يفعل الرجال، و قد اختلفت الصورة بالقاهرة و الإسكندرية وبدأت تتلقى الفتيات مع بدء افتتاحمقاهي الانترنت.

ويقول أحد مالكي مقهى الإنترنت: وجود الفتيات في المقاهي لا يقتصر على التصفح أو الكشف عن المواقع، كما يفعل الرجال، بل إن تواجد الفتاة أو السيدة داخل المقهى يأتي من خلال رؤيتي الدقيقة والمتابعة بغرض محدد منها البريد الالكتروني أو التراسل عبر (الدردشة) والحديث من خلال الكاميرا وفي حالات أخرى التحدث عبر الكاميرا مع قريب لها يسكن في دولة عربية أو أوربية، فالكثير من الفتيات أو السيدات يلجأن إلى إدارة المقهى لمساعدتهن بتحقيق اتصال مرئي أو مكتوب مع الأقارب في قارات العالم.
وأهم خدمات الانترنت التي يبحث عنها روّاد المقاهي هي بلا شك، خدمة إقامة اتصالات مباشرة بالصوت والصورة مع أقارب وأصدقاء في الخارج. من المألوف والعادي في هذا المجال رؤية عائلة بكل أفرادها، تأتي إلى مقهى الانترنت من أجل إقامة هذا الاتصال مع أحد أبنائها، خصوصاً من العاملين في دول الخليج. هؤلاء يحرصون – غالباً – على إحضار أطفال، خصوصاً من حديثي الولادة لوضعهم أمام الكاميرا كي يراهم والدهم المقيم في الخارج.

لكنّ معظم روّاد هذه المقاهي شباب تحت سن الثلاثين، يجلسون أمام أجهزة الكومبيوتر لساعات طويلة، بينما كانوا في ما مضى يمارسون هوايات أخرى مختلفة تماماً.

وفي حمّى التنافس بين المقاهي المتعدّدة، عمد أحدهم إلى الإعلان عن خفض سعر ساعة الانترنت إلى النصف تماماً بعد الساعة العاشرة ليلاً وحتى الصباح. هذا الإعلان سرعان ما تجاوب معه أصحاب المقاهي الأخرى، فصار تقليداً يتبعه الجميع. هنا نشأت مشكلة جديدة: تخفيض السعر إلى النصف دفع بالغالبية العظمى من الشباب والمراهقين إلى تأجيل زياراتهم للمقاهي إلى ساعات الليل. ما جعل أعداداً متزايدة من الأهل يتذمرون من عادة جديدة غزت بيوتهم وهي عودة أبنائهم المراهقين إلى البيت في ساعة متأخرة من الليل، بل مع ساعات الفجر أحياناً.

أما الفتيات، فيحضرن في النهار فقط. وعمدت بعض المقاهي إلى خلط الفتيات مع الشباب من دون تمييز في حين حرصت مقاه أخرى على اعتماد تنظيم الطابقين، الأرضي للشباب، والثاني للفتيات.




ففي مدينة لا يصل عدد سكانها إلى مئة ألف، يصبح لافتاً أن يتواجد فيها ما يربو على عشرين مقهى، تصل أعداد أجهزة الكومبيوتر في أصغرها إلى عشرة على الأقل، فيما يتجاوز العدد الثلاثين في مقاه أخرى.

يبقى أن الجميع اتفقوا على أن المقهى هو المقهى. لاشك أن مقهى أيام زمان له طقوسه حيث اشتهرت مدينة القاهرة كغيرها من المدن المصرية بكثرة مقاهيها الشعبية ولكن بعد انتشار مقاهي وصالات الانترنت في السنوات القليلة الماضية والتي بدأت تستقطب شرائح واسعة ومتنوعة من الأهالي، بدأت الشيخوخة تزحف إلى المقاهي التقليدية ولكن هناك مقاه لازالت تحافظ على أصالتها بل وتنامت الحركة فيها خصوصاً في المناطق السياحية كمنطقة الحسين. والسنوات الأخيرة يصح أن يطلق عليها في مصر اسم «سنوات الإنترنت بامتياز» خصوصاً مقاهي الإنترنت. ولم تعد هذه الظاهرة تقتصر على القاهرة والمدن الكبرى، بل انتشرت في شتّى أنحاء البلاد وصولاً إلى أصغر القرى، لتصبح المتنفّس الشبابي الفعلي والرئيسي.

ليس هناك من خطر يهدد الديمقراطية في أي مجتمع سوي محاولة استخدام الديمقراطية في غير موضعها وعدم الالتزام بالمفهوم الصحيح للحرية. الديمقراطية داخل المؤسسات الشرعية هي الوسيلة الفعالة لصنع حوار بين الرأي والآخر كخطوة ضرورية تسبق صناعة القرار‏.‏.

ومعني ذلك أنه لا يمكن لأي مجتمع أن يطمئن إلي سلامة الممارسة الديمقراطية إلا إذا نشأ توافق وطني عام تلتزم به كل القوي والنخب السياسية‏,‏ وجوهر هذا التوافق اعتماد القنوات الشرعية للحوار التي لا يجوز تخطيها أو ممارسة العمل السياسي بعيدا عنها‏.وذالك‏ خصوصا في ظل هجمة شرسة تريد نشر الفوضى وتستهدف أن تنتقل ممارسةالديمقراطية من قبة البرلمان ومنتديات الأحزاب إلي مظاهرات الشوارع والحواري والأزقة‏.‏

إن السبيل الوحيد لحماية الديمقراطية من أي أخطار تهددها هو البدء بتهيئة المناخ الصحي لتفاعل الرأي والرأي الآخر تحت مظلة الإدراك بأن المحظور الوحيد في الممارسة الديمقراطية هو سوء استخدام الحرية.‏

إن الديمقراطية ليست اضرابات واعتصامات ولا هي مجرد لافتات وشعارات فقط وإنما هيفي الأساس منهج للتفكير والسلوك المتحضر وعنوان للالتزام بالضوابط التي تتفق مع مبادئ الشرعية الدستورية واحترام القانون العام‏!‏

والذين سمحوا لأوطانهم أن يصبح الشارع مسرحا للجدل والفوضى السياسية بدلا من ساحة البرلمان هم الذين تصل إلي أسماعنا صرخاتهم بعد أن حل الخوف محل الأمان والقهر محل الاقتناع بعد اتساع مساحة الشقاق والصراع علي حساب الحوار السليم بين الرأي والرأي الآخر‏!‏إن الديمقراطية ليست غاية في حد ذاتها ولكنها أفضل وسيلة عرفها الإنسان لبناء الحوار الموضوعي داخل المجتمعات المتحضرة بهدف تقريب المسافات وليس تضخيم المتناقضات والبحث عن الايجابيات وليس انتقاء السلبيات.

As the Arab Spring grinds on into autumn, the Russians are asking once again whether they should follow the policy "If you can't beat them, join th'em",

Muammar Gaddafi's demise is all but a done thing, carried out with a UN blessing, however dubious, and only belatedly opposed by Russia and China. Russian policy-makers are now wondering if their quasi-principled condemnation of Western-backed regime change in Libya was not just Quixotic but downright stupid.

The new Tripoli government has denied that National Transitional Council Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam signed a secret agreement with France in March through the Qatari government whereby French companies would control more than a third of Libya's oil production in return for Paris's early and staunch support for the rebels. However, even as Russia recognised the NTC last week, Abdel-Jalil Mayouf, information manager of the rebels' Arabian Gulf Oil Company, warned, "We don't have a problem with Western countries like the Italians, French and UK companies. But we may have some political issues with Russia, China and Brazil."

Gaddafi's impending fate is now fuelling Western efforts to topple Bashar Al-Assad in Syria, with France openly arming and organising the rebels, and a European boycott of Syrian oil in place as of Friday. The latter is potentially more devastating than hosting dissident conferences in Paris, as almost all of Syria's oil -- a third of its total export revenues -- goes to Europe.

The burning question now is "Should Russia should accede to Western plans for the Middle East?" To "learn from its mistake" in Libya and dump Al-Assad immediately, whatever the internal dynamics of Syria may be? The whole relationship of Russia to the Arab Spring is now heatedly discussed, with many critical of Western machinations but just as many worried that Russia will only lose out if it stays aloof.

The two camps represent the two poles in post-Soviet Russian thinking: the Eurasianists vs the Atlantists. The former trying to put Russia at the centre of an independent anti-Western coalition. The latter are happy to throw in the towel, to accede to the Western hegemony which characterises the postmodern imperial order unfolding since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

There are powerful forces in Russia behind both views. Atlantist enthusiast Russian President Dmitri Medvedev was responsible for the success of UN Resolution 1973 allowing the NATO bombing of Libya. In March, he overrode broad Russian opposition including by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who denounced the Western invasion as a new Crusade. Medvedev had to fire Russian ambassador to Libya Vladimir Chamov when the latter sided with Putin. Medvedev now warns Al-Assad of a "dire fate" if he continues his campaign against the opposition.

Those who want to accede to the Western agenda complain that in Libya Tatneft and Gazprom Neft will have to abandon their projects. "We won't have anything; Libya's oil market will shift in favor of Italian ENI. After them, the American and European companies," whines Uralsib Capital analyst Alexei Kokin. The Russian Railways contract to build a 550km high-speed rail line from Sirte to Benghazi also appears to be under review by the new government in Tripoli.

Libya is far away, and was never much of a Soviet-Russian ally. In Syria, Russian economic and security stakes are much higher. Not only is Syria one of Russia's largest arms export customers, with current and pending deals valued at $10 billion, but Al-Assad's regime is also a significant Russian security partner in the Middle East. The Russian navy is dependent on Syrian ports to sustain its operations in the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Russia's NATO Ambassador Dmitri Rogozin scoffed at the idea that the West had any altruistic motives in invading Libya. He told the EUobserver on 2 September that the Libya experience shows NATO will now "expand towards its southern borders", and though he was happy NATO had stopped expanding eastward, "we cannot trust [that] NATO will not exceed the mandate and NATO bombs will not be dropped on Damascus."

Concerning the proposed UN resolution against Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, "This is a call for a repeat of the Libyan scenario. The BRICS nations will not allow this to happen." There is no question for the Russians that honest elections are now unavoidable in Syria in future, but "we strongly believe it is unacceptable to instigate the Syrian opposition to continue boycotting suggestions to start a dialogue." Russia is unwilling to contemplate another Western-incited civil war and invasion leading to regime change. For the moment, the Eurasianists have the upper hand.

Underlying the Atlantist-Eurasianist debate is the fate of the entire Western project to transform the Middle East, which has been in the works since the 1980s with the rise of the neocons. This plan was to bring about a controlled chaos in the region, creating a series of weak statelets that would benefit a strong Israel. Oded Yinon's "A Strategy for Israel in the 1980s" proposed the policy of divide-and-conquer. Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah described the Israeli policy in 2007 as intended to create "a region that has been partitioned into ethnic and confessional states that are in agreement with each other. This is the new Middle East."

But given the horrors of this policy in action since 2000, the burning question for Russian politicians is not just "Should we accede to Western plans for the Middle East?" but rather "Are Western plans in the Middle East going to succeed, and is Russia helpless to influence them?"

Iraq and Afghanistan loom large. Russian Profile analyst Alexandre Strokanov fears that "the real war and even more horrifying suffering still lay ahead for the Libyan people" and warns that weapons from Gaddafi's arsenal could well end up in terrorist hands. Neither the US nor the EU are in any position to get involved in another "nation-building project". In any case, the new Libyan government will have to show its fiercely proud people that it is independent from all foreign powers.

While Italy and Britain were cruel colonial taskmasters in Libya before independence, Russia has no such imperial baggage. Russian officials met with both sides throughout the stand-off to try to negotiate a ceasefire, and have nothing to be ashamed of. If it's any comfort to Kokin, even enthusiastic support by Russia of the bald imperial venture to unseat Gaddafi would hardly have done Tatneft or Russian Railways much good.

It is clear now the whole Arab Spring is not as spontaneous as appeared at first glance. While the regimes across the region were indeed corrupt and dictatorial, they were all supported by the West. But so was the opposition.

The moment came when they were perceived as passed their due date, and with the neocons in office by 2000 and PNAC's "new Pearl Harbour" on the horizon, it was possible to proceed with Yinon's plan to create dynamic chaos in the Middle East. The Arab Spring is, in an eerie way, a natural conclusion to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A sort of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em", American style.

It has taken various forms so far, with a breezy boot to Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali in Tunisia, a pair of handcuffs to Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, a burnt face to Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen, impending assassination to Gaddafi, and who-knows-what to Al-Assad. The only ones to escape unharmed are the Gulf sheikhs and the kings of Morocco and Jordan, who are so compliant that they need only a tap on the shoulder to do Washington's bidding. Oh yes, Algeria's President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika is still hanging on, but not even the neocons dare to overthrow him and reopen civil war wounds from the 1990s.

That is not to denigrate the revolutionaries across the region, nor to dismiss their heroic struggles to achieve independence in the face of the Western intriguers. Among the prominent new leaders are Muslim Brotherhood leaders such as Tunisia's Rachid Ghannouchi and Egypt's Essam El-Erian. Their popular Renaissance and Freedom and Justice parties are projected to win the plurality of seats in upcoming elections, and they have no use for the imperialists. Then there is rebel military leader in Tunisia Abdullah Hakim Belhaj who plans to take the US to court for torturing him and then rendering him to Libya. There are few secular heroes in the region that can vie with the long-suffering Islamists.

The neocon wars of the 2000s were the steel fist approach to subduing Islam: kill millions and terrorise the survivors. But they have been a disaster and made the US a pariah. Israel's endless wars against Lebanon and the Palestinians have also made it a pariah around the world. This option is no longer feasible.

Russia inherits fond memories across the region as the anti-Zionist Soviet Union's successor. It now has the chance to gain long term credibility as a principled partner not only in the Middle East but to nonaligned countries everywhere, and should stare down the imperialists.

أثارت التطورات السريعة التى شهدتها شبكة الإنترنت خلال السنوات الأخيرة، سواء فيما يتعلق بتطور المستوى التقنى أو التوسع الضخم فى عدد المواقع الإلكترونية وتوزعها على مختلف المجالات الاقتصادية والاجتماعية والسياسية والثقافية والدينية، وظهور المواقع المتخصصة والمنتديات الحوارية، فضلا عن اتساع قاعدة مستخدمى الإنترنت فى الدول العربية أثارت عددا مهما من الإشكاليات النظرية حول مدى مساهمة شبكة الإنترنت فى دفع عملية الإصلاح والتحول الديمقراطى فى الدول العربية

وقد ساد حتى وقت قريب اتجاه رأى أن اتساع نطاق ظاهرة الإنترنت فى الدول العربية لن يكون له تأثير سياسى ملحوظ، سواء فيما يتعلق بتشجيع عملية التحول الديمقراطي، أو فيما يتعلق باحتمالات تصاعد العمل السياسى العنيف ضد النظم السياسية الحاكمة. استند هذا الافتراض إلى عدد من المبررات. كان أولها افتقاد شبكة الإنترنت ذاتها الديمقراطية وما تعكسه من تكريس لما يمكن تسميته ظاهرة «الانقسام الرقمي» بين فئات المجتمع، بمعنى الانقسام بين أقلية تمتلك القدرة على النفاذ إلى الإنترنت، وأغلبية أخرى ما زالت تفتقد هذه القدرة، بما يزيد من احتمالات تعميق الأزمات الاجتماعية داخل المجتمع، خاصة أن النفاذ إلى الشبكة لا يعتمد فقط على الشروط المادية (أجهزة الكمبيوتر، والتليفون أو خط الإنترنت المباشر) ولكنه يعتمد أيضا على الظروف الاجتماعية، خاصة فى ضوء ما انتهت إليه بعض الدراسات من أن نسبة مهمة ممن تتوافر لديهم القدرة على النفاذ إلى الإنترنت لا يستخدمونها لأسباب اجتماعية وسيكولوجية تتعلق بمدى قدرتهم على التفاعل معها.  

ومن ناحية أخري، كانت هناك شكوك قوية حول مساحة الحرية الحقيقية المتاحة على الإنترنت، فرغم صعوبة السيطرة الحكومية على المواقع الإلكترونية بالمقارنة بالكثير من الوسائل الإعلامية الأخري، فإن هذا لم ينف تزايد قدرة واتجاه الحكومات إلى فرض مزيد من الضبط والسيطرة على المواقع الإليكترونية، سواء من خلال وضع القوانين والتشريعات المنظمة لعمل هذه المواقع، أو من خلال التوسع فى استخدام آليات الفلترة والحجب والتدمير للمواقع الإلكترونية ذات المحتوى الذى لا يتوافق مع مصالح النخبة الحاكمة. وقد ازدادت قدرة الحكومات على
«السيطرة الإليكترونية» فى ضوء التطور المتسارع فى تكنولوجيات الضبط والسيطرة والفلترة والمراقبة، وتطور جدل مهم حول الحاجة إلى تنظيم وضبط الشبكة من خلال تطوير تشريعات قانونية محددة، جنبا إلى جنب مع الاستفادة من تكنولوجيات المراقبة. ورغم وجود اتجاه يدعو إلى رفض فكرة المراقبة والتنظيم تلك، فإن الاتجاه المؤيد لها لقى رواجا ملحوظا عقب أحداث سبتمبر 2001 وامتداد الحرب ضد الإرهاب إلى ساحة شبكة الإنترنت ذاتها وتطور مفاهيم مثل «الجهاد الإليكتروني» والإرهاب الإليكتروني. الخ. ورغم أن معظم الحكومات العربية لم تنتقل بعد إلى وضع تشريعات مقيدة أو ضابطة لعمل المواقع الإليكترونية، فإنها راكمت خبرة مهمة فى مجال المراقبة السياسية للمواقع الإليكترونية.
ولا يقتصر الاتجاه إلى الاستخدام المكثف لتكنولوجيات المراقبة والفلترة
(الترشيح) على الحكومات فقط، فقد ذهب هذا الاتجاه إلى أن عملية الفلترة تلك ستحدث أيضا على مستوى الأفراد أنفسهم فى ضوء كثافة المعلومات ذات المحتوى السياسى والتوجهات المتناقضة، الأمر الذى يضطر الفرد ذاته إلى استخدام التكنولوجيات والبرامج المتاحة لفرز تلك المعلومات واستبعاد المعلومات والآراء التى لا تتوافق وميوله وتوجهاته السياسية والثقافية، واستقبال المعلومات التى تتوافق فقط وتلك التوجهات وتدعمها. ويترتب على عملية الضبط والفرز الذاتى تلك ظاهرتان مهمتان تتصلان بالتحول الديمقراطى والعمل السياسى «الإنترنتي»، الأولى هى تزايد فرص عزلة مستخدم الإنترنت عن التيارات والاتجاهات السياسية الأخرى وعدم التعرض للأفكار الجديدة. والثانية هى دعم فرص حدوث حالات الاستقطاب السياسى بين الجماعات السياسية داخل المجتمع وتراجع فرص تطور حالة من التوافق العام حول مختلف القيم الأساسية بما فى ذلك قيمة الديمقراطية ذاتها.
أيضا أثارت الكثير من الدراسات الشكوك حول افتراض دعم الإنترنت لفرص مشاركة المواطن فى عملية صناعة القرار السياسى ونشر فرص التأثير داخل المجتمع، استنادا إلى أن النظم الديمقراطية ذاتها لا تضمن للمواطن الفرد القدرة على التأثير فى الأحداث السياسية وعملية صنع القرار من خلال الوسائل الإعلامية التقليدية. ومن ثم، لم يكن من المتوقع - وفق هذا الاتجاه - أن يترتب على اتساع نطاق الإنترنت تغيير جوهرى فى هذا الواقع، بل على العكس فإن هذا الانتشار وما يترتب عليه من تقليل الحواجز أمام عملية نشر المعلومات والآراء الفردية سيؤدى إلى المزيد من إضعاف قدرة الرأى الفردى على التأثير فى عملية صناعة القرار بسبب حالة التزاحم الشديدة بين الآراء الفردية. ومن ثم فقد تدعم الإنترنت حالة «التفكيك» داخل المجتمع بدلا من بناء «التوافق العام».
ورغم جاذبية الحجج والفرضيات التى طرحها أصحاب الاتجاه السابق، فقد جاءت موجة الثورات العربية التى اعتمدت على الإنترنت بشكل عام، وعلى المواقع التفاعلية (الفيس بوك وغيرها) بشكل خاص، لتضع دقة ومصداقية هذه الفرضيات أمام تحد كبير. وبشكل عام، فقد تجاهل هذا الاتجاه النظر إلى الإنترنت باعتبارها «عملية» process جديدة ذات سمات خاصة لابد أن تترك آثارها على مختلف الظواهر الاقتصادية والاجتماعية والسياسية داخل المجتمع، وأن هذه العملية توفر بدورها مجموعة من الأدوات التى يمكن استخدامها بطريقة تعظم القدرات السياسية للفاعلين فى مواجهة النظام السياسى فى سياق عملية الصراع السياسى بين الطرفين.
ويمكن فى هذا الإطار طرح عدد من التفسيرات التى حولت الإنترنت ليس فقط إلى ساحة للعمل السياسى ولكن أيضا إلى أداة فاعلة فى إدارة هذا الصراع. يتعلق أولها بالميزات النسبية التى توفرها شبكة الإنترنت فيما يتعلق بتخفيض تكلفة المعاملات والاتصالات وتكلفة الحصول على المعلومات وتبادلها، وفرص إجراء تلك الاتصالات على نطاق واسع، سواء من جانب الجمهور أو من جانب الفاعلين السياسيين فى ظل تواضع تكلفة إنشاء وتسجيل المواقع الإليكترونية والبحث الإليكترونى عن المعلومات، وتواضع تكلفة إرسال رسائل البريد الإليكترونى وغيرها من المعاملات الإليكترونية. أضف إلى ذلك ما وفرته الإنترنت من فرص مهمة لممارسة حريات التعبير والعمل السياسى للقوى السياسية المحجوبة عن الشرعية أو القوى السياسية التى قد تطرح رؤى سياسية وإصلاحية تتجاوز السقف المتاح من جانب النظام السياسي. وقد استطاعت الكثير من القوى السياسية فى الدول العربية بالفعل استخدام الإنترنت كساحة بديلة للعمل السياسى من خلال تشكيل المنتديات والجماعات السياسية الافتراضية، والتغلب على القيود السياسية والقانونية المفروضة على حريات التنظيم السياسي، وتجاوز القيود المادية التى واجهت عمليات الاتصال والتنسيق.
ويشار فى هذا الإطار أيضا إلى ثلاث سمات أساسية للإنترنت، هي: الطبيعة التفاعلية، وغياب السلطة المركزية المنظمة للإنترنت ومن ثم صعوبة السيطرة والرقابة على محتوى المواقع الإليكترونية بالمقارنة بوسائل الاتصال التقليدية، وأخيرا اتساع نطاق القاعدة الاجتماعية المستخدمة للإنترنت وعدم التزامها بالحدود الجغرافية والسياسية. وقد أدت هذه السمات إلى تحول مستخدم الإنترنت من مجرد متلق أو مستهلك مجهول للرسالة الإعلامية إلى مشارك فاعل فى تشكيل تلك الرسالة، وتحول طبيعة الاتصال من مجرد اتصال نخبوي- نخبوى أو اتصال نخبوي- جماهيرى أو حوار أقلية ـ أغلبية إلى اتصال جماهيري- جماهيري، وتحول الحوار الإليكترونى إلى حوار ندى لا يعكس تفاوت القدرات السياسية والاقتصادية بين المتحاورين بقدر ما يعكس مدى توافق/ تناقض الرؤى والآراء المطروحة بشأن القضية موضوع الحوار. وعلى العكس مما ذهب إليه الاتجاه السابق من ارتباط الإنترنت بظاهرة التفكيك والاستقطاب السياسى وغياب التوافق العام، فقد أدى انتشار النفاذ إلى الإنترنت داخل المجتمع وسيطرة نمط التفكير الشبكى إلى إضعاف التوزيع الهيراركى للسلطةوالتحول من الدولة الهيراركية إلى المجتمع الشبكي.
وقد ساهم فى تعظيم التأثيرات السياسية الإيجابية السابقة للإنترنت عوامل عدة، فبالإضافة إلى اتساع نطاق النفاذ للإنترنت وحجم الشرائح الاجتماعية المستخدمة له، فقد تركز هذا التوسع داخل قطاع الشباب بالأساس. ومن ناحية، ثالثة فقد استندت الافتراضات المتشائمة حول العلاقة بين الإنترنت والعمل السياسى فى العالم العربى إلى انتشار أنماط محددة من استخدامات الشبكة تدور حول اختزالها فى مواقع الترفيه والتسلية (الألعاب، الأغاني، الأفلام، ممارسة القمار، المواد الإباحية. الخ) مقابل تراجع أهمية الإنترنت كمصدر للمعرفة وجمع المعلومات وتبادل الآراء والجدل بشأن قضايا الإصلاح والتحول الديمقراطي. الخ. ورغم انتشار أنماط الاستخدام الترفيهى للإنترنت بالفعل فى العالم العربى بالمقارنة بالدول الديمقراطية المتقدمة، فإن هذا ربما انسحب على المراحل الأولى لانتشار الإنترنت، وقد حدث على ما يبدو تحول واضح فى أنماط استخدام الشبكة فى العالم العربى خلال السنوات الأخيرة، فى اتجاه ارتفاع معدلات استخدامها كوسيلة وكساحة للعمل السياسي، الأمر الذى يطعن فى مقولة إن الانترنت تمثل عالما سياسيا افتراضيا.

The trial of the "Pharaoh on the Nile" has captured the imagination of the street in Egypt and beyond. For the second time the ousted former president Hosni Mubarak appeared in court on Monday 15 August, and this seemed for many to symbolise the successful conclusion to the popular protests that lasted over the last six months.

However, the point I want to raise is that the trial does not serve the cause of justice and furthermore that it will have a negative impact on the immediate political future of Egypt. The slogans of "down with the regime" voiced during the early stages of the protests remained adamant only until the overthrow of Mubarak. The fall of the regime meant that the core demand of the protestors has been met. This should have been followed by a second phase focusing on political, economic and social issues, thus beginning the process of restoring dignity to the Egyptian citizen and that of Egypt itself.

Besides interrupting, and possibly impeding, the restoration of stability and consequent progress on both the domestic and international levels, the trial will have an immediate effect on voting in the looming elections in the country. There are several considerations I would like to air in support of this contention. Factor one: the image of Mubarak's appearance before the court as an ailing man. Factor two: the fact that the military remain in power. Factor three: the Muslim Brotherhood policy of "wait and see" is likely to benefit from the rift amongst the ranks of the protestors.

To expand on the first of these factors, we should examine Mubarak's appearances in court and their effect. On both occasions when he appeared before the court, wheeled in on his hospital bed, he looked frail and humiliated. This helped to elevate the degree of sympathy towards him. His image as a dictator, a corrupt and tyrannical leader, began to lose currency, as a wave of sympathy on the street started to perceive him as merely "the poor ill old man."

As time passes Mubarak's image will, to some extent, transform into that of a victimised old man of 83 years. This in itself is not detrimental if it does not bring about discord amongst the people. However, his second appearance in the courtroom triggered clashes between his supporters and those who were advocates of his trial. A number of his supporters chanted, "Mubarak is not Saddam" and "he is Egyptian until death". Again, this alone will not be tantamount to a major rift, and it will not unduly affect the outcome of the trial, but it will impinge upon the universality of the spirit of the protests that initially prevailed. It will also have an impact on the long-term zeitgeist in the Egyptian political landscape.

The success of the pending elections in Egypt is not dependent simply on the number of voters, but also on a politically acute and enlightened mentality in order to lay the foundations for a new system. It is only through an informed electorate that the best results for the country can be achieved. Yet, such a position may be undermined by the rift emerging around Mubarak's trial and the flourishing of latent, ambivalent prejudices. It would be naïve to assume, despite the sheer size of the protests in the country, that Mubarak lacks supporters. The few voices reverberating that the ousted leader is "Egyptian until death" and that "he is not Saddam" may gather momentum, especially when people start to associate the dignity of Mubarak with that of Egypt itself.

The haste at which Mubarak has been brought to court is certainly on social grounds rather than in the service of justice. If so, the concept of justice loses its essence, as it hangs in the balance between the authority of the military and the demands of the protestors. This point becomes more marked when considered alongside the second of the three factors identified above.

As long as the military forms the transitional government, composed of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), effectively the government, then a state of "civil mentality" will not dominate on the streets of Egypt. By civil mentality I mean the focus on the post-Mubarak period to which the masses have aspired. Even if the protestors go home, collective consciousness will remain charged with anxiety and uncertainty. Obviously, this will have an effect on the country's move towards a stable and long-lasting democratic form of governance. I should mention at this point that the top generals in the army who monitor and govern are old brothers-in-arms with the ousted leader. Their political influence has only increased over the last six months, and it will do so further while there is no civil government in power that could help minimise their role.

It is also notable that to date the military have not brought to trial any further elements of the old regime. And while their grip on power continues, their economic privileges stay intact. Their popularity has so far resided in the fact that it is a "draft military" made up of the people. But the SCAF has also come to resemble a political body that has taken on many of the characteristics of the old regime. The military have become notorious for the trials of activists and journalists. Journalists Hossam al-Hamalawy and Rasha Azab have been summoned by the prosecution, and Asmaa Mahfouz, who was accused of inciting violence against the military and insulting members of the SCAF, was referred to a military court and later released on bail.

The presidential candidate Mohammed ElBaradei has responded to these developments on his twitter account that "military trials for young activists, while Mubarak & Co. stand before civilian courts, is a legal farce. Don't abort the revolution." The recent clashes between the protestors and the military's supporters are evidence of this. On Saturday 23 July, protestors moved from Tahrir Square in Cairo towards the defence ministry, the headquarters of the SCAF, in order to voice their demands for more freedom for the civilian government of prime minister Essam Sharif and also to condemn the military trials. More than 250 people were hurt in the clashes. Interestingly, the slogans during that protest were "down with the military," and they branded the leader of the SCAF, Hussein Tantawi, as being "an agent of America." It is inevitable that while the military are part of the political machinery this will influence the outcomes of future civil governance in the country. It is already the case that disagreement has been rife between different groups while preparing for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

While these elections are regulated and administered by the army, the political environment is emphatically militaristic and confrontational. The government of Essam Sharaf exists in the shadows of a military presence, and hence the climate is not dissimilar to the days of Mubarak. This point alone suggests there has been little progress in civil society.

I expand on my third factor with the contention that the Muslim Brotherhood or any other religiously oriented group in the Arab world always profits from any vacuum created in the social and political landscape. While the Muslim Brotherhood played no major role in the instigation or the process of the protests, they are likely to harvest the fruits of this unrest. Their overall policy is based on a "wait and see" principle. They have remained heavily on the side of the military, with the understanding that this will please the masses. However, the Brotherhood's stance towards Mubarak's trial is straightforward.

They were keen on it, actively requested it, and they got it. That straightforward narrative was interrupted, though, when at the second hearing of Mubarak's trial, judge Ahmed Rifaat announced that "in the public interest, the court had decided to stop the television broadcast of the court sessions beginning on 5 September 2011 until the announcement of the sentences." Voices on the street then denounced the removal of the cameras from the courtroom. This was seen as a betrayal of the protestors who were killed and disloyalty to their families. Further accusations were made that there is a deal between the military and Mubarak. Such a charged atmosphere extends the potential rift between the people and the military. It is easy to see how the Muslim Brotherhood will benefit from such circumstances. In the case of the political parties, although there are over 20 registered parties in the country, they remain politically unorganised. Apart from their support for the encompassing cause of the protesting masses, these parties pursue their own agendas and are factional in nature.

Moreover, the government of Essam Sharaf, as mentioned above, has been overshadowed by the SCAF, and this curtails the performance of civil institutions. The clashes between opponents and supporters of Mubarak in front of the court testify to the critical point that has been reached in relation to this. The Muslim Brotherhood is established and well organised, and it is poised to take up the role of "rescuer." The group's tactics include cunningly keeping a low profile, while at the same time waiting for gaps to fill in the structure of ongoing debate and protests.

It has established the Muslim Brotherhood political party to run in the next parliamentary elections, scheduled this autumn, and appointing a Coptic Christian as its vice-president. This is an obvious gesture to quell any fears that the group will use religion as a tool in its domestic political agenda. However, in its rhetoric on foreign policy and the future of Egypt's relationship to its neighbours, the Brotherhood will beat its rivals in the elections in an easy fashion. When asked in a recent interview about Egypt's treaty with Israel, Youssef Nada, a long-time strategist for the Brotherhood, stated that the "treaty should be rewritten, to be fair to everyone."

Such statements are welcome in Egypt as the treaty has long been viewed as an alliance between Mubarak and Israel rather than between the two countries. The treaty was signed in 1979; Mubarak came to power in 1981 and became its de facto guardian. For many Egyptians, it is a treaty very much identified with Mubarak's strong ties with Israel. Therefore, when the Muslim Brotherhood plays popular tunes these will find a wider audience on the street.

So far, the spirit of protest has been subject to reason: "down with the regime for dignity and justice." The reasoning underpinning this has been the exchange of a regime that hindered justice for a new system that could restore it. Nonetheless, the courtroom in the case of Mubarak does not necessarily symbolise justice and seems more a vengeful form of catharsis for the people. Justice is known as the "first virtue of social institutions." While the SCAF still holds the momentary authority, one would assume that the spirit of wider social institutions lacks virtue.

Rational political protest must be guarded against becoming merely an instrument of revenge. That is, objectivity ought to prevail rather than the satisfaction of the deeply entrenched cultural and religious ethics of the Arab world. The true spirit of the early protests must remain authoritative and not be subjugated to over-hastiness and popular appeasement. I say that because these protests have not yet become fully incorporated into the judicial body, and they cannot be so while the military is still governing. Thus, the trial of Mubarak could remain that of an ailing old man.

Original sin is a Christian theological doctrine that is still creating a lot of debate. However, more relevant here is another non-religious meaning of the term, particularly that given in Webster's Dictionary, which defines original sin as "a wrong of great magnitude." In other words, the term describes the gravest crime or action possible that a person can commit, or the crime that reduces him to a fallen state. Original sin is the sin of all sins and the one that a person is solely and uniquely accountable for committing.

People may differ about which was the most serious sin committed by ousted former president Hosni Mubarak. Personal corruption, attempts to hand over power and political corruption are the major alleged crimes most commentators cite. Nevertheless, these things do not describe what took place. Corruption on the part of Mubarak was a case of the kleptocracy that had reached an unprecedented extent in Egypt under the former president's rule, and it is in these terms that the creation by Mubarak and his son Gamal of a power base formed of co-opted military and security leaders, top government officials and leading businessmen should be viewed.

Such networks cascaded down through the administration, forging a web of bureaucratic corruption that entangled nearly every aspect of daily life. We should be courageous in acknowledging that kleptocratic habits of this sort trickled down to touch many civil servants at almost every level and that corruption is not just an elitist characteristic or trait. Instead, corruption under Mubarak's rule became so pervasive in the privileged and unprivileged classes alike that it permeated both the private and the public sector while manifesting itself in the form of petty as well as grand corruption.

Political corruption was not the original sin committed by Mubarak, as he resorted to classical methods to curb potential opponents. In other words, there was nothing unique about such behaviour as forms of political corruption have been prevalent in Egypt since the establishment of the modern state if not earlier. Elections have been marked by fraud many times in our recent history.

The Wafd, for example, the most popular party in the so-called liberal age before the 1952 Revolution, ruled for fewer than six years in the period from 1923 to 1952. The longest Wafd government only lasted two and a half years, and this was formed on 4 February 1942 under the auspices of the British after their famous ultimatum to King Farouk. Political corruption is part of the DNA of the security apparatus, and it is transferrable from one generation to the next, becoming dominant at the request of the ruler, whether a king or a president.

Mubarak's original sin was not his grooming of his son for power either, as this has become an established regional practice. Egypt was a late adopter of this sweeping trend, though Mubarak would have been influenced by other Arab leaders even to the extent of initially categorically rejecting the whole idea. Yet, from denial to tacit approval to relentless support Mubarak finally endorsed the project of seeing Gamal as his successor. This project, though, met with fierce opposition from nearly everywhere, including from the army, as has recently been disclosed.

Instead, Mubarak's original sin was his disastrous management of the transfer of power to his successor, a sin that made Egypt face a non-peaceful succession of power for the first time in its modern history since the days of Mohamed Ali. Mubarak, through his conscious and deliberate maneuvers aiming at keeping himself as the only presidential option, exposed the state to immense threats, causing the country to face possible anarchy as a result of Mubarak's doing everything he could to maintain and consolidate his tenure. Nothing stopped him from continuing such a path through his five presidential terms in office, leaving the country subject to uncertainty, chaos and anarchy when he left.

In the same context, Mubarak spared no efforts in extending his life cycle as president by attempting to make his son the de facto and de jure candidate to succeed him. In other words, the preparation of Gamal as Mubarak's successor should be envisaged as part of Mubarak's original paradigm to maintain power. All his other sins are just the tip of the iceberg. It is in this one that we can see his lust for power. The establishment of the kleptocracy was just a means to an end of building a power base that could represent the inner core of the regime, while the political corruption was just the tool Mubarak used to maintain his rule.

Mubarak's five terms in office can be divided into two phases, in which the first three terms (1981-1999) did not see the naming of a successor despite gossip about names like Abu Ghazala, Rifaat al-Mahgoub, Amr Moussa, al-Ganzouri, and so on. No one emerged as a potential successor, and years lapsed while Mubarak was still the premier. In his early years when asked about a vice-president Mubarak repeatedly said that it would depend on his finding the right person, adding that former president Anwar al-Sadat had been lucky in finding him.

Apart from the outright narcissism, Mubarak's reply signals straightforward disrespect for the whole people of Egypt. Mubarak intentionally avoided appointing a vice-president in order to further consolidate his image as the sole indispensible option at the head of the state. He was the victim of five separate attempts on his life during his time in office, but none of these made him think of appointing a vice-president. Instead, these attempts only augmented his sense of insecurity and intensified his seclusion from society. Even the most famous, and perhaps the only announced, assassination attempt, that of 1995 in Addis Ababa, though it provoked sympathy, also stirred criticism as the entire political system was made to look precarious and dependent on one man's survival.

Mubarak's last two terms in office, actually those of Mubarak & Co, witnessed a fully-fledged version of Mubarak's original sin, as he shared the prerogatives of the presidential office with his insufferable son. He left the capital and spent most of his days at a holiday resort while Mubarak Jnr. dealt with state affairs. The shift to what was called the free-market economy was gradually adopted under Gamal Mubarak's de facto rule, in which the fruits of crony privatisation and stock market manipulation, as well as the selling off of land, the establishment of import monopolies and ironically also import substitution, only benefitted the privileged members of the lucky caste formed of the regime's clients

It was during this period that the culmination of the neo-liberal economic policies that gradually resulted in the alienation of growing numbers of poor as well as unemployed people from the system took place, these people then sporadically directing their resentment against the growing inequalities. The regime's failure to address the country's growing economic woes radicalised many of the bloggers who started to organise around defending social causes. Meanwhile, the regime resorted to safety valves to let out the pressure on the system, as can be seen in the conduct of the People's Assembly, the media syndicates and the various associations that enjoyed relative freedom of speech and even of opposition during the period. Nevertheless, there were still red lines, and it was here that the regime could eschew its artificial tolerance and use its traditional repressive measures instead.

Security threats increased during Mubarak's last two terms in office, given the growing number of the unemployed and the disproportionate increases in the security forces, a fact that made many writers claim that the police were concerned to secure the regime and not to protect the people. Such economic hardships, together with the emphasis on security, loom large as a legacy of the Mubarak era. Obviously, they have been intensified as a result of the catastrophe that happened to the security apparatus during and in the aftermath of the January Revolution. Yet, the fact remains that they are the outcomes of Mubarak's policies, emanating from his insistence to remain in power either directly or indirectly through Mubarak Jnr.

In the early days of the Revolution, Mubarak stressed that were he to suddenly disappear from power the alternative would be chaos and /or Islamist fundamentalism. Those were Mubarak's own words when describing the situation that would take place were he to leave office. In other words, Mubarak stated his original sin. And instead of taking responsibility for pushing the state to this appalling turn, all the former president could do was offer to complete his term in office. Though too late even from an absolutely Machiavellian perspective, Mubarak's last-minute endeavour to remain in office led him to sacrifice his son Gamal's ambitions as a presidential candidate. Nobody really thought of Gamal as a candidate, but the father's decision regarding his son reflects his greed for power. He did everything he could to make himself into the indispensible man for Egypt, at least for its security if not for its well-being.

As such, the original sin of Mubarak was to put the republican system, if not the state and its institutions, at risk of near collapse. Once more, it was Mubarak's confession of the inevitability of chaos in the event of his resignation that should be taken as evidence for judging his past behaviour regarding the succession of power. Mubarak was quite aware of the implications of his sudden disappearance from the political scene, something that is enough unequivocally to indict him. Prior knowledge of the precariousness of the political situation was one of his responsibilities, and his attitude belongs to the category of damned if you do, damned if you don't.

It is only a slight exaggeration to say that what we are witnessing today in terms of chaos, insecurity and economic stagnation are the outcomes of Mubarak's original sin, and they were evident in the last years of his rule. Egypt was considered as a failing states by many commentators at the time, who highlighted the deplorable state of the regime. Its swift collapse and the removal of the strongman at its head was a clear illustration of its intrinsic weaknesses and vulnerabilities. These are still casting dark shadows on many aspects of life, which is why many people are still uncertain about the Revolution and its impact.

Mubarak also did his best to project an image of indispensability on the regional and global levels, and he received endless support from major allies in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Israel France, and most important the US. Mubarak of Egypt, or the Egypt of Mubarak, rarely deviated from the agreed-upon foreign policy objectives laid out by his allies in nearly all local, regional or global issues and conflicts.

Mubarak betrayed the oath he was sworn to uphold. Article 79 of the last constitution includes the following oath: "I swear by Almighty God to uphold the Republican system with loyalty, to respect the Constitution and the law, to look after the interests of the people fully and to safeguard the independence and territorial integrity of the motherland."

But in contradiction to this oath, Mubarak made endless efforts to pave the way for his son as his only successor in a straightforward betrayal of the republican system which does not allow the inheritance of power. It was the great journalist Heikal who pointed to this basic violation of the constitution by Mubarak, though his remarks did not stir much reaction. Nevertheless, Mubarak was responsible for violating the constitution long before the affair of his son. He consciously and deliberately obstructed the emergence of any successor throughout his tenure in office in a way that put the whole state, including its political system, in jeopardy. In his pursuit of exclusivity as a candidate and indispensability as president, Mubarak adopted many stratagems such as refraining from appointing a vice-president, the elimination of other potential candidates and the game of various constitutional amendments.

In 2007, Mubarak confirmed that he would continue serving his country, meaning as president, as long as his heart was beating. On 28 January 2011, he stated that he intended not to nominate himself for a sixth term in office, though he implied in his announcement that something else was being prepared. The destinies of nations cannot be left prey to the whims of leaders that announce one day that they will continue for ever and the next that they are stepping down. Perhaps the 28 January announcement was a deliberate attempt to introduce more fog into an already cloudy political scene, serving a hidden agenda to move Gamal into the presidential seat. Exposing Egypt to such uncertainty added more fuel to an already highly volatile situation. What else could be expected than the kind of revolution we witnessed in January?

Some may argue that Mubarak is hardly an exception in the region, since many others have pursued similar ambitions. Syria was a typical illustration. However, there is an ocean of differences between the two cases, which would require another article to discuss. In the meantime, Mubarak squandered a golden opportunity to bring about peaceful transformation towards a more pluralistic political system with functional institutions and a vibrant civil society. For the first time in its history, according to Mubarak and his chorus of supporters, Egypt has not been at war for decades. This should have offered the regime ample time to establish a more open political system based on the peaceful transfer of power.

Take the year 1990 when the formerly communist countries started their move towards democracy, for example. Many of these have now joined the EU with its solid criteria for admission and membership, while Egypt only succeeded in becoming a member of the Francophonie during the same period. This kind of transformation of fortunes, which nearly all the formerly communist states enjoyed, passed Egypt by under the slogans of stability, sustainability and development. However, in truth the last two decades were dedicated to the consolidation of Mubarak's own personal power and then the preparation of his son for the presidency.

Looking back at Egypt's contemporary history, it has only been Mubarak who has left the question of the succession unanswered. Every other ruler from Mohamed Ali onwards has had a regent or vice-president there to act as a successor. Clearly, there have been times of uncertainty as well as power struggle, yet in almost all cases there has been a smooth transfer of power. The idea of the head of state is something that is inherent in Egypt's political culture: it was Egypt and the Egyptians who invented the phenomenon of the Mamluks to overcome the Egyptian fear of anarchy. Mubarak should not have been asked to change the political culture, or to remedy its many inadequacies. However, he should at least have followed his predecessors in settling the matter of the succession.

Mubarak's health did not deter him from continuing his indifference to the uncertain destiny of Egypt either. The incident of his collapse while in parliament, the repeated heart attacks, and the major surgery of 2008 all made no impact upon him, not causing him to change his mind and appoint a vice-president to run the country in case of force majeure. Another dimension, though a strictly personal one, is Mubarak's tragic loss of his grandson. He was out of office for weeks, and he confided to his attorney that he had been devastated by this great loss that almost left him unable to function. This should have caused him to appoint a vice-president.

Many have argued that Mubarak was not willing to appoint a vice-president because he was not willing to impose anyone on Egyptians, leaving the choice of his successor to the people themselves. However, this was not the case with Nasser and Sadat, and Mubarak's choice of this direction was a deviation from the trend set by his predecessors. Had he started to institute a new political system in which people had a genuine say in the political process, then such arguments would ring true. But this was not the case, since Mubarak did barely anything to increase political participation and popular engagement.

In fact, the opposite was the case, as Mubarak passed two constitutional amendments tailored to exclude any other potential candidate from standing as president, particularly from the Muslim Brotherhood. The amendment of 2007 was unique to the extent that it looked almost like a classified ad that had been written to fit only Mubarak or his son. Apart from Gamal, had we had elections in September 2011 who else could have been elected given such arrangements? This last option can also be viewed within Mubarak's stratagem of making himself the sole and exclusive option. Realising that he could not continue forever, he adopted a new stratagem that could extend his life cycle and allow him the best conditions in his final years if he could not rule. Mubarak therefore cloned himself, offering us his son as the sole and exclusive candidate for the presidency.

Mubarak's original sin is deeply rooted, and unfortunately it has serious complications. Egypt is not a banana republic, nor is it a developing country that can be treated in the way that it has been by someone who was hailed on his election in 1981 in the aftermath of the assassination of former president al-Sadat.

There are many questions that we wait for the revolution in economic reform. It is not reasonable nor acceptable that the people's revolution, anger at the situation and keep the poor conditions as they are without the alert and attentive to the importance of the revolution have to blow up an ugly files and start seriously to build a new Egypt who want their children to the revolution
And here we must ask ourselves several questions
Is the goal of youth revolution that began here and
I insisted that they first youth revolution, and secondly people joined the youth on January 25, just amend some articles of the Constitution on the duration of survival of the president in power and will be followed by parliamentary and presidential elections?
Did the revolution to a mere three symbols in the history of Egypt is January 25 and 11 February and 19 March?

Do we only deal on the Revolution are just some aspects of political reform?
Do not enter into a tunnel filled with economic reform, including the files, waiting for a lot of work and the revolutionary will?
Where the principle of social justice who was part of our principles in action if not the most important principles?
The threat we face now is to keep things on their conditions without pay attention to the historic opportunity for reform and that these things come alive, which is degraded by the masses and the revolution in order to change and not merely the exclusion of the president and overthrow the regime but the whole
Here we must change the method of managing the economy and the challenge is to start a real and serious programs of economic reform to achieve development and social justice
When the economy comes out of the robe, the old system?

Still image of the Council of Ministers is of a January 24, which is in a ministerial small occupies on the view and the rest are outside the circle, and even this small group is active within the robe system for Example Minister of Finance still manages the ministry the logic of management and the Minister of the former regime, without searching for the administration of a new financial guarantee package integrated management of State resources, and even at the World Bank's own statement that Egypt had requested a loan of between 8 to 12 billion dollars.

Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade, managed thought the old system did not provide mechanisms and means to rescue the industry and increase production capacity and also the means and mechanisms to achieve a balance in the import operations so as not to affect local production and the balance of foreign exchange

However, those quick reference guide us to many of the files that should be included in the will and the Department of the Revolution, for example, files policy and strategy to address the degradation of agricultural production and productivity and a lack of production .. File and the state finances, and how to manage after the break size barrier trillion debt, what are waiting for more than a file that education and training role that the file must be done by the private sector away from politics and governance

The role of government in a democratic system and free economy, as well as file services, conditions in transportation, health file and comprehensive reform of the chaos of the wage structure and the file of crimes wealthy Egypt from the looting of the land, banks, brokerage and mechanisms for achieving social justice in wages and taxes to cut taxes and increase the size of the tax exemption for employees, as well as attention, quality of life, service and repair support system and the empowerment of the poor and the injustices in the forefront of the slums and the rents the old system and the introduction, however, the proportion of poor by 40%
It is appropriate to repeat what we put forward the establishment of a fund to invest can be called the Fund editing or fund in January consisting of its assets and funds of funds looted when they are recovered, and should not enter to the Ministry of Finance and is allocated to projects, the first city of January in the desert land between Kilo 4248 through Egypt Alex Desert and the city is planning new urban alternative to the resorts set up by some companies in violation of the terms of the contract, without the reclamation of any serious or planting crops designed to produce a productive agricultural and turned to the resorts villas and swimming pools.
We are waiting for the fight against corruption and deviation that can be created with a filter of corruption as a new court with a clear mission for a limited period, and also develop a vision and a plan of new financial, monetary and structural economic reform must also address the alliance of capital with the power which led to inflation, file corruption, and appear fragile economy invaluable and of no avail against hunger Yet it is not difficult to return to a position of strength by the potential energy is a list and can be run production did not suffer bad and what has been looted can be recovered and we have to worry about the recovery of the economy

I just finished reading a book called ‘The Art of Possibility’ written by authors Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander who I heard speak at a conference a few years back.   I really enjoyed the ideas explored in the book and wanted to pull out and share a few impactful quotes that really resonated with me:

“It’s all invented anyway, so we might as well invent a story or a framework of meaning that enhances our quality of life and the life of those around us.” (p.12)

We can ask ourselves the following question “What assumption am I making, that I am not aware I’m making, that gives me what I see?”

We can follow-up with the question “What might I now invent, that I haven’t yet invented, that would give me other choices?”  (p.15)

“It feels safer to deal with reality as though it were fixed, as though people, ideas, and siutations can be fully known and measured.  We grow up in a world of measurement, and in this world, we get to know each other and things by measuring them, and by comparing and contrasting them.” (p. 18)

“In the realm of possibility, we gain our knowledge by invention.  We decide that the essence of a child is joy, and joy she is.” (p.20)

“On the whole, resources are likely to come to you in greater abundance when you are generous and inclusive and engage people in your passion for life.” (p.21)

“Yet it is only when we make mistakes in performances that we can really begin to notice what needs attention.” (p. 31)

“The only grace you can have is the grace you can imagine.” (p.52)

“I settled on a game called I am a contribution.  Unlike success and failure, contribution has no other side.  It is not arrived at by comparison.  All at once I found that the fearful question, “Is it enough?” and the even more fearful question, “Am I loved for who I am, or for what I have accomplished?” could both be replaced by the joyful question, “How will I be a contribution today?” (p.57)

“Naming your activities as a game breaks their hold on you and puts you in charge.  Just look carefully at the cover of the box, and if the rules do not light up your life, put it away, take out another one you like better, and play the new game wholeheartedly.  Remember, it’s all invented.” (p.59)

“Naming ourselves as a contribution produces a shift away from self-concern and engages us in a relationship with others that is an arena for making a difference.   Rewards in the contribution game are of a deep and enduring kind, though less predictable than the trio of money, fame and power that accrue to the winner in the success game.  You never know what they will be, or from whence they will come.” (p. 63)

“A conductor can be easily seduced by the public’s extraordinary attention to his unique offering and come to believe that he is personally superior…yet…a leader who feels he is superior is likely to suppress the voices of the very people on whom he must rely on to deliver his vision alive and kicking.” (p.67) The power of a conductor derives in the ability to make other people powerful. 

“A monumental question for leaders in any organization to consider is: How much greatness are we willing to grant people?” (p.73)

“Things change when you care enough to grab whatever you love, and give it everything.” (p.74)

“Humour and laughter are perhaps the best ways we can “get over ourselves.” Humour can bring us together around our inescapable foibles, confusions, and miscommunications, and especially over ways in which we find ourselves acting entitled and demanding, or putting other people down, or flying at each other’s throats.” (p.80)

“We portray the calculating self as a ladder with a downward spiral.  The ladder refers to the worldview that life is about making progress, striving for success, and positioning oneself in the hierarchy.  The downward spiral represents, among other things, the slippage that occurs when we try to control people and circumstances to give ourselves a boost.  When this leads to conflict, we are likely to think that we have run up against difficult people and have learned an important lesson.  We become heard-headed and practical.  Inevitably our relationships spiral downward.  As the calculating self tumbles out of control, it intensifies its effort to climb back up and get in charge, and the cycle goes round and round.” (p.83)

“One game I frequently assign comes in the form of “Have the Best ____ Ever.”  This is to encourage people to create an experience that is extraordinary satisfying regardless of the circumstances around them.” (p.84)

“Whenever somebody gives up their pride to reveal a truth to others,” I told him, “we find it incredibly moving; in fact, we are all so moved that even the cameraman is crying.” (p.89)

“Being present to the way things are is not the same as accepting things as they are in the resigned way of the cow.  It doesn’t mean you should drown out your negative feelings or pretend you like what you really can’t stand.  It doesn’t mean you should work to achieve some “higher plane of existence” so you can “transcend negativity.” It simply means being present without resistance: being present to what is happening and present to your reactions, no matter how intense.” (p.100)

“Presence without resistance: you are now free to turn to the question, “What do we want to do from here?” Then all sorts of pathways begin to appear…You can leave behind the struggle to come to terms with what is in front of you, and move on.” (p.101)

“Mistakes can be like ice.  If we resist them, we may keep on slipping into a posture of defeat.  If we include mistakes in our definition of performance, we are likely to glide through them and appreciate the beauty of the longer run.” (p.102)

“This attitude is difficulty to maintain in our competitive culture where so much attention is given to mistakes and criticism that the voice of the soul is literally interrupted.  The risk the music invites us to take becomes a joyous adventure only when we stretch beyond our known capacities, while gladly affirming that we may fail.  And if we make a mistake, we can mentally raise our arms and say, “How fascinating!” and reroute our attention to the higher purpose at hand.”

 

“Closing the exits means staying with the feelings, whatever they are.  It means letting them run their course, as a storm sweeps overhead showering rain and thunder, only to be followed by clear patches of blue.” (p.104)

“The more attention you shine on a particular subject, the more evidence of it will grow.  Attention is like light and air and water.  Shine attention on obstacles and problems and they multiply lavishly.” (p.108)

“Radiating possibility begins with things as they are and highlights open spaces, the pathways leading out from here.” (p.109)

“Speaking in possibility springs from the appreciation that what we say creates a reality; how we define things sets a framework for life to unfold.” (p.110)

“Being with the way things are calls for an expansion of ourselves.  We start from what is, not from what should be; we encompass contradictions, painful feelings, fears and imaginings, and – without fleeing, blaming, or attempting correction – we learn to soar, like the far-seeing hawk, over the whole landscape.  The practice of being with the way things are allows us to alight in a place of openness, where “the truth” readies us for the next step, and the sky opens up.” (p.111)

(p.114) giving way to passion, has two steps:

1. The first step is to notice where you are holding back and let go.  Release those barriers of self that keep you separate and in control, and let the vital energy of passion surge through you, connecting you to all beyond.
2. The second step is to participate wholly.  Allow yourself to be a channel to shape the stream of passion into a new expression for the world.

“because the straight-edged organization of our cities and towns – as well as many aspects of our daily lives – tends to mirror our perceptual maps, urban life may magnify the boundaries that keep us in a state of separateness.  Places in the wild draw many of us to experience a vitality greater than our own, but it may take an act of surrender to let the gates give way between ourselves and nature…I found that it was the momentum of nature that showed up on the canvas; not the object, the lines or the colour, but dynamic forces, geometric vibrancy, the passion of colour.” (p.114)

“Enrollment is the art and practice of generating a spark of possibility for others to share.” (p.125)

 

“A ‘no’ can so often dampen our fire in the world of the downward spiral.  It can seem like a permanent, implacable barrier that presents us with limited choices: to attack, to manipulate our way around it, or to bow to it in defeat.  In other words, a ‘no’ can seem like a door slamming instead of merely an instance of the way things are.  Yet, were we to take a ‘no’ less personally, and ourselves less seriously, we might hear something else.  We might hear someone saying, ‘I don’t see any new possibility here, so I think I’ll stick with my usual way of doing things.’ We might hear within the word ‘no’ an invitation for enrolment.” (p.126)

“The life force for humankind is, perhaps, nothing more or less than the passionate energy to connect, express, and communicate.  Enrollment is that life force at work, lighting sparks from person to person, scattering light in all directions.  Sometimes the sparks ignite a blaze; sometimes they pass quietly, magically, almost imperceptibly, from another to another.” (p.139)

“A vision is an open invitation and an inspiration for people to create ideas and events that correlate with its definitional framework.” (p.171)

“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. Marianne Williamson (p.179)

The following final two paragraphs that I am pulling are from page 183 from the last chapter of the book about Telling the We Story:

“The WE story defines a human being in a specific way: It says we are our central selves seeking to contribute, naturally engaged, forever in a dance with each other.  It points to relationship rather than to individuals, to communication patterns, gestures, and movement rather than to discrete objects and identities.  It attests to the in-between.  Like the particle-and-wave nature of light, the WE is both a living entity and a long line of development unfolding.  This new being, the WE of us, comes into view as we look for it – the vital entity of our company, or community, or group of two.  The protagonist of our story, the entity called WE, steps forward and takes on a life of its own.

By telling the WE story, an individual becomes a conduit for this new inclusive entity, wearing its eyes and ears, feeling its heart, thinking its thoughts, inquiring into what is best for US.  This practice points the way to a kind of leadership based not on qualifications earned in the field of battle, but on the courage to speak on behalf of all people and for the long line of human possibility.  The steps to the WE practice are these:

1. Tell the WE story – the story of the unseen threads that connect us all, the story of possibility
2. Listen and look for the emerging entity.
3. Ask: “What do WE want to have happen here?”  “What’s best for US?” – all of each of us, and all of all of us.  “What’s OUR next step?” 

I just finished reading Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business by Nancy Lublin and I am really energized by the tone and insights expressed! As a fellow not-for-profit business leader, I could relate to many of the examples referenced in the book and I love the way that book puts a spotlight on our sector and how we create a lot of value with minimal resources to work with. While the book is designed for business leaders in the for-profit sector, it is highly relevant to all sectors and builds momentum for those of us who grow great organizations without great budgets.

Here’s a few quotes from the book that really resonate with me:



* "The key to successfully doing more with your people with less money is figuring out what really makes your employees get out of bed in the morning...and then giving them more of it." p.10

* "More often we are squished into tiny spaces, or we outgrow a building and figure out a way to 'make it work.' And (most of the time) it does. 'Working tight' not only is cheaper but also fosters teamwork, shared knowledge, and camaraderie." p.17

* "Tradition isn't something to respect, it's an opportunity for improvement...Don't just tell them what to do, tell them why it matters. Tell them the pain points you're trying to eliminate." p.26

* "Thinking of your people as human beings, not just as employees, changes the dynamic of the review process. It's no longer just about being judged but about mutual exchange of meaningful information." p.28

* "Your loyalty must be to your audience and to your brand, not to your current lineup of products and services. And if your audiences' needs can or must be addressed in a new way, then it's up to you to make the changes in your products and services necessary to retain them." P. 44

* "Your reputation doesn't exist in isolation; in fact, it's a dynamic, ever-changing creature, shaped and colored by every person and every partnership your company is association with." P. 47

* "When people feel consistently respected and cared for, they become more than the sum of their roles and responsibilities; you develop a relationship. They become stakeholders, friends, and friends." p.56

* "Never break up with your ambassadors. Ever." p.61

* "Selling a cool experience is an amazingly effective way to move product."

* "If you want your audience to feel something, you've got to give them the time to think. Let them fill the hole in the air with their own voice. Let them try to tell you that no, they really don't want to help you." p.89

* "Constant overwork doesn't help morale either - unless people love what they do. Ever notice that happy people don't complain about being overworked? They talk about being busy. I suspect your office can afford to lose the "overworked." p.146

* "Humanity is often missing from corporate communications, be they press releases or memos or even annual reports, which have pretty pictures but dull prose that lacks even a hint of vividness. At times it seems as if a corporate communications department couldn't create buzz among stakeholders if it released a swarm of bees into a field of roses." p.156

* "One of the most popular, effective genres is stories about how the organization overcame a crisis. Many times these stories reflect organizational values - how leaders stood firm in the face of adversity or displayed courage and initiative to overcome major challenges." p.164

* "Modern storytelling has certain characteristics. We tend to like triumphant endings. We appreciate a good arc. We root for the underdog. We enjoy being surprised. We like clever phrasing and innovative methods." p.175

* "Because the overhead question looms large at all times, people bring to bear persistent inventiveness and a creative penny-pinching attitude. It's a nice way of saying we're cheap...and proud of it." p.183

* "Achieving a balanced budget year after year is no small task, given restricted funding, inconsistent funders, an uncertain economy and other serious challenges. The discipline that results, however, produces well-conceived, highly pragmatic budgets." p.187

* "It's not product diversity I'm advocating, but income-stream diversity. An organization's best hedge against future volatility and uncertainty is revenue diversity." p.193

* "Not-for-profits engage in a free exchange - barter - all the time. We do it out of necessity, since it's a great way to stretch our limited dollars. But even if we didn't have to barter for goods and services, we'd probably do it anyway because barter has value way beyond its considerable tangible benefits." p.197

* "We're capable of stretching, moving, leaping, changing our minds, and so on. Those bendy people are pushing the buttons and signing the contracts and making the handshakes at every company in the world. We're people, not robots. We're capable of negotiation." p.198

* "We also have to be careful about how we let other organizations use our name so we don't just sell our likeness to the highest bidder. With these provisions, however, as in cause marketing, we're able to lend our reputation to help garner something we also need in exchange." p.206

* "Not-for-profits have to be innovative continuously in order to survive. We need to be creative in order to keep costs down, to find fresh sources of funding, to energize our own overworked, underpaid staffers, and to figure out an original way to put on an annual event. Without an abundance of resources or manpower, innovation is a way of life." p.214

* "A company can foster creativity by bouncing ideas off people with divergent skill sets who are yet aligned with its goals. Keep shuffling the people who work together, keeping conversations fresh." p.221

* "I'm as much of a last-minute crammer as the next person. And it's in those pressured moments that my thinking is crystallized. It has to be." p.222


As you can tell, there's a lot to learn from the book! It's a fun read so I'd encourage you to get a copy: http://www.zilchbook.com/

I’m in an afternoon plenary session listening to Karen Cator who is here from the U.S. Department of Education as New Director for Office of Educational Technology. She has provided an overview of a plan that was developed over the past year in consultation with stakeholders across the education sector recently launched titled “National Education Technology Plan 2010”. The plan looks at learning, teaching, assessment, infrastructure and productivity. To review the draft online, you can visit: http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010

In her presentation, Karen talks about how we are all interconnected and dependent on each other yet we often don’t realize it. We need to build a world much more knowledgeable about interconnectedness. Information is ubiquitous and the student experience is increasingly based on mobility. There are a lot of places for online learning and interaction that can be leveraged for learning in-school and for education.

The reason that we ‘don’t have time’ in education is that we have everybody doing the same thing every day. Teachers are supposed to follow along in the order of operations. If we can create systems that are more efficient and effective where students can learn in half the time, would that be a good thing?

Karen has highlighted our need to move to a competency based model and to think more deeply about universal design for learning, so that all accommodations are made to build diverse resources and materials to help many more students.

What excites me most about the insights and recommendations from this plan is the overall focus and direction on creating engaging, inspiring and empowering experiences for students! Thank you Karen for sharing your passion – we look forward to seeing these ideas pick up momentum.

Our dedicated Virtual Congress team members from TakingITGlobal and Intelius have arrived in Barrie and are set-up to support delegates at the iEARN conference!

We have a Digital Media Hub that will be a place to support delegates in posting their digital content (blogs, tweets, photos, podcasts & videos).



As part of the Opening Plenary in a few hours, I will be launching our series of contests with winners in 4 categories:

(1) Photographer wins a Digi-Cam for the most photos uploaded to our website

(2) Videographer wins an HD-Camcorder for the most creative video shot at our digital media hub!

(3) Blogger wins a Netbook for the most inspirational blog!

(4) Tweeter wins an iPod shuffle for the most tweets about the Youth Summit!

The winners will be announced this Friday July 16th!!

I just wanted to write and share my excitement with those who are taking part in the Virtual Congress!

At TakingITGlobal, we have a dedicated team of staff, interns and volunteers who are committed to working with youth delegates in Barrie and online to share their experiences and ideas related to technology, education and global collaboration!

We hope you feel encouraged to share your stories and perspectives with us.

~ Jennifer

Intelius Sponsors Virtual Congress organized by TakingITGlobal for iEARN International Conference & Youth Summit 2010
http://iearn2010.tigweb.org/

For Immediate Release

Barrie, Ontario, Canada (July 11th, 2010) – As leading educators and students gather together to share experiences in the area of global project based learning through technology, the world is invited to join in! How do students want to learn and how are educators collaborating to make a difference?

On July 12th, 2010 Barrie, Ontario will host the 17th Annual iEARN International Conference and 14th Annual Youth Summit 2010 in effort to bring together teachers and students from all over the globe to share how they are using technology to build a global understanding and enhance teaching and learning. By furthering its commitment to youth education and entrepreneurship, Intelius is proudly to be the lead sponsor of the 2010 International Youth Summit Virtual Congress. In partnership with TakingITGlobal, Intelius will connect the conference participants with global peers through a virtual summit.

In December 2009, the UN announced 2010 as the International Year of Youth to harness the energy, imagination and initiative of the world’s youth to overcome the challenges facing humankind. The UN General Assembly called on governments, civil society, individuals and communities worldwide to support activities at local and international levels to mark the event. The designation by the UN to announce 2010 as the International Year of Youth perfectly set the stage for Intelius to sponsor the 2010 Youth Summit Virtual Congress which focuses on promoting and supporting education and youth engagement.

Running a Virtual Congress concurrently with the Youth Summit will allow Intelius to connect the approximately 100 students at the iEARN Youth Summit with global peers in an effort to extend far beyond the physical location. TakingITGlobal’s prior World Youth Congress 2008 Virtual Conference in Quebec City successfully reached over 8,000 visitors and this year, the goal to reach more than 10,000.

“TakingITGlobal has been at the forefront of leveraging the power of technology and education to address global challenges and our partnership as sponsors of the Virtual Congress truly builds upon our commitment to global education at Intelius.” Naveen Jain, CEO, Intelius and Co-Chair, XPRIZE Education and Global Development

The Development of the Virtual Congress website utilizes the latest Web technologies to record the experiences for those youth who are unable to attend. Peers connect through webcasts, video clips, blogs, podcasts, photos, and tweets.

In an effort to further the participation of the youth Intelius has graciously sponsored a Virtual Congress Participation Contest. Youth participants with the most photos, most tweets, most creative video shot, and most inspirational blog will win anything from a digital camera to an HD-camcoreder.

“With Intelius’ generous sponsorship we are positive that the Virtual Congress will be a rewarding and life-changing experience for participating youth in Barrie and globally” - Jennifer Corriero, Co-Founder of TakingITGlobal.


ABOUT INTELIUS
Intelius is a leading information commerce company providing businesses and consumers with information to empower the decision-making process for peace of mind and security. To date, Intelius has gained more than eleven million unique customers who use Intelius' information to reconnect and protect their loved ones, businesses and assets. Intelius' services include background checks, people search services, comprehensive employment screening services and an award-winning identity theft prevention product, IDProtect™. Intelius is one of the top 100 most trafficked sites on the Internet, according to comScore/Media Metrix. For more about Intelius screening products and services, visit www.talentwise.com. For more about Intelius' business, news and policies, visit www.intelius.com/corp.

ABOUT iEARN
iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) is a non-profit organization made up of over 30,000 schools and youth organizations in more than 130 countries. iEARN empowers teachers and young people to work together online using the Internet and other new communications technologies. Over 2,000,000 students each day are engaged in collaborative project work worldwide. Since 1988, iEARN has pioneered on-line school linkages to enable students to engage in meaningful educational projects with peers in their countries and around the world. To learn more about iEarn, visit http://www.iearn.org.

ABOUT TakingITGlobal

TakingITGlobal envisions youth everywhere actively engaged and connected in shaping a more inclusive, peaceful and sustainable world. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, this international charitable organization enhances youth participation in global social movements through a vibrant collaborative online community: TIGweb.org. Young people in every country are harnessing the Internet to become inspired, informed and involved in global opportunities and cross-cultural connections. Along with global partners that include UN agencies, youth organizations and private companies, TakingITGlobal builds the capacity of youth and strengthens collaboration networks through a series of innovative programs and projects.