Shaping the aspirations of Arab awakening

One thing for sure, the countries that saw the Arab awakening have a vibrant,educated young population that loves technology and are desperate for freedom. In fact, one of the striking features of the Arab revolution was that it was driven by youth and technology.

 At the peak of the revolution in Egypt, 87, 293 had signed up the Facebook page “We are all Khalid Said”(Khalid Said, a 28-year-old Egyptian from the coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt, was tortured to death at the hands of two police officers became a symbol of the protestors). 


Later, Wael Ghonim, the Egyptian-born Google marketing executive, who first played a role in organising the opposition through Facebook, told the American audiences that without Facebook and Twitter their revolution ‘would never have happened.’

Similarly, when it came to the protests in Tunisia the main stream media took time to get into grips with the situation, whilst hints of unrest was already brewing on Twitter soon after Bouazizi ,the vegetable vendor, who later became an immortal face of the protests set himself on fire.

In many ways, the zeal and the enthusiasm of the youth in particular, and their smart adoption of social media tools to propel their revolution debunked certain stereotypes about the youth of the region. The misperception amongst many in the world that the region is traditional, inward looking and adverse to modernity and technology was unfounded.

In fact, when the young protestors went to the street in Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere, they also sent out a clear message to their rulers and the world at large that they too have the aspirations to live in a world that is based on the principles of dignity, justice and freedom.

Now that the Arab awakening has taken its course and in the dictators toppled, it is largely in the interest of the world that the aspirations of the youth are given shape and their dream is not lost.

The top 10 points of  Burson – Marsteller’s   Arab Youth Survey  indicate in general the views and the concerns of the youth from the region. While they say that lack of democracy and the civil unrest are some of the biggest obstacles facing them, their personal preference is however to able to earn a good pay and lead a decent lifestyle. And this is a priority number 1.

Their demand is clear: they want a transparent, corruption free government that creates amongst other things, good job  opportunities and guarantees a decent life . Democracy, they say is of no use if it doesn’t improve their lives or is replaced by a system that is equally inefficient or more corrupt than the dictatorial regimes that preceded them. The survey shows that the youth across the Middle East increasingly look at UAE as a model that their countries should emulate. 

The political crisis in Egypt is unfortunate. However, whoever takes charge of the nation eventually will run the risk of triggering another mass movement if their aspirations are not satisfied. At the end of the day, as Hillary Clinton says, it is up to the Egyptian people to determine their own future but there will be will no going back on the democratic transition.

Whilst such assurances are welcome, the West must also understand that it can takes decades or at least a generation before the democratic institutions in these states can mature. Democracy in the Middle East should conform to the culture, history and tradition of the region. In a recent interview with the BBC, Tariq Ramadan, the Islamic philosopher at Oxford University says that if democracy in the region has to succeed in the future, it is important not to follow the Western model blindly but it should based on innovation that premises on local values and progressive aspects of culture and tradition.

For the world outside, one of the best ways to help these young democracies will be to use the aid money to built modern education institutions and  help develop teachers training programme that acknowledges progressive education based on universal values. Such initiatives alone can guarantee peace and democracy in the region as well make the newly formed democratic institutions stronger in the long run.

Youth, Internet and the revolutions

There should be a feel good factor in the way social media has shaken the bedrock of global politics in the recent months. From the wiki leaks that embarrassed governments by tapping on diplomatic cables to the revolutionary demonstrations in the Middle East, these events have one common thread underlining them: the power of the internet to spark controversies and it's ability to mobilise large scale protests. Surprisingly, when it came to the protests in Tunisia the main stream media took time to get into grips with the situation, whilst hints of unrest was  already brewing on Twitter soon after Bouazizi ,the vegetable vendor, who later became an immortal face of the protests  set himself on fire.

The protests across the Middle East and North Africa have another powerful element to it. They are being lead by the youth, who are actively using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, blogs and You Tube to mobilise the crowd. At the peak of the revolution in Egypt, 87, 293  signed up the Facebook page “We are all Khalid Said”( Khalid Said, a 28-year-old Egyptian from the coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt, was tortured to death at the hands of two police officers became a symbol of the protestors). Later, Wael Ghonim, the Egyptian-born Google marketing executive, who first played a role in organising the opposition through Facebook, told the American audiences that without Facebook and Twitter their revolution "would never have happened".

The political developments in the Middle East indicates how the world is going to be shaped in the coming years as cyber savvy generation become more conscious of their political and social rights and take centre stage in making their voices heard on national and international issues.


Let’s look at the positive aspects. According to the CIA World Factbook, more than 1.7 billion people on earth today are between 15 and 30 years of age, with an average age of 28. This number of this Gen Y or Millennia generation, as it is known are set to grow phenomenally within the next few years. Clearly with further internet penetration and with more people becoming literate, the access to information for the vast majority of the people will be far greater than any point of time in human history.


These changes will structurally affect the way the governments and businesses communicate. For businesses and brands, marketing strategies will have to undergo a radical shift. Their messages have to be fragmented, based on understanding of the cultural dynamics of its targeted audience. For example, the outlook of a teenage girl in Shanghai and Paris using a Louis Vuitton can be similar, but the Chinese consumer has to be approached in ways that makes her see Louis Vuttion as something that fits into her realm of things. In other words, in a flat world, it will be bit tricky to imagine that nationalism or individualism will disappear. One to one communication will be the need of the day; brands would have to increasingly act as services.

At the political level, governments in democracies will have to become more transparent. In many ways, exchange of information, knowledge and solidarity on issues of global importance will be much stronger. It need not be based on a TV or radio show but based on communities on internet with much sophisticated tools. Most importantly, hypocrisy of leaders, organisations and others that tend to safeguarded the interests of despots and oppressors with murky business deals will be increasingly questioned.

Finally, as seen in Egypt, the internet can be a catalyst in a change. An illiterate man many not be able to use Facebook, but he can surely understand a video on Youtube. This clearly demonstrates that technology can be used in various ways for the benefit of the masses. Today, only 30 percent of the global population use internet, the figure will double in next few years. To make that happen it is the responsibility of the digital natives as they come to power to make policies and take actions to uplift the poor in the society. Technology in the 21st century should be used to create a fairer and a better world.