Wael Ghonim
Encyclopedia
Wael Ghonim (born 23 December 1980 in Cairo, Egypt) is an Internet activist
and computer engineer with an interest in social entrepreneurship
.
In 2011, he became an international figure and energized pro-democracy demonstrations in Egypt after his emotional interview following 11 days of secret incarceration by Egyptian police—during which he was interrogated regarding his work as the administrator of the Facebook page, "We are all Khaled Saeed", which helped spark the revolution. The TIME
magazine added him in its "Time 100
" list of 100 most influential people of 2011.
, Saudi Arabia until he was 13 years old, then he moved back to live in Cairo. In January 2010, Wael was promoted to "Head of Marketing" at Google in the Middle East & North Africa and moved to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates
.
He earned a BS
in computer engineering
from Cairo University
in 2004 and an MBA, with honors, in marketing and finance from the American University in Cairo
in 2007.
. Until 2005 he was Marketing and Sales Manager of Gawab
. In 2005, Wael left Gawab to establish Mubasher.info a pioneering financial portal in the region. Wael joined Google Middle East and North Africa
as their Regional Marketing Manager in 2008 based at Google Egypt.. In January 2010 Wael became Head of Marketing of Google Middle East and North Africa
based at Google's UAE office in Dubai Internet City
in Dubai
. During the Egyptian revolution of 2011 Wael took leave from Google to focus on his work in Egypt and the Middle East. He has also been a consultant on the development of the Egyptian e-government portal, and a participant in the ongoing political discussion after the resignation of Hosni Mubarak.
The page also organized interesting activities such as the Silent Stands and the Police Communication Campaign.
In January 2011, Ghonim persuaded Google to allow him to return to Egypt, citing a "personal problem". He came to Egypt to partake in the Egyptian Revolution but he disappeared on 27 January during the nationwide unrest in Egypt.
His family told Al-Arabiya and other international media that he was missing. Google
also issued a statement confirming the disappearance. Many bloggers like Chris DiBona
and Habib Haddad campaigned in an attempt to identify his whereabouts.
On 5 February 2011, Mostafa Alnagar, a major Egyptian opposition figure, reported that Wael Ghonim was alive and detained by the authorities and to be released 'within hours'. On 6 February 2011, Amnesty International
demanded that the Egyptian authorities disclose where Ghonim was and to release him.
On 7 February, Ghonim was released after 11 days in detention. Upon his release, he was greeted with cheers and applause when he stated: "We will not abandon our demand and that is the departure of the regime."
The same day, Ghonim appeared on the Egyptian channel DreamTV on the 10:00 pm programme hosted by Mona El-Shazly. In the interview he praised the protesters and mourned the dead as the host read their names and showed their pictures, eventually rising, "overwhelmed," and walking off camera. The host followed. In the interview, he also urged that they deserved attention more than he did, and calling for the end of the Mubarak
regime, describing it again as 'rubbish'. He also asserted his allegiance to Egypt, saying that he would never move to the United States
, the homeland of his wife. Becoming a symbol of the revolution in Egypt, Ghonim stated that he is "ready to die" for the cause.
At the end ..., he gathered himself for a few seconds and tried to make the most of the platform [El-Shazly] had given him. 'I want to tell every mother and every father who lost a child, I am sorry, but this is not our mistake,' he said. 'I swear to God, it’s not our mistake. It’s the mistake of every one of those in power who doesn’t want to let go of it.'"
On 9 February, Ghonim addressed the crowds in Tahrir Square, telling the protesters: "This is not the time for individuals, or parties, or movements. It's a time for all of us to say just one thing: Egypt above all."
Wael Ghonim also made an appearance on "60 Minutes
", sitting down with Harry Smith. During his interview he said:
The scholar Fouad Ajami
writes about the revolution:
," referring to the conservative activist who became a shorthand for populist outrage during the 2008 U.S. presidential election. "When I was coming here, a lot of people were criticizing me for it. The perception is that the IMF was part of the problem. It made these regimes survive and put these countries into debt." Ghonim said he had come to the IMF to represent "people like me who don't understand economics." To which Strauss-Kahn replied, "Wael, you understand a lot more than you say."
According to Ghonim, the kind of macroeconomic discussions at the panel were far from the mindset of activists in Tahrir Square:
He also took issue with Strauss-Kahn's characterization of "mistakes" made by the international community during the Mubarak era:
Ghonim continued his criticism of the IMF's aid to the Mubarak regime and expressed a hope that the days of Egypt relying on international aid would soon be over.
In May 2011 Ghonim said that he has signed "Revolution 2.0" book deal. All proceeds from the book will go the NGO he started in Egypt to fight poverty and provide education.
On 26 April, He arrived in New York to be honored at the 2011 Time 100 Gala ceremony where he begain his speech with a moment of silence to mark those killed in protests around the Arab world.
On 3 May,World Press Freedom Day, Wael Ghonim was awarded with the Press Freedom prize from the Swedish division of Reporters without Borders. http://sv.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wael_Ghonim&oldid=15047271
Wael Ghonim also received the JFK Profile in Courage Award. On 23 May, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, presented the awards to Elizabeth Redenbaugh and Wael Ghonim, who was named a recipient on behalf of “the people of Egypt.” Kennedy said she could think of no better recipients.
Wael Ghonim was ranked the second most powerful Arab in Arabian Business
's annual Power 500 of the world's most influential Arabs.
The magazine's annual report stated Ghonim as the primary contributor to the promotion and coordination of the movement of Egyptian youth through "Facebook", adding that Ghonim came to international fame via commercial news outlets word of mouth after his leadership of the Egyptian revolution. http://sv.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wael_Ghonim&oldid=15047271
From 18 May 2011, a major campaign on Twitter gained momentum with the hashtag #unfollowedghonimbecause, criticising Ghonim for various failings and an exaggerated focus on the Egyptian economy.
He has also been criticised for failing to publicly remedy doubts about the genesis of the We are all Khalid Said Facebook page, which is believed to have had at least one more initiator.
In response to the above criticism, some of Ghonim's supporters have launched a Facebook page, trying to declare him the spokesperson for the Egyptian revolutionaries - a role which, at any rate, Ghonim has consistently rejected. More than 400,000 people have joined the page. Moreover, more than 360,000 people joined his personal page on Facebook and more than 1,650,000 people joined "we are all khaled saeed" page,which is run by him and other administrators who continue to be anonymous.
Internet activism
Internet activism is the use of electronic communication technologies such as e-mail, the World Wide Web, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster communications by citizen movements and the delivery of local information to a large audience...
and computer engineer with an interest in social entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurship is the work of social entrepreneurs. A social entrepreneur recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create and manage a venture to achieve social change . While a business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, a...
.
In 2011, he became an international figure and energized pro-democracy demonstrations in Egypt after his emotional interview following 11 days of secret incarceration by Egyptian police—during which he was interrogated regarding his work as the administrator of the Facebook page, "We are all Khaled Saeed", which helped spark the revolution. The TIME
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
magazine added him in its "Time 100
Time 100
Time 100 is an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, as assembled by Time. First published in 1999 as a result of a debate among several academics, the list has become an annual event.-History and format:...
" list of 100 most influential people of 2011.
Background
Wael Ghonim was born to a middle-class family on 23 December 1980 in Cairo, Egypt and grew up in AbhaAbha
Abha is the capital of Asir province in Saudi Arabia. It is situated at 2,200 metres above sea level in the fertile mountains of south-western Saudi Arabia near the National Park of Asir. Its mild climate makes it a popular tourist destination for Saudis...
, Saudi Arabia until he was 13 years old, then he moved back to live in Cairo. In January 2010, Wael was promoted to "Head of Marketing" at Google in the Middle East & North Africa and moved to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.
He earned a BS
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in computer engineering
Computer engineering
Computer engineering, also called computer systems engineering, is a discipline that integrates several fields of electrical engineering and computer science required to develop computer systems. Computer engineers usually have training in electronic engineering, software design, and...
from Cairo University
Cairo University
Cairo University is a public university located in Giza, Egypt.The university was founded on December 21, 1908, as the result of an effort to establish a national center for educational thought...
in 2004 and an MBA, with honors, in marketing and finance from the American University in Cairo
American University in Cairo
The American University in Cairo is an independent, non-profit, apolitical, secular institution of higher learning located in Cairo, Egypt...
in 2007.
Career
From 1998–2002 Wael founded and managed one of the most visited websites in the Arab worldArab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
Gawab
Gawab.com is a Web-based email service provider in the Middle East region. A WHOIS lookup shows a registrant in Alexandria, Egypt. Established in 1999, Gawab is amongst a small group of email providers that provide single-page application webmail interface built on AJAX technology. The word "gawab"...
. In 2005, Wael left Gawab to establish Mubasher.info a pioneering financial portal in the region. Wael joined Google Middle East and North Africa
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
as their Regional Marketing Manager in 2008 based at Google Egypt.. In January 2010 Wael became Head of Marketing of Google Middle East and North Africa
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
based at Google's UAE office in Dubai Internet City
Dubai Internet City
Dubai Internet City is an information technology park created by the government of Dubai as a free economic zone and a strategic base for companies targeting regional emerging markets. The economic rules of DIC allow companies to avail themselves of a number of ownership, taxation and custom...
in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
. During the Egyptian revolution of 2011 Wael took leave from Google to focus on his work in Egypt and the Middle East. He has also been a consultant on the development of the Egyptian e-government portal, and a participant in the ongoing political discussion after the resignation of Hosni Mubarak.
Involvement in the Egyptian Revolution of 2011
In 2010, Wael Ghonim founded a Facebook page titled, "We Are All Khaled Said," supporting Khaled Said, a young Egyptian who was tortured to death by police in Alexandria. Wael Ghonim used this page in moving and integrating the anti-government protests of the 25th of Jan revolution.He first made an announcement on the page on the 14th of Jan asking members if they were going to plan on taking to the streets on 25th of Jan and do what Tunisia did? In less than 2 hours he published an event entitled: 25 يناير على التعذيب والفساد والظلم والبطالة [January 25: Revolution against Torture, Corruption, Unemployment and Injustice]. This was the first invitation and many others followed. He anonymously collaborated with activists on the ground to announce the locations for the protest.The page also organized interesting activities such as the Silent Stands and the Police Communication Campaign.
In January 2011, Ghonim persuaded Google to allow him to return to Egypt, citing a "personal problem". He came to Egypt to partake in the Egyptian Revolution but he disappeared on 27 January during the nationwide unrest in Egypt.
His family told Al-Arabiya and other international media that he was missing. Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
also issued a statement confirming the disappearance. Many bloggers like Chris DiBona
Chris DiBona
Chris DiBona is the open source and public sector engineering manager at Google. His team oversees license compliance and supports the open source developer community through programs such as the Google Summer of Code and through the release of open source software projects and patches on Google...
and Habib Haddad campaigned in an attempt to identify his whereabouts.
On 5 February 2011, Mostafa Alnagar, a major Egyptian opposition figure, reported that Wael Ghonim was alive and detained by the authorities and to be released 'within hours'. On 6 February 2011, Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
demanded that the Egyptian authorities disclose where Ghonim was and to release him.
On 7 February, Ghonim was released after 11 days in detention. Upon his release, he was greeted with cheers and applause when he stated: "We will not abandon our demand and that is the departure of the regime."
The same day, Ghonim appeared on the Egyptian channel DreamTV on the 10:00 pm programme hosted by Mona El-Shazly. In the interview he praised the protesters and mourned the dead as the host read their names and showed their pictures, eventually rising, "overwhelmed," and walking off camera. The host followed. In the interview, he also urged that they deserved attention more than he did, and calling for the end of the Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
regime, describing it again as 'rubbish'. He also asserted his allegiance to Egypt, saying that he would never move to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the homeland of his wife. Becoming a symbol of the revolution in Egypt, Ghonim stated that he is "ready to die" for the cause.
At the end ..., he gathered himself for a few seconds and tried to make the most of the platform [El-Shazly] had given him. 'I want to tell every mother and every father who lost a child, I am sorry, but this is not our mistake,' he said. 'I swear to God, it’s not our mistake. It’s the mistake of every one of those in power who doesn’t want to let go of it.'"
On 9 February, Ghonim addressed the crowds in Tahrir Square, telling the protesters: "This is not the time for individuals, or parties, or movements. It's a time for all of us to say just one thing: Egypt above all."
Wael Ghonim also made an appearance on "60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
", sitting down with Harry Smith. During his interview he said:
"Our revolution is like WikipediaWikipediaWikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
, okay? Everyone is contributing content, [but] you don't know the names of the people contributing the content. This is exactly what happened. Revolution 2.0 in Egypt was exactly the same. Everyone contributing small pieces, bits and pieces. We drew this whole picture of a revolution. And no one is the hero in that picture."
The scholar Fouad Ajami
Fouad Ajami
Fouad A. Ajami , is a MacArthur Fellowship winning, Lebanese-born American university professor and writer on Middle Eastern issues. He is currently a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution....
writes about the revolution:
"No turbaned ayatollah had stepped forth to summon the crowd. This was not Iran in 1979. A young Google executive, Wael Ghonim, had energized this protest when it might have lost heart, when it could have succumbed to the belief that this regime and its leader were a big, immovable object. Mr. Ghonim was a man of the modern world. He was not driven by piety. The condition of his country—the abject poverty, the crony economy of plunder and corruption, the cruelties and slights handed out to Egyptians in all walks of life by a police state that the people had outgrown and despaired of—had given this young man and others like him their historical warrant."
International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting
Wael Ghonim attended the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting this year, stating that "I feel like Joe the PlumberJoe the Plumber
Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher , is a conservative activist, author, and commentator. A resident of Holland, Ohio, United States, he gained significant attention during the 2008 U.S. presidential election after he was videotaped questioning then-Democratic candidate Barack Obama about his small...
," referring to the conservative activist who became a shorthand for populist outrage during the 2008 U.S. presidential election. "When I was coming here, a lot of people were criticizing me for it. The perception is that the IMF was part of the problem. It made these regimes survive and put these countries into debt." Ghonim said he had come to the IMF to represent "people like me who don't understand economics." To which Strauss-Kahn replied, "Wael, you understand a lot more than you say."
According to Ghonim, the kind of macroeconomic discussions at the panel were far from the mindset of activists in Tahrir Square:
" Honestly we were just thinking of how to get rid of the nightmare, not to start dreaming. I went to the street because of two things: I hate it when I see people eating from the trash. I work for a corporation, I'm well paid, and a lot of us just sympathized with those people, but they're not willing to pay the price of really helping them out. It's not just me; it's thousands of Egyptians. One of my friends who lost his eye [during the protests] actually drives a Ferrari. He went on the day of 25th. The second was dignity. We wanted our dignity back. And dignity does have an economic aspect. "
He also took issue with Strauss-Kahn's characterization of "mistakes" made by the international community during the Mubarak era:
" It's such an understatement to say mistake. To me, what was happening was a crime. The way the international community was dealing with the injustice and dictators in the region was basically a crime -- partners in crime. "
Ghonim continued his criticism of the IMF's aid to the Mubarak regime and expressed a hope that the days of Egypt relying on international aid would soon be over.
Role after the revolution
In April 2011 Ghonim announce he was taking a "long term sabbatical" from Google in order to start a "technology focused NGO to help fight poverty & foster education in Egypt."In May 2011 Ghonim said that he has signed "Revolution 2.0" book deal. All proceeds from the book will go the NGO he started in Egypt to fight poverty and provide education.
Awards
Wael Ghonim topped Time magazine’s yearly list of the world’s 100 most influential people.On 26 April, He arrived in New York to be honored at the 2011 Time 100 Gala ceremony where he begain his speech with a moment of silence to mark those killed in protests around the Arab world.
On 3 May,World Press Freedom Day, Wael Ghonim was awarded with the Press Freedom prize from the Swedish division of Reporters without Borders. http://sv.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wael_Ghonim&oldid=15047271
Wael Ghonim also received the JFK Profile in Courage Award. On 23 May, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, presented the awards to Elizabeth Redenbaugh and Wael Ghonim, who was named a recipient on behalf of “the people of Egypt.” Kennedy said she could think of no better recipients.
Wael Ghonim was ranked the second most powerful Arab in Arabian Business
Arabian Business
Arabian Business is the Middle East's best selling weekly business magazine. The magazine focuses on the English and Arabic speaking communities and is published in both languages.-Arabian Business:Arabian Business is audited by BPA Worldwide...
's annual Power 500 of the world's most influential Arabs.
The magazine's annual report stated Ghonim as the primary contributor to the promotion and coordination of the movement of Egyptian youth through "Facebook", adding that Ghonim came to international fame via commercial news outlets word of mouth after his leadership of the Egyptian revolution. http://sv.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wael_Ghonim&oldid=15047271
Criticism
Ghonim's social media feeds and public statements have been attracting increasing criticism. Shortly before the resignation of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Ghonim presented a deal to the Egyptian people according to which Mubarak could have remained in Cairo with an "honorary status." He later appeared on Al Arabiya TV to deny having said this, and added: "I am stronger than Hosni Mubarak. I am stronger than Omar Sulaiman."From 18 May 2011, a major campaign on Twitter gained momentum with the hashtag #unfollowedghonimbecause, criticising Ghonim for various failings and an exaggerated focus on the Egyptian economy.
He has also been criticised for failing to publicly remedy doubts about the genesis of the We are all Khalid Said Facebook page, which is believed to have had at least one more initiator.
In response to the above criticism, some of Ghonim's supporters have launched a Facebook page, trying to declare him the spokesperson for the Egyptian revolutionaries - a role which, at any rate, Ghonim has consistently rejected. More than 400,000 people have joined the page. Moreover, more than 360,000 people joined his personal page on Facebook and more than 1,650,000 people joined "we are all khaled saeed" page,which is run by him and other administrators who continue to be anonymous.
Personal life
Ghonim is married to an American Muslim -Ilka Johannson- and has two children, Israa and Adam.See also
- April 6 Youth MovementApril 6 Youth MovementThe April 6 Youth Movement is an Egyptian Facebook group started in Spring 2008 to support the workers in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, an industrial town, who were planning to strike on April 6....
- Asmaa MahfouzAsmaa MahfouzAsmaa Mahfouz is an Egyptian activist and one of the founders of the April 6 Youth Movement. She has been credited by journalist Mona Eltahawy and others with helping to spark mass uprising through her video blog posted one week before the start of the 2011 Egyptian revolution...
- Death of Khaled Mohamed SaeedDeath of Khaled Mohamed SaeedDuring an interview with the opposition party, El-Ghad's, newspaper, Mosbah described, "They dragged him to the adjacent building and banged his head against an iron door, the steps of the staircase and walls of the building...Two doctors happened to be there and tried in vain to revive him but ...
- Wael Abbas
External links
- Wael Ghonim LIVE at India Today Conclave on 19th March 2011 at 12:15pm IST India Today Conclave
- We Are All Khaled Said blog
- Wael Ghonim on LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a business-related social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. , LinkedIn reports more than 120 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. The site is available in English, French,...
- Profile: Egypt's Wael Ghonim, BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 8 February 2011 - Detention of Wael Ghonim(?), YouTube
- Photos of Wael Ghonim and information concerning his disappearance
- Wael Ghonim on His Release After 12 Days in Egyptian Jail, Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
, February 8, 2011 - Wael Ghonim reacts on CNN to Omar Soliman's ABC Interview, YouTube
- CBS "60 Minutes" Talks To The Man Who Has Emerged As The Symbol of Egypt's Revolution, 11min, February 13, 2011
- his favorite song (Wael: "The most amazing song for the revolution")
- The Egyptian Internet Activist Wael Ghonim: The Face of the Egyptian Protest Movement Qantara.de
- Wael Ghonim: Inside the Egyptian revolution, talk at TED conference March 2011
- Wael, one of "TIME 100" people 2011: 5min speech at the gala, and: honoured from M.ElBaradei and short statement