This presentation was presented during international seminar "Youth for Arab Baltic Cooperation" that was held in Vilnius, Lithuania on 19th-25th of November.

3. Social media tools have continued to grow in
popularity throughout the first quarter of 2011.
Facebook and Twitter, for example, have expanded
their user base and platforms significantly.
Facebook has over 677 million users as of April
(with the Middle East constituting one of the
regions that contributed the largest amount of new
users) Its mobile users have exceeded 250 million
subscribers.
Twitter users also exceeded 200 million users at
the end of March.Collectively, these 200 million
users tweet about 4 billion tweets a month.

4. The first three months of 2011 saw what can only be termed a
substantial shift in the Arab world’s usage of social media
towards online social and civil mobilization online, whether by
citizens — to organize demonstrations (both pro- and anti-
government), disseminate information within their networks, and
raise awareness of ongoing events locally and globally – or by
governments, in some cases to engage with citizens and
encourage their participation in government processes,
while in other cases to block access to websites and monitor and
control information on these sites.
Figures 1, 2 and 3 illustrate the Internet blackouts in several Arab
countries during first quarter of 2011.Egypt’s blackout lasted for
five days, from January 28 – February 2. Meanwhile, Libya - at
the time of accessing the site (April 20, 2011) - still seemed to
be suffering from low Internet access and reduced traffic.
Conversely, in the case of Syria, with the lift of the ban on social
media websites by the government on February 7, YouTube and
other social media traffic increased significantly.

8. Figure 4 shows some highlights of the first quarter of 2011
in both citizens’ and governments’ use of social media. The
former includes an example of the innovation that emerges
in times of crisis. The latter ranges from the Egyptian military
council creating Facebook pages to engage with their
constituents, to Syria unblocking access to previously
restricted
social networking sites.
Moreover, it is not just governments and citizens that are
wrestling with the new political uses of social media. The
social media companies themselves are facing a dilemma
when it comes to addressing this kind of usage, the
implications it may have, and how to maintain the neutrality
of these sites without infringing upon their users’ freedom of
speech. As Figure 4 shows, Facebook had to contend with the
backlash from the Israeli government surrounding the ―Third
Palestinian Intifada‖ page before eventually taking it down at
the end of March. The page was recreated two days
later, and as of mid-April has close to 170,000 ―likes.‖

11. This is not to say that there was a causal relationship, or that
the Facebook pages were the defining or only factor in people
organizing themselves on these dates, but as the initial
platform for these calls, it cannot be denied that they were a
factor in mobilizing movements.
However, given the small Facebook penetration in most of
these countries (notably Syria and Yemen), it can be argued
that for many protestors these tools were not central. It can
also be argued that Facebook was an instrumental tool for a
core number of activists who then mobilized wider networks
through other platforms or through traditional real-life
networks of strong ties. Egypt, for example, has a relatively
low penetration rate of 5.5%, but given its large
population, that translates into around 6 million Facebook
users, who in turn are connected to a much larger number of
social contacts who can be influenced by information from
those with Facebook accounts.

13. Conversely, the protests themselves seem to have led to a rise in
number of Facebook users in the region. The countries
where protests occurred have all shown a positive growth rate,
except for Libya, which could be explained by the number of
expatriate workers leaving or switching Facebook locations.
Moreover, as Figure 6 illustrates, by comparing the growth
rate for each country during and following the protests to a similar
period just preceding the protests, we notice that the
growth rates have doubled and even tripled in some countries.
The numbers themselves do not illustrate the type of usage, of
course. Some usage may be political, with other usage
purely social and not entirely related to the civil movements at the
time. But the exponential growth in the number of
Facebook users coinciding with the protests in each country does
indicate the need for further research to explore the
possible correlation.

14. As a first step in taking a closer look at the
usage of Facebook during the protests and civil
movements, the Governance
and Innovation program at the Dubai School of
Government conducted a survey that was
distributed through Facebook’s targeted
advertising platform to all Facebook users in
Tunisia and Egypt.
The survey ran for three weeks in March 2011,
and was conducted in Arabic, English and French.
There were 126 respondents from Egypt and 105
from Tunisia.

15. In both countries, Facebook users were of the
opinion that Facebook had been used
primarily to raise awareness within their
countries about the ongoing civil movements
(31% in both Tunisia and Egypt), spread
information to the world about the
movements (33% and 24% in Tunisia and
Egypt respectively), and organize activists and
actions (22% and 30% in Tunisia and Egypt
respectively). Less than 15% in either country
believed Facebook was primarily being used
for entertainment or social reasons

17. The majority (at almost 60%) of Facebook
users in each country felt that the main
impact of blocking the Internet was a
positive one for the social
movements, spurring people to be more
active, decisive and to find ways to be more
creative
about communicating and organizing
(see Figure 8).

19. In Tunisia, the primary language of use was
split almost evenly between Arabic and
French, while in Egypt 75% mainly
used Arabic and the remaining 25% used
English while communicating on Facebook.
(Figure 9).

21. When it came to politicians’ use of social
media, Tunisia and Egypt diverge slightly. As
Figure 10 illustrates, a significant
majority of Facebook users in Egypt (71%)
would rather vote for a candidate that
engages with citizens through social
media tools, whereas only 47% of Facebook
users in Tunisia would.

24. Not surprisingly, given that the survey is
conducted among Facebook users, social
media figured highly in both countries as a
source of information during the civil
movements (94% of people in Tunisia said
they got their news from these tools, while
88% of people in Egypt did). Both countries
also relied the least on state-sponsored
media for their information (at 40% and 36%
of people in Tunisia and Egypt respectively).
More Egyptians relied on local media than
they did on regional or international
media, while the reverse was true in Tunisia.

25. This edition of the Arab Social Media Report focuses
both on Facebook and Twitter usage in the Arab
region.
This section, specifically, provides an update on
Facebook usage during the first quarter of 2011,
continuing from the last report, which provided an
overview of Facebook users through 2010. As such,
the number of Facebook users in all 22 Arab
countries, in addition to Iran, Israel and Turkey, was
collected periodically between January and April
2011, in the following age brackets — youth (15-29),
and adults (30 and over) — as well as by gender.
Below are the key findings:

27. The populations for the Arab world used in this
report were compiled from the United Nations
ILO Department of Statistics.
All of the figures in international reports conflict
with more recent official GCC population
numbers. Replacing some of the population
figures with more recent figures from National
Statistics Office (specifically for the GCC
countries) drastically changes the Facebook
penetration rates within the GCC (see Table 1
and Figure 12). These official population figures
are acknowledged as the more accurate data, but
ILO numbers were used to ensure consistency
across the Arab region.

30. Moreover, when comparing the uptake of Facebook in Arab
countries with that in some of the ―Top 10― countries (in
terms of Facebook penetration worldwide), several Arab
countries still outpace the Top 10 in terms of new users acquired
throughout the first quarter of 2011, as percentage of
population.
At the beginning of April 2011, eight Arab countries had
acquired more Facebook users (as a percentage of population)
than the US, one of the highest ranking countries in the world in
terms of Facebook penetration. In comparison, Turkey has also
acquired a large number of new Facebook users (both as a
percentage of population, and in terms of actual numbers), and
has outpaced a lot of the Arab countries (Figure 13). With over
3.6 million new Facebook users signing up between January and
April 2011, Turkey has acquired almost double the number of
Facebook users that Egypt has over the same period (1.95
million) (Figure 14).

33. On a regional level , the Arab countries
can be divided into three groups
according to their rates of Facebook
penetration (Figure 15).

38. The demographic breakdown of Facebook users
indicates that they are a youthful group. Youth
(between the ages of 15
and 29) make up around 70% of Facebook users in
the Arab region, indicating a slight increase in
the number of users over
30 years old since the end of 2010. Moreover, the
UAE is still the most balanced in terms of adult
and youthful Facebook
users, while countries such as Somalia, Palestine
and Morocco persist in having a predominantly
youthful Facebook user
population (see Figure 17).

40. The gender breakdown of Facebook users
shows a slight increase in the percentage of
female users, rising from 32% at
the end of 2010 to 33.5% in the first quarter of
2011. This is still significantly lower than the
global trend, where women
constitute 61% of Facebook users15
(see Figure 18).

43. In terms of Facebook usage, Lebanon is
still the most gender-balanced of the
Arab countries, followed closely by
Bahrain, Tunisia and Jordan, while at the
other end of the spectrum Facebook
users in Somalia and Yemen are
overwhelmingly male.

44. Facebook users across the Arab region
also vary in their preference of language
interface. Table 2 and Figure 19
highlight the three main languages used
on Facebook in the region
(Arabic, English and French) and the
percentage of Facebookusers that prefer
to use each language interface.

54. In the context of Egypt,
• the majority of the silent Egyptians have been
inactive
and afraid when it comes to Human Rights
violations
practiced by the state against some fellow citizens.
• Less privileged people are denied some rights
like
decent jobs, housing, clean water, etc.
• It also refers to the way police deals with less
privileged
and not connected people or individuals subject to
investigations in the police stations.

55. Human Rights Watch in its report issued in 2001
stated that the Human Rights challenges in
Egypt are shaped by the continuation of apply
the emergency law since October 1981 after the
assassination of president Sadat. It added that
the return of political violence in the early 1990s
made the government put laws that allowed
security and intelligence organizations to act
without legal constrains.

56. the president’s statements in almost all his
speeches to
the Annual conference of the ruling National
Democratic
Party NDP had always the terms ―Social justice‖ and
―economic growth‖ repeated. In one of the news
pieces
of Egypt News website on Nov. 2nd 2008, the title
was;
―Mubarak: Egypt concerns of Economic
growth, social
justice

57. • 6th of April movement; succeeded in influencing a public
strike
on the same date in 2008
• It was not them alone, people were also afraid to go out to
work
that day
• Passive or active reactions alike were extremely important
to the
small step that made Egyptians think different even for a day
• They were able to think different by just being informed
that
such strikes were not impossible.
• Of course reach such a point needed preparation work and
extensive mobilization of youth forces and this happened
online
for most part as well as on the ground.

58. • In the year 2010, the momentum significantly changed by the emerging
of ―Khaled Said’s‖ case in Alexandria where an average young man was
beaten up in the middle of Egypt’s second largest city street.
• It was truly different approach to political activism that was new to the
Egyptians.
• Khaled Said was an ordinary man from Middle class family.
•He was subject to regular security practices of torture
•His case was documented and advocated for within days
•Actual/physical protests were organized in unique and creative way
•It maintained the highest number of subscribers to a single Egyptian
facebook group.
•It was a platform for different political mobilization since June 2010.
•It was one of the key online tools that participated in organizing the
Egyptian revolution*.

59. • ―The Facebook page set up around his
death offered Egyptians a rare forum to
bond over their outrage about
government abuses‖
Jennifer Preston New York Times

60. •The continuation of protests in different days in
the style of
silent standing –mainly- young people by the
cornice in
Alexandria (as an example) facing the sea, dressed
in black,
reading something, five meters apart from the next
protestor
and holding no political statement or act was a
very strong way
to show the power of well organized peaceful
protests.

61. •Youtube was another key tool in the process where people
organized different standing protest around the
world, where
families, students, faculty, workers stood in solidarity with
Khaled Said.
•People from around the world captured those protests and
posted them as videos on youtube.
• These videos were shared on ―Khaled Said‖ page on
facebook
and were a strong tool of solidarity.
•These small and medium size protests (sometimes they
were
only one person) of people holding a sign saying ―we are all
Khaled Said‖ were shared widely on facebook and on email
creating more momentum and enthusiasm among activists.

62. •Such communities and groups’ activism base
was built on the
legacy and efforts done by the different
opposition movements
to the authoritarian regime of Mubarak that
started with
―Kefaya‖ movement, syndicates
demonstrations, and workers
protests.

71.  The Arab Spring is a revolutionary wave of
demonstrations and protests occurring in the
Arab world that began on December 18, 2010
 They have protested in
Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and
Oman, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Saudi
Arabia, Sudan and Western Sahara

72.  The Arab Spring is known by many names
here are some of them:
- The Arab Spring and Winter
- Arab Awakening
-Arab Uprising

73.  Not all participants are Arab
 First protest was held in Tunisia on December
18, 2010, which ultimately led to the ouster
of Ben Ali.
 As of November 2011 Three governments
have been over thrown

74.  Dictatorship  Education Factors
 Absolute monarchy  Famine
 Human rights
violations
 Government
corruption
 economic decline
 unemployment
 extreme poverty

75.  These are some of the actions that take place
after the protests:
 Living standards
 Literacy rates
 Increased availability of higher education
 Human development index
 Better understanding between government
and the people

76.  It is unknown as to who was the person who
started the Arab Spring
◦ However, Al-Najma Zidjaly, a professor of Oman
thinks that a large contribution is made by the new
―Internet-savvy youth‖ young people that want to
see a change in their countries in the forms of more
opportunities for education as well as a change in
the overall state of conditions. He refers to this as
youth quake.

77.  The key countries affected by the spread of
protests include
Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen.
 Overall the use of the social media helped aid
in the spread of the news of the protests as
well as ways to inspire others from all over
the world to join in virtually through the
media if they were unable to in real life.

78.  Government had a low tolerance level for the
protesters in Tunisia.
 Sites like Twitter and Facebook helped
support and organize these protests.
 The younger generation are more internet
literate and for that alone, they have the
upper hand.

79.  The Tunisian government has done whatever
they could to block these sites to the public.
 The government blocks sites through the use
of malicious malware to steal private
usernames and passwords of the users of
these sites.
 The protesters have been quick to mock the
government's efforts to stifle them -- with
slogans like "Free From 404" [internet
language for 'file not found']

80.  The use of social media in Egypt, greatly
aided in the acceleration of the protests
before they were blocked.
 If it wasn’t for the social media, a lot less
would be aware of the events going on or
have enough courage to participate.

81.  The narrative of a situation has a great effect on
inspiring our thoughts and decisions.
 For example there were instances of making the
protesters seem horrible, so that the police have
an excuse to clamp down on them.
 a New York-based Egyptian blogger interviewed
by CNN, suggested as much. She ―appealed to
the media to not fall for what she described as a
Mubarak regime plot to make the protests in
Egypt seem like dangerous anarchy.‖
 The narrative was reset. Soon thereafter, CNN
changed its on-screen headlines from ―CHAOS IN
EGYPT‖ to ―UPRISING IN EGYPT.‖

82.  In Libya, Al-Jamahiriya, the Libyan state-
owned television channel, was broadcasting
nonstop patriotic songs, poetry recitations
and rowdy rallies supporting Libyan leader,
Col. El-Gaddafi.
 However, despite Gaddafi’s attempts to
influence the public opinion to support his
rule, his powers only went downhill as he lost
control of Tripoli.

83.  During the Battle of Tripoli, Gaddafi
continued to broadcast through the radio to
help inspire his supporters to crush the
rebels.
 With the help of airstrikes by both the US and
the French, Gaddafi was eventually tracked
down in his hometown of Sirte.
 Videos and pictures of Gaddafi’s capture and
death showed grim and what seemed of him
being shot multiple times and abused up till
his death.

84.  Syrian government has been doing what they
could to crack down on the use of social media
 Supporters of President Bashar al-Assad, calling
themselves the Syrian Electronic Army.
 In contrast to the Mubarak government in
Egypt, which tried to quash dissent by shutting
down the country’s entire Internet, the Syrian
government is taking a more strategic
approach, turning off electricity and telephone
service in neighborhoods with the most
unrest, activists say.

85.  ―They are using these tactics to cut off
communication for the people,‖ said Dr.
Radwan Ziadeh director of the Damascus
Center for Human Rights Studies.
 This instance has shown how the use of
social media hasn’t only helped spread and
organize these protests, but it has also
helped government monitor activities and
stop them in their path. It brings about risks
to its dissidents as well.

86.  Leader Saleh has brought a lot of corruption
to Yemen
 With the lack of democratic reform and the
abuse of human rights.
 The protests became so chaotic, it led to an
attempted assasination where Saleh was
injured by the shrapnel resulting from an RPG
attack.

87.  When Saleh returned to his place, many were
angered.
 The news of his return spread through social
media like wild fire.
 Due to the increased turmoil and increase in
violence, Saleh said on October 8, 2011, in
comments broadcast on Yemeni state television,
that he would step down "in the coming days".
The opposition expressed skepticism, however,
and a government minister said Saleh meant that
he would leave power under the framework of a
Gulf Cooperation Council initiative to transition
toward democracy.