Gigi Ibrahim
Encyclopedia
Gihan "Gigi" Ibrahim is an Egyptian
journalist
, blogger
and socialist
activist. She has been credited as being a part of a new generation of "citizen journalists" who document news events using social media
. For this she was featured on a cover of Time
magazine as "one of the leaders" of Tahrir Square during the Egyptian Revolution in 2011. Ibrahim however states, that while the internet was important for coordinating people in the ousting of President
Hosni Mubarak
, "it was the battles on the streets that were crucial... It was their power that made the revolution."
She is a graduate from the American University in Cairo
where she earned a political science degree. Prior to university, Gigi has had no direct links to the workers protests and opposition movements that had previously been occurring in Egypt. It was a class on "Social Mobilization under Authoritarian Regimes", lectured by Hossam el-Hamalawy
, that provided her with insight about activism in Egypt. The contact with el-Hamalawy, a member of the Revolutionary Socialists
, led her to decide to join the movement.
Aside from Time, she has also appeared in Frontline, BBC
, Al Jazeera
and the Daily Show.
Gigi was featured in a documentary by award-winning journalist Inigo Gilmore. This production, following her from the earliest days of the revolution, looks at her life not just in Tahrir Square, but also at home, commenting on the reserved view many upper middle class Egyptians initially took against the revolution. The documentary "Gigi's revolution" was aired on the PBS
Network in the USA.
She is critical of other Egyptian youth activists such as Wael Ghonim
, who called on protesters to go home after Mubarak had ceded some power but refused to step down as President.
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, blogger
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
and socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
activist. She has been credited as being a part of a new generation of "citizen journalists" who document news events using social media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
. For this she was featured on a cover of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine as "one of the leaders" of Tahrir Square during the Egyptian Revolution in 2011. Ibrahim however states, that while the internet was important for coordinating people in the ousting of President
President of Egypt
The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt is the head of state of Egypt.Under the Constitution of Egypt, the president is also the supreme commander of the armed forces and head of the executive branch of the Egyptian government....
Hosni 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....
, "it was the battles on the streets that were crucial... It was their power that made the revolution."
She is a graduate 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...
where she earned a political science degree. Prior to university, Gigi has had no direct links to the workers protests and opposition movements that had previously been occurring in Egypt. It was a class on "Social Mobilization under Authoritarian Regimes", lectured by Hossam el-Hamalawy
Hossam el-Hamalawy
Hossam el-Hamalawy is an Egyptian journalist, blogger, photographer and socialist activist. He is a member of the Revolutionary Socialists, the Center for Socialist Studiesand the Workers Democratic Party.- Early life and career :...
, that provided her with insight about activism in Egypt. The contact with el-Hamalawy, a member of the Revolutionary Socialists
Revolutionary Socialists (Egypt)
The Revolutionary Socialists are a Trotskyist organisation in Egypt aligned with the International Socialist Tendency. According to Mark LeVine, a professor of history at the University of California, the RS "played a crucial role organising Tahrir and now in the workers movement" post-President...
, led her to decide to join the movement.
Aside from Time, she has also appeared in Frontline, BBC
BBC News
BBC 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...
, Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
and the Daily Show.
Gigi was featured in a documentary by award-winning journalist Inigo Gilmore. This production, following her from the earliest days of the revolution, looks at her life not just in Tahrir Square, but also at home, commenting on the reserved view many upper middle class Egyptians initially took against the revolution. The documentary "Gigi's revolution" was aired on the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
Network in the USA.
She is critical of other Egyptian youth activists such as Wael Ghonim
Wael Ghonim
Wael Ghonim is an Internet activist and computer engineer with an interest in social entrepreneurship....
, who called on protesters to go home after Mubarak had ceded some power but refused to step down as President.
See also
- Revolutionary SocialistsRevolutionary Socialists (Egypt)The Revolutionary Socialists are a Trotskyist organisation in Egypt aligned with the International Socialist Tendency. According to Mark LeVine, a professor of history at the University of California, the RS "played a crucial role organising Tahrir and now in the workers movement" post-President...
- Hossam el-HamalawyHossam el-HamalawyHossam el-Hamalawy is an Egyptian journalist, blogger, photographer and socialist activist. He is a member of the Revolutionary Socialists, the Center for Socialist Studiesand the Workers Democratic Party.- Early life and career :...
(3arabawy) - 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...
- Israa Abdel FattahIsraa Abdel FattahEsraa Abdel Fatah is an Egyptian internet activist and blogger.Esraa worked as a human resources administrator, when she co-founded April 6 Youth Movement Egypt in 2008, a Facebook group that was made to support the workers in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, an industrial town, who were planning to...
External links
- Gigi's Revolution by Inigo Gilmore
- Gigi Ibrahim's blog
- Gigi Ibrahim on Al JazeeraAl JazeeraAl Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
- Gigi Ibrahim's interview on The Daily ShowThe Daily ShowThe Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
- Gigi's Revolution by Inigo Gilmore on Public Broadcasting ServicePublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
- Fear No More: Power of the People interview by Phil England in New InternationalistNew InternationalistNew Internationalist is a magazine from New Internationalist Publications, a co-operative-run publisher based in Oxford, England. It has editorial and sales offices in Toronto, Canada; Adelaide, Australia; Christchurch, New Zealand; and New York, USA....