Egyptian Youth Use Multimedia to Engage Citizens

Part of InternewsNext, a series highlighting 30 youth-led media initiatives.

An Internews project works inside Egyptian universities to build citizenship clubs and teach practical multimedia techniques to address community issues. (credit: Internews)

Yasmine Amin, a young journalist in Aswan, Egypt, established a public campaign using social media tools to address discrimination against women and tribal power in elections.

“The winds of the Tahrir Revolution have not been felt strongly in Aswan,” said Amin, whose campaign grew out of a workshop as part of Internews’ “Partners II: Media and Youth for Community Participation” project.

The project works inside Egyptian universities to build citizenship clubs and teach practical multimedia techniques to address community issues. The aim is increased awareness, participation, and understanding of citizenship among students attending six of the country’s universities.

“Through my work in the citizenship club, I discovered that I am skilled in writing and editing and this enabled me to start working at The Egyptian Truth newspaper,” said Basant Elsayed, a senior in the College of Arts & Media at Alexandria University, who also attended an Internews workshop and said he gained multiple opportunities through his experience.

The young Egyptians involved in the civic education program said their experiences shaped the way they see themselves as active members of Egyptian civil society. “I can use the field I love, media, to serve my community,” said Israa Hayman, of Alexandria.