Gathering Storm

6 www.digitaldaya.com Gamal Mubarak is well-versed in Western ways having attended St. George’s College in Cairo, before entering American University in Cairo where he earned his business degrees. After graduation, Gamal Mubarak was employed by Bank of America’s Egyptian operation before being transferred to the London branch. The young banker quickly rose to prominence for his performance in investment banking. Subsequently, this youngest son of Hosni Mubarak managed a private equity fund to undertake high- level financial consultation. Gamal is also the Chairperson of the Future Generation Foundation (FGF), a non-government agency with a mission of training young people for employment. He’s also an honorary member of the business-service organization,Rotary International. His professional biography clearly paints a picture of a man whose principles are firmly based in the Western concept of free markets and financial investment.He is a progressive thinker with strong ties to the West, indicated by his extensive use of web-based interconnectivity. Gamal Mubarak is typical of the Middle East leader of tomorrow – a leader who is open to engagement with the West and who moves with ease among powerful Western interests. His activities on the W3 further demonstrate the man’s desire to reach out and communicate with Egyptians and non- Egyptians on a broad array of topics. To engage this future leader,one can visit his Gamal Mubarak’s Facebook page or his Sharek Facebook page. As of this writing, Gamal has a growing following on social media sites with 18,000 fans on multiple Facebook accounts alone. The website, www.menassat.com, had this to say about the younger Mubarak: “In what looks like a clear bid to boost his presidential campaigning efforts and credibility among Egypt’s youth, Gamal Mubarak or “Jimmy” as he goes by locally, has launched his own Facebook site and his very own online discussion forum for young Egyptians, “Sharek,” which means” participate” in Arabic, in collaboration with the General Secretary of the Policy Committee of the National Democratic Party (NDP). The open forum,which goes by the slogan“open dialogue for the Egyptian youth with Gamal Mubarak,” invites young Egyptians to send in their questions and participate in discussions with the man who might be leading their country in the near future. Gamal discusses topics such as the challenges and opportunities faced by today’s youth with show participants. Sharek is being heavily advertised on various social media outlets and viewers can currently follow the show via Facebook and RSS. Soon, fans will also be able to view episodes on Sharek’s own YouTube channel and access photos from the program via the photo-sharing site Flickr.” Gamal’s forum is open and transparent, covering topics of concern to Egyptians from all segments of society. The forum has addressed such issues as Egypt’s rate of inflation (high), difficult and sub- standard living conditions, corruption, National Democratic party corruption and Gamal Mubarak’s presumed ascension to power in the future. Mubarak’s outreach to,what is presumed to be his future constituents, is a model of the integration of social media and politics in a meaningful, even personal, manner. However, Mubarak’s opposition has also taken to the world wide web. Mohamed ElBaradei heads the opposition in Egypt opposed to Gamal Mubarak with a solid measure of growing popularity. The principle of presidency by succession has propelled ElBaradei to the forefront of Egyptian politics. Mohamed brings international experience to the table, serving as former UN Nuclear Chief, which brought him into close contact with the Western scientific and political communities. Indeed, Elbaradei enjoys international support, in part because of his engagement with the West during his years at the UN and through his efforts to put forth his message through social media including maintaining a Facebook page,aTwitter account and uploads of speeches and interviews to YouTube, putting a face to the politics. Facebook: A Platform for 21st Century Politics Winning Hearts and Minds on the World Wide Web