David Wolman discusses young activists in Egypt

On Jan. 19, David Wolman contributing editor to Wired magazine, presented his new book The Instigators about Egypt’s youth activists at the Liberation Technology Seminar Series. Wolman tracks the story of a few young activists in Egypt whose efforts turned significant a year later in Egypt’s revolution. The book presents a detailed account of the April 6 movement and the founders of the Facebook page, “We are all Khaled Said” and their use of online tools in Egypt’s revolution.

Wolman made his first visit to Egypt when the movement was small and the protests led by the April 6 movement garnered only a few supporters. He then tracked how the movement gathered steam particularly with the use of online tools. The talk was a vivid account of how the Internet was used to reach young people and convert the collective anger into action. Wolman touched on how those who were tech-savvy combined forces with those who had the experience of mobilization in the lead up to the revolution.