arab spring 2011: the role of public spaces and digital spaces

ARAB SPRINGThe role of Public Spaces and Digital Spaces in the Arab Spring 2011

THE ARAB SPRINGThe democratic uprisings that arose independently and spread across the Arab world in 2011.

Originated in Tunisia in December 2010 and quickly took hold in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.

PUBLIC SPACES

Bourguiba AvenueTunis, Tunisia

Tahrir SquareCairo, Egypt

Pearl RoundaboutManama, Bahrain

DIGITAL SPACES

TUNISIAN REVOLUTION

TUNISIA

POPULATION (2012)

LAND AREA

INTERNET USERS (JUNE 2012)

FACEBOOK USERS (DEC 2012)

10,732,900

163,610 km²

4,196,564

3,328,300

Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/africa.htm

Digital SpacePublic Space

TUNISIAN REVOLUTIONDecember 18, 2010 - January 14, 2011

Sparked by the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a26-year old Tunisian street vendor, on December 17, 2010.

Led to the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali 28 days later on 14 January 2011, when he officially resigned afterfleeing to Saudi Arabia, ending 23 years in power.

CAUSES RESULTS

Government corruptionInflationUnemploymentPolitical repression

Overthrow of Ben Ali governmentResignation of PM GhannouchiDissolution of the political policeDissolution of the RCDRelease of political prisonersElections to a Constituent Assembly

CASUALTIES

Deaths 338Injuries 2,147

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisian_revolution

TUNISIAN REVOLUTION

Avenue Habib Bourguiba

TUNISIAN REVOLUTION

Avenue Habib Bourguiba

Central thoroughfare of Tunis.

Aligned in an east-west direction, lined with trees and facades of shops, and fronted with street cafes on both sides.

Important monuments: Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul, French Embassy in Tunisia and Théâtre municipal de Tunis.

Its proximity to the Interior Ministry made it an important pub-lic space for the protesters during the big demonstration on January 14, 2011.

WIDTHEAST ENDWEST END

60 mLake TunisPlace de l’Indépendance (and Avenue de France)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avenue_Habib_Bourguiba

TUNISIAN REVOLUTION

Twitter

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/16/tunisia-2/

Number of tweets mentioning Tunisia

329,000,000

Number of tweets mentioning #sidibouzid

103,000+

Number of people mentioning Tunisia in tweets

50,000+

Reach in terms of Twitter users

26,000,000

TUNISIAN REVOLUTION

Twitter

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/16/tunisia-2/

Virtual-reality scientist Samir Garbaya looked at Facebook posts during the revolution, and measured how much time it took for posts to result in responses like comments.

StreetbookThe transfer of the interaction from social networks to mani-festation in the real world, on the street.

TUNISIAN REVOLUTION

Facebook

November

4 daysDecember 17

8 hrsJanuary 1

2 hrsJanuary 14

3 mins

Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/425137/streetbook/

EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION

EGYPT

POPULATION (2012)

LAND AREA

INTERNET USERS (JUNE 2012)

FACEBOOK USERS (DEC 2012)

83,688,164

1,001,450 km²

29,809,724

12,173,540

Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/africa.htm

Digital SpacePublic Space

EGYPTIAN REVOLUTIONJanuary 25, 2011 – February 11, 2011

The Egyptian Revolution of 2011 took place following apopular uprising that began on January 25, 2011.

Millions of protesters from a variety of socio-economic andreligious backgrounds demanded the overthrow of the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

CAUSES RESULTS

Police brutalityPolitical censorshipWidespread corruptionHigh unemploymentFood price inflationLow minimum wages

Overthrow of Mubarak governmentAssumption of power by Armed ForcesDemocratic election heldWriting of a new constitution

CASUALTIES

Deaths 846Injuries 6,467Arrested 12,000

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Egyptian_revolution

EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION

Tahrir Square

EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION

Tahrir SquareMajor public town square in Downtown Cairo, Egypt, also known as “Martyr Square”.

Centre of Tahrir Square: large and busy traffic circle.

Important monuments: Egyptian Museum, NDP headquarters building, Mogamma government building, Headquarters of the Arab League building, Nile Hotel, Kasr El Dobara Evangelical Church, original downtown campus of the American University in Cairo.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahrir_Square

EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION

Tahrir Square January 25

January 28

January 31

February 1

25,000protesters

=

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahrir_Square

“Kullena Khaled Said” — “We Are All Khaled Said.”Facebook page created by Wael Ghonim, a 29-year-old Google marketing executive, in June 8, 2010.

Two minutes after he started his Facebook page, 300 people had joined it.

Three months later, that number had grown to more than 250,000.

He changed the name of the page’s biggest scheduled rally from “Celebrating Egyptian Police Day — January 25” to “Janu-ary 25: Revolution Against Torture, Poverty, Corruption and Un-employment.”

EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION

Facebook

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/books/review/how-an-egyptian-revolution-began-on-facebook.html

EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION

TwitterTrending Hashtag VolumeWorldwide

Source: http://blog.hootsuite.com/egypt-infographic/

EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION

Internet Blackout

EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION

Internet Blackout

Source: http://blog.hootsuite.com/egypt-infographic/

BAHRAIN REVOLUTION

BAHRAIN

POPULATION (2012)

LAND AREA

INTERNET USERS (JUNE 2012)

FACEBOOK USERS (DEC 2012)

1,248,348

694 km²

961,228

413,200

Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/middle.htm

Digital SpacePublic Space

BAHRAIN REVOLUTIONFebruary 14, 2011 – ongoing

Protests were initially aimed at achieving greater politicalfreedom and equality for the majority Shia population.

Expanded to a call to end the monarchy of King Hamadfollowing a deadly night raid on 17 February 2011 againstprotesters at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama.

CAUSES GOALS

CorruptionDiscrimination against ShiasUnemploymentSlow pace of democratisation

Abdication of King HamadConstitutional monarchyRewrite the ConstitutionEnding human rights violationsEquality for ShiasFair elections and freedom

CASUALTIES

Deaths 93Injuries 2,900+

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahraini_uprising_(2011%E2%80%93present)

BAHRAIN REVOLUTION

Pearl Roundabout

BAHRAIN REVOLUTION

Pearl RoundaboutServed originally as a major traffic intersection for routes into the capital city.

Was located in the heart of the capital Manama and wassurrounded by the Bahrain Central Market, Marina, Pearl and City Center Roundabout, Abraj Al Lulu apartment complex.

150,000 – 300,000 protesters.

Destroyed on March 18, 2011, by government forces as part of a crackdown on protesters during the Bahraini uprising.

ARAB SPRING

Role of Social MediaGrassroots mobilization

Organize the rise of civil society and activecitizenship

Counter rumor or propaganda tool

Helped people analyze government statements

Source: http://gov20.govfresh.com/a-tunisian-on-the-role-of-social-media-in-the-revolution-in-tunisia/

ARAB SPRINGThe role of Public Spaces and Digital Spaces in the Arab Spring 2011