When Bill Adams talks about the morale he observed on a recent trip to Cairo, he talks about an “amazing mix of euphoria and apprehension,” as well as “intense excitement.”
“People were saying things they would have been sent to jail for saying a few months earlier,” said Dr. Adams, professor of public policy and public administration, who had lectured at the American University in Cairo last November.
Dr. Adams and Sean Aday, associate professor of media and public affairs and international affairs, were in Cairo to train journalists, activists, students and other community members as part of a two-day event at the university.
“I learned at least as much from them,” said Dr. Aday of the program participants. “It was very rewarding to be around journalists who have risked a lot.”
GW has a longstanding relationship with American University in Cairo, according to Dr. Adams, which was why colleagues from the university contacted him to try to arrange a program that could “contribute to a positive outcome in Cairo.”
“We immediately said we would love to help in any way we can,” Dr. Adams said, noting the program, which was funded by the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, “continues a history of ongoing relationship with colleagues in Cairo.”
In addition to conducting a workshop, both Dr. Adams and Dr. Aday, who directs GW’s Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication and its master’s program in Global Communications, spoke at a large April 2 forum held two blocks from Tahrir Square titled Lessons Learnt from other Transitioning Countries on Managing Elections.
One of the topics Dr. Aday focused on was the role social networks like Facebook and Twitter have play in organizing protests, as well as their impact on journalism.
Colleagues and friends knew that one Middle East reporter had been detained when his Twitter feed went dry, Dr. Aday said. “Twitter allows for staying in touch and creating some degree of security.”
Dr. Adams said despite the fact that social media has been useful in Cairo, he was very disappointed to learn that a blogger had been imprisoned for a blog post that criticized the military shortly after he and Dr. Aday left the country.
His academic colleagues in Cairo are not sure what to think. “There’s amazement about it,” he said, “but they are holding their breath about what will happen.”