Exciting news today - Meedan has taken off its beta wheels and launched an awesome new site. It really is beautiful, you simply have to check it out:
For anyone with an interest in Arabic, the Middle East, or even just current affairs, I'd thoroughly encourage you to sign up. Meedan is, and is going to become, a really great place to discuss fascinating subjects and share news stories with people who maybe don't speak our language.
For those amongst for whom Arabic is something of a passion, Meedan is an excellent place to practice and improve translation skills both ways, and at the same time be contributing to something really meaningful. Too many times in my degree I was translating tired old material just for the sake of practice. At Meedan, you can practice (aided by the Meedan pro-team) while genuinely helping bridge a language gap that has for too long separated the English and Arabic speaking worlds.
Rather than rant any more - and I could - I'll leave you with this awesome video produced by Maya Zankoul and Mohammad Saleh Kayali which explains the basic idea behind Meedan (I've selected the Arabic version here. Check out MeedanTube for an array of videos and tutorials about the site) Enjoy!
Thanks to all at Meedan for the awesome efforts put into making this happen, I'm very proud to be a part of the team.
I really wanted to post on this before the event - now it looks like it will have to wait - but Mohammed ElBaradei, Nobel laureate and former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is set to return to his native Egypt in the next couple of hours.
Here's my Meedan event on the latest news, I'm trying to post up to date info as I get it via Twitter, combined with background info and opinion posts. There's a strange absence of coverage of this on the local TV news channels, but I'm keeping my eyes open. I'd also really recommend the post by the Arabist - he's at the airport providing some sterling coverage and plenty of pictures of those who have gathered to welcome ElBaradei.
Meedan: ElBaradei set to return to Egypt as expectations run high
The Arabist: The Campaign for ElBaradei
For those of you who haven't already checked out my blog roll, have a look at these new additions:
Qifa Nabki
Emad Maher's Photoblog
Hummus Nation - A humourous take on Lebanese affairs
Al-Masri Al-Yum - From the creators of Boursa Exchange, a Cairo food blog with a genius title
I'm particularly impressed by Emad Maher's photos of Alexandria - they really capture the city in a way I've never seen another photo manage. Full credit to Emad, I hope on one trip to the Capital of Memory I can meet the man himself and perhaps purchase some prints
With February rushing headlong into March, it's about time to return to Tom in Egypt once again.
I've been back for close to six weeks now, and it's been a happily busy and chaotic spell in a colder-than-usual Cairo. As soon as I arrived back from Luxor and managed to squeeze the money I was owed out of the various delightful publishing houses I used to work for, I began work in earnest at the Center for Intercultural Dialogue. Now, I'm only just managing to navigate the web of NGOs, non-profit civil businesses and foundations that make up my current emplyers, but all that needs to be known is that I am a Senior Editor (of sorts) of the Arab-West Report. This involves editing and compiling the reports and translations that make up our weekly online publication, writing weekly editorials for the edition, working with interns and trainees on academic writing skills and projects, and testing the new online system that will hopefully, hopefully take off this week. Hopefully. Anyway, it's been a great experience, I've certainly learned a lot and am looking forward to making some serious progress on the new system and on clearing the editing/translation backlog I inherited on arrival. Some of the most interesting experience has come from the annual reporting I've been asked to do - it's great to get an insider's view on how the NGO/non-profit world functions (although drafting narrative reports is less fun).
Over at Meedan I've been plugging away seeding content on a whole range of topics, and occasionally building events and writing Meedan blog posts for our friends over at the Huffington Post. Here's some of my work thus far:
Egypt's Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa calls time on Qur'an-based ringtones in new fatwa
Face Veil Debate Resurfaces in Egypt as Court Upholds University Exam Niqab Ban
Switzerland's minaret ban receives tough reception in the Middle East
More to come soon on this, it's quite a lot of fun rounding up Meedan events for a different audience over at HuffPo.
This week and last week have also been somewhat full as a double whammy of guests rolled into town. First up, on the starting leg of what is a somewhat decadent world tour, was Mr Adam Geleff Esq.- a former co-resident of Mighty 59 Brighton Grove and economist extraordinare. We made a whistle-stop tour of all Cairo's finest sights (with the much-needed help of my capable and glamorous assistant) in four mad days, culminating in a cultured evening of taking in some of downtown's classiest nightspots.
Adam was closely followed by my darling sister Lucy, and her "BFF" (I don't know if I'm using the term in an appropriate context or if it's even true) Sophie. They have the benefit of eight days as opposed to Adam's four, and are taking advantage of the break from college to lounge around whilst gracing such tourist hotspots as the Egyptian museum and Khan al-Khalili with their elegant presence. They may be more interested in Cilantro than the Citadel, but I think they're having a good time.
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