Activists, bloggers, journalists and students in Egypt are using their mobile phones to alert their networks if they are in danger or have been arrested using SMS text messaging and the micro-blogging service Twitter. Egyptian activists who have informed their network of arrest by police have proved this to be an effective means of getting the word out quickly of their detention so that fellow activists can pressure the government for a quick release, or mount a longer-term campaign in the result of formal charges.

When Egyptian journalist and blogger Wael Abbas returned to Egypt from a forum in Sweden in June of 2009 he was detained at Cairo Airport by authorities and his passport, papers and laptop were taken. Abbas is known for his blog posts exposing incidents of torture and police brutality in Egypt, and is outspoken about political reform and democracy in Egypt. When he was detained at Cairo Airport, Abbas was able to use his Twitter account to alert his followers and give numerous updates on the situation. Issandr El Amrani of The Arabist reported that Abbas’s tweets reached the president of an Egyptian human rights organization, Hisham Kassem, who is also a Twitter user. After hearing about Abbas’s detention Kassem started tweeting about his efforts to dispatch a human rights lawyer to talk to the Egyptian authorities to get Abbas released. Abbas was eventually freed within hours. El Amrani writes, “It may not be a Twitter revolution, but it's a very practical, transparent and engaging way to rally people around a cause.”

"It's not the votes that count. It's who counts the votes."  — Josef Stalin

As I watch intently with the rest of the world the inauguration speech of US president Barak Obama, I am reminded that an authentic electoral process can signify major political change. After years of inauspicious results in this part of the world, I had almost forgotten about the power of genuine elections.

I hear the words. I am moved. Where does the radical shift come from?

I have a hunch that change did not come as much from up there, as it did from down here. That's where I saw the winds sweep ferociously for years, before the leaves finally ruffled and dropped.

photo: Guerilla postering by Amnesty International in Belarus.

While everything and everyone ages all the time, new people come into this world every day. This is why every movement will need to rejuvenate its membership and tactics, eventually.

How do you appeal to a younger generation? What can you do to actively reach out to the youth of today?