AUC Celeb Wants to Create Relevant Media in Egypt

BY MARIAM WAHBA

At age 12, Ibrahim Gamal El Din was already leading Muslim Brotherhood demonstrations only to leave the group after a political awakening just a year later and turn to political, civic and mass media engagement.

Now a sprightly 21-year-old, the Political Science senior can add three years of experience as a creative director to his repertoire.

Not to mention his entrepreneurial acumen.

Gamal El Din started developing training programs and facilitating opportunities for youth empowerment on local scales in 2006.

He then joined forces with colleagues from 110 countries to work with the United Nations on mechanisms of effective youth participation in decision-making.

He traveled to several countries including Turkey, Japan and Switzerland in efforts to meet new people and learn about different cultures.

“I wanted to explore opportunities for mutual opportunities to benefit young people in Egypt,” he said.

He worked on online content for political satire shows and then he partnered with a friend Ahmed Naguib – a Political Science alumnus – and launched their own company, The Factory.

The Factory generates online branded content and services for different sectors of the economy.

“My goals are to build a business that leads the way to online content in the Arab world, to increase public awareness and contribute to change of Egypt’s mindset to be more proactive and self-expressive through media,” said Gamal El Din.

It’s not surprising then, that Gamal El Din is now taking part in a television show to raise awareness of governmental policy-making.

Titled Midnight Government, the show drives talented individuals to provide solutions that the government should be addressing to solve some of Egypt’s most pressing challenges.

He explained that the program’s goal is to raise awareness of issues and policies that the government is accountable for by depicting them through fellow young actors.

In one of the episodes, which aired last Saturday on the local CBC network hosted by anchor Ahmed El Esseily, Gamal El Din appeared as a governmental delegate roaming Cairo’s streets interviewing random people about the issue of prejudice.

Gamal El Din showed passers-by a picture of two people standing next to each other, one of whom is shorter than average.

When asked to describe the picture, a majority of those interviewed said they saw a “midget” in the picture, lending credence to the belief that most people continue to use prejudicial and often offensive descriptions, perhaps inadvertently.

“The show gathers individuals of different backgrounds with creative mindsets to show that young people can lead change and be a value of decision-making on higher levels,” Gamal El Din says.

“I enjoy my role in the show and regard it as an opportunity for more valuable TV content to emerge.”

Former AlMasry AlYoum journalist Menna Alaa believes Gamal El Din’s television presence is crucial since the media “needs someone who is innovative and [original] in what he does”.

But how did Gamal El Din get tangled up with the now banned Brotherhood?

In 2004, when he was just 12 years old, Gamal El Din organized his first protest calling for Palestinian liberation and statehood.

Despite his age, he led 20-year-old members in various activities. He then joined the Bibliotheca Alexandria and started reading about the group’s ideology.

“[Reading helped me] develop my political beliefs and religious values, which led me to withdraw [from the Brotherhood] aggressively,” said Gamal El Din.

Today, it’s time that has proven to be his biggest adversary.

He says it is always a challenge finding time to juggle between studying and work.

But Gamal El Din admits he has plenty of inspiration to draw reserve energy from – his father has always pushed him to use sound judgment to make his own decisions, while his family as a whole always supported his drive.

You can learn and achieve more than your colleagues, they always told him.

Gamal El Din may have the whole world to discover but sleeping takes his fancy, particularly when he can steal a few naps between his hectic juggle.

Other than that, he loves stand-up comedy, filmmaking and music.

Architectural Engineering senior Hemmat Hamdy, who is Gamal El Din’s friend said: “Gamal El Din is going to take the media field by storm.”