Youth
Changing the face of modern communication
Media has become a necessity in the lives of communities and individuals. The following are some role models involved in the media industry who discussed with us the positive role that can be played by the media, in addition to the ideas developed by them to meet the various needs of their society.
Radwa Mahmoud: A prominent and ambitious TV Presenter
“The media should be a tool to build nations. It has several functions, whether spreading awareness, informing people of current events, or increasing their knowledge of specific matters. Should the media properly pursue its functions, the viewers would be able to critically evaluate the information they receive. Therefore, the media is an important tool in developing nations.
Although media might have negative influence, it has been very helpful to many young people. Media has assisted many promising young people to achieve their dreams.
Personally, I studied Mass Communication at Cairo University, and through my studies and career, I was able to work in major media entities in Egypt.
The field of media gave me the full opportunity to spread my ideas on a larger scale. For example, I had strong thoughts about entrepreneurship which I could express through my work at the radio station.
Cairo Contra Magazine: A sign of youth empowerment
Mariem ELTagoury, the founder of CairoContra, a youth development platform which trains young media content creators and offers them an online magazine to practice the entire process of publishing an online magazine granting youth room to grow their skills. The magazine aims to inspire and spread awareness through the stories told by the youth of Cairo.
“We developed CairoContra, which is a platform targeting youth to allow them to express themselves and unleash their talents. Writing articles in the magazine is all about responsibility, where you need to be responsible for what you publish, making sure that the facts are correct. This is quite tricky nowadays, in a time where it is very easy for people to spread rumors and false information”.
Bereska Company: A new phase of digital marketing
Mohab Mowafy is the Founder of Bereska, a company specialized in the field of digital marketing and specifically in the management of social media platforms, serving startups and helping entrepreneurs in marketing their ideas and products. Mowafy echoed El Tagoury’s opinion regarding the critical role of the media, but he also highlighted another important platform that has invaded our lives; social media:
“Social media plays an essential role in social communication, and it can be used profoundly not only for social causes but for international and humanitarian causes as well. Social media has also offered the capability of the enterprises to adopt digital marketing to reach their consumers directly with fewer costs”.
“Once upon a Time”: The Tales of Shaden (Hawadet Shaden)
Shaden Essam Al-Din showed us another important role of the media, which is the cultural role and the contribution of the media in shaping the national identity, especially for children. For this reason, Essam dreamed of presenting basic information to children, in a simple way, within the context of a story, so it becomes easy for them to recollect:
“‘Once upon a Time’ or the Tales of Shaden takes the children in a journey into the world of fantasy, teaching them information and values that constitute the awareness and identity of their homeland. The Tales of Shaden is an Egyptian brand bearing Egyptian genes and enjoying the identity and character of Egyptian arts”.
