By Amany Latif Ebied - Secretary of WACC

		One of my favourite movies is “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde”. In the movie Elle Woods heads to Washington D.C. to pass a bill on animal cosmetic testing. She took it upon herself to have a “voice on behalf of those who couldn’t speak” and to outlaw animal testing. At the end of the movie she narrates a story which has lingered in my mind since then and I would like to share it with you on the occasion of the Easter celebration. While Woods was in one of the finest and most expensive beauty salons, she went through a particular hair process that ended in disaster – from the hair colour, washing shampoo, to the haircut, yet without protesting she paid a lot of money for it. This seemingly small and insignificant incident made Woods aware of her lack of courage to speak up and eventually turned her into an activist.
Amany Latif Ebied - Secretary of WACC

I believe this analogy corresponds to the situation in the Middle East region which has existed for decades where people have lived under autocratic rule, widespread corruption, restrictive emergency laws and general lack of freedom without the courage to speak out. The current political and social transformations in Egypt are being realized precisely because people have found the courage to speak up. In doing so, they have made use of the new phenomenon of social media, which is increasingly being seen as a tool for democratizing communications.

Millions of protesters from a variety of socio-economic, political and religious backgrounds have come together through these media in order to demand change and an end to dictatorial regimes. Social media are playing a fundamental role in the revolutions spreading across the Middle East and North Africa. We have witnessed one voice leading to collaborative voices and imminent change. While they are not the whole picture, they do offer hope that positive change can come about.

WACC’s principles of communication underscore freedom of expression, social justice and peace using all means of communication to empower individuals and groups to speak out and to demand their fundamental rights, equality and freedom. WACC’s slogan, Taking sides, implies supporting and empowering people and communities worldwide to speak up and take action towards greater democracy and guaranteeing human rights.

As Christian communicators we celebrate this Easter Season in the hope that genuine freedom of expression will lead to social justice and peace for all.

Mrs Amany Latif Ebied is the Manager of Peace building and conflict management program of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS), based in Cairo, Egypt.

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