User:Karimkasim

Karim Kasim is Egyptian young expert in Information and Communication Technology for Development ICT4D with special interest in Telecentres in Egypt, Middle East North Africa and developing countries.

Karim is a researcher in Political Science and Development. He has worked on issues related to Human Development, Information and Communication Technologies for Development ICT4D, particularly sustainability of Development projects at community level. He is an online activist, trainer/facilitator and speaker on promoting Human Rights, Youth empowerment, use of ICT and technology tools for improving access to information and knowledge and empowerment of communities specially youth. He has been working for United Nations Development Programme UNDP Projects since 1999 in Egypt, Lebanon and the MENA region. He holds an undergraduate degrees in Biology 1999 and Political Science 2003 and MA in political Science and Development 2012. After the revolution; he is a researcher and co-founder of Thawrah (Revolution) Center for Strategic Studies, which is a Think Tank (still in the process of registration) founded as a result of the Egyptian revolution by young people.

Research: Karim is involved in several civil society organizations as a researcher. He is a researcher and co-founder of Thawrah (Revolution) Center for Strategic Studies, which is a Think Tank (still in the process of registration) founded as a result of the Egyptian revolution by young people. They are activists and research who participated in the revolution and want to establish a professional research entity that theorize and conduct rigorous research based on the revolution values. The center has two main projects at the moment, one is Thawra Stats www.thawrastats.org which is scientifically conducted polls. The second project is Revolution Values document, which document the common values that people shared in Tahrir square in order to keep the diverse cooperative spirit of Tahrir which made this revolution a success. Karim participated in different research projects including writing and presenting for is a researcher at the Arab Forum for Alternatives AFA www.afaegypt.org on political sarcasm. The researcher reviewed the level of political sarcasm before, during and after the Egyptian Revolution and drew some lessons from what sarcasm meant as a tool. He is finishing his (MA) in Political Science at the American University in Cairo AUC. He believes that political science and political science research and Human Development are closely linked. Politics, and socio-economics are two main areas where development of societies, communities and/or individuals occur. He has written articles, gave public presentations and was interviewed by the media on the subject. Career: Karim is managing ICT4D projects for United Nations Development Programme UNDP to support telecentres through networking, knowledge sharing and e-learning in Egypt and the Middle East and North Africa. He is also managing a new social entrepreneurship project; Young Social Entrepreneurship Program –Egypt with the support of UNDP Egypt and the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology MCIT Egypt. He has been working in the area of ICT4D on telecentres since 1999, when almost the first telecentre was introduced to Egypt and the region under the name; the Technology Access Community Center TACC in Sharkia, North East of Cairo. He has been serving for more than ten years in different UNDP projects in four duty stations in both Egypt and Lebanon. Karim’s is also finishing his Masters degree in International Development with a focus on how ICT can enhance Human development and the people’s aspirations to a better future.

He has served as national and international employee for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) projects in Egypt, Lebanon and the region. He has experience also in working with different stakeholders in areas of development, ICT4D, Youth and volunteer work in different countries (Canada, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Europe and others).

His research interests are Information and Communication Technology for Development ICT4D in general and ICT Community Centers (telecentres) and their role in enhancing Human Development in particular. Karim has experience also in the role of technology in promoting active citizen participation, and political activism online. Karim has also experience in public speaking, presentations, and training on different subject related to humanities, motivation, empowering young people, marginalized communities, community development, volunteer work, social entrepreneurship among others.

Publications:

• Author, Social Justice in the Information Age: the case of facebook in Egypt, 18th Annual Research Conference of the American University in Cairo: “Social Justice in Egypt: Theory, Research, and Practice” May 3-5, 2011 http://www.aucegypt.edu/research/conf/researchconf/Documents/Research%20Conference%202011/Kasim_Socialjusticeintheinformationage.pdf •Co-Author, "The Cairo speech: Arab Muslim voices", Open Democracy June 08, 2009 http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/the-cairo-speech-arab-muslim-voices •Research team member and co-author of Egypt country report, Measuring Global Public Access to ICT: Landscape Study Summary Reports from 25 Countries Around the World - CIS Working Paper No. 7, May 2009 http://www.cis.washington.edu/depository/landscape/documents/CIS-WorkingPaperNo7.pdf •Author, Community Facilitators: Committing to be the Change Agents, Telecentre Magazine, Issue 5, March 2009 http://www.telecentremagazine.net/pdf/March09.pdf •Author, "Egypt, May 2008: Citizen's reflections" (Arabic), Al Quds Al-Arabi Newspaper-Lodnon, Volume 20-Issue 5886 May 07, 2008 http://www.alquds.co.uk:9090/pdf/2008/05/05-06/qra21.pdf •Co-Author, Country Focus Egypt: Sustainability Revisited, Telecentre Magazine Sept. 2008 http://telecentremagazine.net/pdf/september08.pdf •Author, Technology with a Human Face: My Experience in Akkar, Lebanon, Volunteer Voices, United Nations Volunteers (UNV)/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – Lebanon August 2005 http://www.undp.org.lb/unv/Karim1.cfm

www.karimkasim.org