Marouen Bloggin' his Life

Before coming to Rio to attend the IGF I was interviewed by a writer/reporter in order to prepare a profile of me to be published in IDRC@IGF website. I like this profile and that's why I decided to publish it also in my blog :

Name: Marouen Mraihi

Age: 27

Country: Tunisia

Main development interest: Helping to bridge the digital divide

Main reason for coming to IGF: Professional – to renew relationships and to offer a North African perspective on the issues. Personal – to identify areas where research is needed for my Ph.D thesis

3 favourite Web sites: Facebook, Google, webmanagercenter.com (first comprehensive IT, business and news site in Tunisia)

For most young Tunisians who earn a university degree in information technology, the future is easy to predict: a job in the IT field, likely in the private sector. For Marouen Mraihi, who recently completed a Masters degree in Information & Communication Technologies from Medway School of Engineering at the University of Greenwich in the United Kingdom, a year spent volunteering in Africa when he was twenty-five inspired a different goal: to use his IT expertise to help disadvantaged people, especially in places where IT is barely used and has enormous potential to give communities access to knowledge and to opportunities. “I’m a geek and an activist for ICTs for development,” he says. “I’m committed to fighting the digital divide, both in my country and in my region.”

During his time in Africa, Marouen was a trainer in community wireless network workshops sponsored by the Association for Progressive Communication (APC) and IDRC in South Africa, Senegal and Morocco, and before that he was system administrator and staff trainer for the Association Municipalités du Mali in Bamako (Mali) as part of the Cyber-Volunteers program.

A life-changing experience

He admits to having no idea initially that his African experience would change his perspective on his work and indeed his life. “At the beginning it was just because I needed some volunteer experience to put on my résumé. But when I saw how I could help improve people’s lives, giving them new tools and opportunities, I felt this is what I must do.”

Back in Tunisia, Marouen continued to volunteer, this time for a charity organization that offers training in Internet and multimedia technologies. “On my own time I helped some people who couldn’t afford to pay the small fees, so I saw the digital divide. This gave me an interest in helping shape policies that can bring access to ICTs to everyone.”

This interest, and the expertise he’d gained through his education and his volunteer experiences, made him an obvious choice to attend both the first World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva in 2003, and the second in 2005 in his home city, Tunis.

Helping shape the future

“I was very fortunate to get funding to attend as a student,” he says. “The first WSIS introduced me to the Youth Caucus, a gathering of all the youth participating in WSIS. The goal of the Caucus is to attend UN summits and to show that we’re very active and very committed, that we’re a force. It’s so important that the youth perspective is heard clearly, because something like 70% of African youth is under twenty-five. These summits are discussing our future.”

Marouen looks forward to renewing at the IGF many relationships that began with WSIS. “Many of my friends from the Middle East and North Africa will be there, and I know we will start discussions there that will continue long afterwards. I don’t expect the IGF to produce major results because the problems are big and complex. Everything will come after, through relationships. Ultimately, regional networks are how these problems will be resolved.”

Marouen also feels that being exposed at the IGF to a wealth of ideas and perspectives will help him decide on a topic for his Ph.D. thesis. “My Masters project was on how to use e-learning in charities, and now attending the IGF will be a great opportunity to renew my academic work. The timing is perfect, and I’m grateful to IDRC for giving me this opportunity.” bb