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I’m off to Canada to represent this network!

August 2nd, 2007Esra'a (Bahrain)

In a few hours I leave to Canada to give a presentation about Mideast Youth and its many campaigns. If you guys felt like we were rushing things a bit for the past few weeks, it’s because I wanted us to look our best as I discuss our project with some very admirable and respectable people (for example the former Prime Minister of Estonia is gonna be there, a film maker from Kenya, several Wall Street journalists and a Turkish author/professor, how cool is that?!)

You can read about the other speakers here. I’ll be discussing the topic “Can Technology Set Us Free?” and I’ll project this site in the conference room as an example of why technology can indeed set us free at least intellectually. So please people, be on your best behavior! In the next few weeks a lot of influential people are going to be visiting this site. I really think this is an amazing opportunity and I wouldn’t want anything or anyone to mess it up, so please help me out as well by being as active in the next few days.

By the way guys, it’s my first time in Canada, so if I get detained, don’t forget to petition for my release. I want my banner to be VERY professional, hear that?! None of that MS Paint stuff!

See you in a few weeks. I think I will get wireless in the hotel (OH WOW can you believe that? Wireless! I can post from the bathroom!) and if so then I will be catching up on the many e-mails that I left behind while I had intensive summer classes/final exams. And now that I’m done I have to travel, but it’s definitely worth it.

Take really good care of this place, it’s going to be really busy for me in the next 2 weeks and I really doubt I can do much online but I’ll try my best. In the meantime please sign our petition to stop the censorship against Kurds in the Middle East and spread the link to as many people as you can so we can reach our 10,000 signature limit and take real, effective action with the results.

Oh yeah, I’ll be in Niagra-on-the-Lake, Ontario (I was spelling that Nigeria-on-the-Lake for like a week before I was finally corrected.) If you’re in the area, take me out and pay for my coffee.

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17 Responses to “I’m off to Canada to represent this network!”

  1. #1 Murad - August 2nd, 2007 at 4:39 pm

    Have a nice and safe trip! Make us proud!! If it’s your first time in Canada please make the best of it. It’s one of my favourite places to be. :)

  2. #2 Grumpy (USA) - August 2nd, 2007 at 6:04 pm

    I hope you have a safe and productive trip.

  3. #3 nadia - August 2nd, 2007 at 7:25 pm

    good luck esra’a! canada is beautiful, enjoy your time there!

  4. #4 Duniazad (Libya) - August 2nd, 2007 at 7:26 pm

    Timshi wi idji bilsalama inshallah, and the best of luck on ur presentation

  5. #5 Drima - August 2nd, 2007 at 8:28 pm

    Good luck!!!

  6. #6 Omid - August 2nd, 2007 at 9:27 pm

    represent!

  7. #7 Finnpundit - August 2nd, 2007 at 9:47 pm

    Good luck, Esra’a. And, just a little note, it’s Niagara-On-The-Lake, not Niagra (which sounds similar to Viagra, which is something else completely).

  8. #8 Fariborz (Iran) - August 2nd, 2007 at 10:11 pm

    Stay safe and have a good trip.

  9. #9 Srusht (Kurdish) - August 3rd, 2007 at 8:37 am

    Hello,

    Exactly how long will you be there, I live about 2 hours away from Niagra so I might be able to make it up there.

  10. #10 Rasha (Saudi Arabia) - August 3rd, 2007 at 9:30 am

    Try to enjoy it Esra’a, you need the break!
    All the best on your presentation and have a safe trip..

  11. #11 RandallJones - August 3rd, 2007 at 11:56 am

    Esra’a,

    Good Luck on your trip. Make us proud. I shall be on my best behavior. 8)

  12. #12 Victoria - August 3rd, 2007 at 1:28 pm

    Best wishes xxxx

  13. #13 Esra'a - August 3rd, 2007 at 3:02 pm

    Thanks everyone! Finnpundit thanks for your correction. I can’t ever spell that damned thing right.

    I’m in the hotel right now and yes thank god there is wireless here. Srusht where are you? I’m in Toronto next to Pearson International Airport… on Monday morning I take a bus to Ontario with all the other participants who will be arriving shortly. We’ll be in Queen’s Hotel and I think that’s where the conference will be held.. I really hope you can make it!

    My presentation will be on the 7th, somewhere between 9-11am. It’s gonna be really cool! Been working on it for weeks now.

  14. #14 Global Voices Online » Bahrain: Atlas Experience 2007 - August 3rd, 2007 at 4:22 pm

    [...] Esra’a is off to Canada, where she will be discussing whether technology can set us free at the Atlas Experience 2007. Share [...]

  15. #15 Esra'a - August 4th, 2007 at 11:44 am

    Haha thanks Global Voices for caring. ;)

  16. #16 Srusht - August 4th, 2007 at 11:50 am

    Hello Esra’a

    Okay so I know where Pearson is I live about 1.5 hours away from there. Are you currently staying at a hotel in Toronto near Pearson? If so which one?

    Where is the conference going to be held, and at what time? I dont know if I can make it to the conference as I work fulltime, but I’d still like to meet up if time permits.

    You can contact me with your hotel info via facebook private msging if you don’t want to post it on here :-)

    Thanks!

    ~Srusht~

  17. #17 Ernesto - August 8th, 2007 at 3:56 pm

    Dear Esra’a, We will do our best and we know you will do your very best. Your mission is so special. To influence hearts and minds for the betterment of this battered humanity is so blessed. May Allah protect you, guide you and grant you a big victory in promoting this wonderful work that The MidEast Youth are doing. To be able to speak to each other from one end of the world to the other is to open a door that none will be able to shut. Thank you all and especially you, Esra’a as you meet with people who will help you and us all, achieve this noble, praiseworthy act of service to mankind. Ernesto

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