Khan 1 Development of Society Using Literacy Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian diplomat, once said, Literacy is a bridge from misery

to hope. t is a tool for daily life in modern society. t is a b!l"ar# against poverty, and a b!ilding bloc# of development, an essential complement to investments in roads, dams, clinics and factories. Literacy is a platform for democrati$ation, and a vehicle for the promotion of c!lt!ral and national identity...%or everyone, every"here, literacy is, along "ith ed!cation in general, a basic h!man right...Literacy is, finally, the road to h!man progress and the means thro!gh "hich every man, "oman and child can reali$e his or her f!ll potential.& Literacy plays a #ey role in the society that "e live in. 'he (gyptian )evol!tion of *+11 "as a ma,or event that changed the lives of individ!als, society, and politics "ith the !se of media literacy. 'he (gyptian )evol!tion of *+11, "hich began on -an!ary *.th *+11, "as a movement "here h!ndreds of tho!sands of protesters !rged for the overthro" of the regime of (gyptian /resident 0osni 1!bara#. 'his revol!tion played a #ey part in changing the lives of the individ!als of (gypt. 'he !se of technology "as highly apparent in the s!ccess of the revol!tion. /rotesters2 lives "ere changed beca!se it made them yearn for an ed!cation and for greater #no"ledge. 'he civilians of (gypt "ere oppressed and "ere !nable to e3ert their feelings in spite that they might be arrested or "orse, e3ec!ted. 4!t beca!se of their perseverance on learning to read abo!t c!rrent events and la"s, their voice mattered. Sylvia Scribner stated in her article that adopting different criteria for different regions or comm!nities "o!ld ens!re the perpet!ation of ed!cation ine5!alities and the differential access to life opport!nities&

Khan * 6page 1+7. 'his sho"s that having a grasp of a variety of #no"ledge abo!t other co!ntries and other c!lt!res can empo"er yo! as an individ!al. 'he (gyptian )evol!tion of *+11 also changed society as a "hole. 'he comm!nity of (gypt "as dra"n closer to each other beca!se of the revol!tion as "ell as beca!se everyone agreed !pon the same ideas and decisions d!e to the #no"ledge they gained from sites li#e '!mblr, '"itter, and %aceboo#. Scribner says that literacy as po"er emphasi$es a relationship bet"een literacy and gro!p or comm!nity advancement& 6page 117. /rotesters "o!ld post be able to post their ideas and statements abo!t the revol!tion via social media and it advanced positively. Society "as changed by this event beca!se not only "as the regime being overthro"n, b!t beca!se of the fact that social media sites "ere helping o!t "ith the a"areness. Lastly, the revol!tion changed (gypt2s politics incredibly. Google, 8i#ipedia, and other search engines "ere a very helpf!l tool for protesters to see the different types of governments aro!nd the "orld and ho" they co!ld help in comparison to the government of (gypt. 9ot only "ere the protesters s!ccessf!l in overthro"ing /resident 1!bara#, they "ere able to change (gypt politically. 9e" la"s and ne" constit!tions "ere set in place d!e to the revolt. 'he civilians of (gypt gained a better !nderstanding of politics from reading and listening to political articles and videos from other co!ntries !sing :o!t!be and the internet and it "as an achievement. n concl!sion, literacy does give yo! po"er. t gives yo! po"er to change an individ!al, a society, and the government. Ac#no"ledging and gaining insight abo!t "hat is going aro!nd the "orld helps create a fo!ndation. Li#e Kofi Annan said, Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope&, and that is apparent in the (gypt )evol!tion

Khan ; of *+11. <ivilians "ere oppressed by a government and "hen they opened gate"ays to #no"ledge !sing the media, they "ere able to overpo"er the oppression and "ere able to change as a society and as individ!als.

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8or#s <ited Kanalley, <raig. >(gypt )evol!tion *+11? A <omplete G!ide 'o 'he Unrest.> The Huffington Post. 'he0!ffington/ost.com, ;+ -an. *+11. 8eb. +; Dec. *+1;. >1ediaShift.> PBS. /4S, n.d. 8eb. +. Dec. *+1;.