Ecological University of Bucharest
Communication management in times of crisis
Crisis in Egypt at the beginning of 2011
Săceanu Anișoara Iulia
Master Programme (II) - Communication and Public Relations
Egypt - BBC country profile
GENERAL FACTS
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Full name: Arab Republic of Egypt
Population: 84.5 million (UN, 2010)
Capital: Cairo
Area: 1 million sq km (386,874 sq miles)
Major language: Arabic
Major religions: Islam, Christianity
Life expectancy: 69 years (men), 73 years
(women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Egyptian Pound = 100 piastres
Main exports: Petroleum, petroleum products
and cotton
GNI per capita: US $2,070 (World Bank, 2009)
Internet domain: .eg
International dialing code: +20
Egypt - Short history
While best known for its
pyramids
and
ancient
civilizations, Egypt has played
a central role in Middle East
politics in modern times.
Its wars with Israel in 1948, 1956,
1967 and 1973, then its eventual
peace with its adversary in 1979,
have seen Egypt move from being
a warring nation to become a key
representative in the peace
process.
Politics:
President
Hosni
Mubarak has been in power since
1981; his strongest challenger has
been the Muslim Brotherhood
which is tolerated but officially
banned
Economy:
The
Egyptian
economy is the second largest in
the Arab world after Saudi Arabia
International: Egypt has been a
key ally of the West; it has played
a key role in efforts to resolve the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
Censoring online speech & media
Massive civil unrest in Egypt prompted by the recent Tunisian
uprising - has been hitting the
headlines in recent days, and
once again, the role of the internet
in the developing situation has
come under scrutiny.
In its attempts to quell
the
uprising,
the
Egyptian government
has been blocking
social networks such
as
Twitter,
which
played a key role in
the Iranian election
crisis of 2009.
Arbor Network shows online impact of Egypt crisis
The above visualization of internet traffic into Egypt yesterday evening comes
courtesy of network security firm Arbor Networks, and clearly shows the
moment when the country literally fell off the internet.
Punishing the rest of the world

Vodafone, which is bound by the
Egyptian authorities to give
pro-government SMS. London is
apologizing but is enable to stop it.
Also, all mobile companies in Egypt were ordered by the authorities to suspend
services in some areas, while many Western journalists and photographers
who conveyed news about protests in Cairo were detained briefly. Four French
journalists, but a BBC reporter and photographer from AFP were arrested
during the riots
Casualties
Tourism
crisis
Food crisis
National
security breach
Human
victims
Many flights were canceled
It seems that more than 40% of the
Egypt`s people have to live with 1$ a
day or even less.
Prisoners flood streets in mass jailbreaks -around 6.000
prisoners break from several jails.
Foreigners repatriated, 150 dead and 4,000 people
wounded
Regional stability and security
Americans on both
sides of crisis
Among those who appealed
for calm included the president
Barack Obama. Through a
statement, the White House
leader asked those involved
to refrain from violence and to
achieve concrete reforms of the
state. However, a series of diplomatic telegrams made public Friday by the website
Wikileaks shows how valuable it was Mubarak's regime as an ally in Washington's
confrontation with Iran.
World Leaders call for peace
Note: The U.S. provides Egypt with over $1 billion in military and economic aid
annually, largely because of its 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
Mubarak still in crisis recognition phase
New Vice-President - Omar Suleiman
It was the first time Mubarak had named a
successor in the 30 years he's been in power.
Earlier, Mubarak, 82, appeared on national television and urged calm and
an end to the demonstrations. He said he dissolved his government and
promised to appoint a new government.
But the people feel differently.
They are still protesting
Crisis Communication
involves four main activities:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Risk assessment
Crisis communication planning
Analytical answer
State recovery
If you have to analyze the stages of a crisis you would
definitely realize that president Mubarak ignored the
prodomal period –when you identified the causes of an
imminent crisis.
The result = more stages to follow: crisis containment, busines
resumption, post-crisis.
Bibliography
Websites

http://www.microscope.co.uk/blogs/network_noise/2011/01/arbor-networks-shows-onlineimpact-of-egypt-crisis.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7300165n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

http://www.ukprogressive.co.uk/ukprogressives-live-twitter-feed-on-egyptiancrisis/article10466.html

http://www.ziarulring.ro/stiri/24179/bilant-sangeros-in-egipt-150-de-morti-si-4000-de-raniti

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt

http://www.egyptdailynews.com
books

COMUNICAREA ORGANIZAŢIONALĂ ŞI MANAGEMENTUL SITUAŢIILOR DE CRIZĂ pages 132-136) by
dr. TUDOREL NICULAE ; drd. ION GHERGHIŢĂ ; masterand DIANA GHERGHIŢĂ , edited by Editura
Ministerului Administraţiei şi Internelor , 2006