This is not 100% off-topic, since he talks about Wikipedia off the top. But it's worth watching regardless of that: it is a really lovely, inspiring talk.
http://www.ted.com/talks/wael_ghonim_inside_the_egyptian_revolution.html
Thanks, Sue
Some text from his Wikipedia article below:
In January 2011, Ghonim persuaded Google to allow him to return to Egypt, citing a "personal problem".[12] Ghonim had been running a Facebook fanpage about Mohamed ElBaradei, which was being used to promote democracy and organize protests in Cairo.[13] Ghonim disappeared on 27 January during the nationwide unrest in Egypt. His family told Al-Arabiya and other international media that he was missing. Google also issued a statement confirming the disappearance. Many bloggers like Chris DiBona and Habib Haddad campaigned in an attempt to identify his whereabouts.
On 5 February 2011, Mostafa Alnagar, a major Egyptian opposition figure[14], reported that Wael Ghonim was alive and detained by the authorities and to be released 'within hours'.[15] On 6 February 2011, Amnesty International demanded that the Egyptian authorities disclose where Ghonim was and to release him.[16]
Ghonim was released on 7 February, after 11 days in detention. Upon his release, he was greeted with cheers and applause when he stated: "We will not abandon our demand and that is the departure of the regime."[17]
The same day, Ghonim appeared on the Egyptian channel DreamTV on the 10:00 pm programme hosted by Mona El-Shazly. In the interview he praised the protesters and mourned the dead as the host read their names and showed their pictures, eventually rising, "overwhelmed," and walking off camera. The host followed.[18][19] In the interview, he also urged that they deserved attention more than he did, and calling for the end of the Mubarak regime, describing it again as 'rubbish'. He also asserted his allegiance to Egypt, saying that he would never move to the United States, the homeland of his wife.[20][21] Becoming a symbol of the revolution in Egypt,[22] Ghonim stated that he is "ready to die" for the cause.[23] "At the end ..., he gathered himself for a few seconds and tried to make the most of the platform [El-Shazly] had given him. 'I want to tell every mother and every father who lost a child, I am sorry, but this is not our mistake,' he said. 'I swear to God, it’s not our mistake. It’s the mistake of every one of those in power who doesn’t want to let go of it.'"[18]
On 9 February, Ghonim addressed the crowds in Tahrir Square, telling the protesters: "This is not the time for individuals, or parties, or movements. It's a time for all of us to say just one thing: Egypt above all."[24]
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Sue Gardner Executive Director Wikimedia Foundation
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