I am just back from speaking at the DohaForum, an intellectual space for ideas about the economic future of the Middle East region. Was quite impressed by the inclusion of social media as a core discussion. Governments world over claim they are grappling with information free-flow and what I call 'expression extremism'. The notion of digital democracy has meant views percolate freely and allow for movements to begin. And this has put both civil society and states at two ends of a table to discuss 'the limits.' While the rift isn't new, the rapidly multiplying communities online and their ability to quickly garner unified support is a phenomenon now snowballing more than ever before. From last year Thai coup and the upheaval online, the Arab Spring to the social-invasion of Mongolia by Narendra Modi all gripped our discussions. Asians are increasingly more confident to express themselves in engaging, witty and socially aware conversations. Further, tolerance for expression in places like Indonesia and Singapore are allowing previously taboo subjects to be discussed in the public sphere. The questions left unanswered were about how the region itself would open up more such expression via social media and microsites. Some questions to ponder since then: Ways in which new media is facilitating or hindering relations between states? Will more leaders step out to use media like Obama, Modi? Or will some find its power to correct/fact-check too discomforting? A Chinese speaker on our panel shared how China's effort to internalise social media apps was a move to create an intellectual and emotional bridge before the country's billion people launch themselves to globally used Facebook, Twitter. This seemed amateur logic to me but who knows what's the bigger picture behind the veil of security vs social media.
In another conversation I was speaking to the deputy foreign minister of Kosovo over dinner and was fascinated by their interest in diversifying the image of the war-stricken region. He spoke about initiatives helping increase and expand dialogue. A former minister in Syria and a world banker shared how Lebanon was dealing with the refugee crisis on one hand and on the other talked about the state of women empowerment in his country. Meeting these people and getting an opportunity to talk about my book The Big Connect on social media was an intellectually nourishing experience.
On an annual basis for the last ten years, the Doha Forum brings global attention to the Qatari capital. With 2022 Fifa world cup coming to this micro-nation, the buzz build-up is evident and conscious. The nation is rich with bottomless wells of gas, an asset well cocooned by more hip regions bereft of the resource. It traditionally had significant American influence so in this city of about 200,000 it's likely that you will have twice that number of visitors who are populating its media studios, university setups and construction driven businesses. For India, it's a big halt for labour and so no surprise that I went in a plane full of workers.