This has been reposted from The Mercy Corps Blog.

I wish that I were in Tahrir Square right now. After working in the Middle East for the past five years, I’d like to see and feel this historic moment myself. Our friend Nick Kristof of the New York Times is there. He reports that the usual hustle and bustle of traffic in the heart of Cairo has been replaced by throngs of exuberant protesters. The square, he says, “has lost its menace and suddenly become the most exhilarating place in the world.” While the street demonstrations across Egypt have drawn citizens from across generations, religions, political persuasions and socio-economic backgrounds, there is no doubt that much of the energy fueling recent events has been generated by the country’s burgeoning youth population.

Two-thirds of Egypt’s 80 million people are below the age of 30. According to Money Week Magazine, 90 percent of the country’s unemployed are youth. Egyptian youth are fed up — frustrated by the lack of job opportunities, disgusted by rampant corruption and poor governance, and tired of having no voice. It appears that they are now on their way to changing their leadership — President Hosni Mubarak is on TV as I write, pledging to step down from office. Young people with similar complaints brought down the government in Tunisia and kicked off protests in Yemen. Here in Jordan, where I am now, King Abdullah responded to young protesters today by dismissing the current government and offering up other reforms.

I am humbled by the determination and courage of young people in the Middle East who are finding their voice and peacefully but defiantly advocating for change. And I am continuously inspired by the youth I meet across the region who are working on a daily basis through our Global Citizen Corps program and other initiatives to address critical challenges in their communities. Young people in this region are not the leaders of the future — they are the leaders of now.

But while this may be an exhilarating moment for people in Tahrir Square and elsewhere, the social and economic challenges facing the Middle East and its youth will not be solved quickly. Years of hard work lie ahead. Youth in the Middle East want the same thing that young people everywhere want: a sense of hope, opportunity, and a chance to be active, productive members of their communities and societies. Our job is to support them in achieving that vision. When the dust in the streets eventually settles, it is critical that governments, the private sector, and civil society organizations like Mercy Corps band together in support of youth in the Middle East, ensuring they have access to the tools and opportunities they need to build a dignified, peaceful, and productive life for themselves and their communities.

Swarms of protests have taken place in Egypt over the last several days. Photo: Al Jazeera English (flickr)

Twitter, Facebook, Myspace -- you name the social network and it's bursting with information about the demonstrations that have taken Egypt by storm in the past few days.

According to The Jerusalem Post, cell phone service and the internet have been cut in effort to make it difficult for protestors to organize. But Al Jazeera and other media organizations have been using twitter to provide live updates on the situation in Egypt, including President Hosni Mubarak's anxiously awaited public statement. Just a few moments ago, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced that he has ordered the existing government to step down with the promise that a new government will be installed tomorrow. At this point he has not said that he will step down.

This The New York Times backgrounder explains how protests in Egypt were inspired by neighboring Tunisia's overthrow of former President Ben Ali.

"The unrest in Egypt — fueled by frustrations over government corruption, economic stagnation and a decided lack of political freedom — came after weeks of turmoil across the Arab world that toppled one leader in Tunisia and encouraged protesters to overcome deep-rooted fears of their authoritarian leaders and take to the streets."

Much of the protesting has been fueled my Egypt's youth population which compromises more than 47 percent of the state's total population. Their concerns for the future and frustration with the job economy have helped propel the demonstrations.

For up to date coverage on Egypt, check out Al Jazerra's excellent live feed.

Photo: Dan Patterson (flickr)

Tiny European country Moldova grabbed headlines this week as post-election dissent went viral on Twitter and Facebook, prompting a crowd of 15,000 to take to the streets in the capital city of Chisinau.

After news emerged that the country’s Communist party captured a majority vote in national elections, a small group of demonstrators gathered outside the parliament and government buildings to show their outrage at what they claim was a rigged election. But as the BBC reported, when the Moldovan government shut down mobile phone and cable news networks, broadcasting a soap opera and dance program instead of political coverage, local activists turned to the Web to spread the word.

Users flooded Twitter with tweets tagged "#pman," referencing the protest site Piata Marii Adunari Nationale, the biggest square in Chisinau. Youth NGOs Hyde Park and ThinkMoldova led the online charge for a peaceful demonstration.

At the time of this post, the dialogue on #pman was still on Twitter's short list of Trending Topics.

Most Twitter updates were in Romanian, alerting local readers with a play-by-play of the protests as they unfolded, rallying people to join efforts that turned violent as activists clashed with police. "I am terrified," wrote a Moldovan woman, "but i hope that the revolution will happen and that our country will be free at last... after years and years."

A few English posts helped journalists and supporters outside the country track the protests. A post from Romania read "Is Moldova closed? Borders, Internet, phones? Is it legal? Isn't it against human rights?"

While the protests were politically motivated, Moldova’s dire economic situation helped spur activists, according to the BBC. Moldovans earn an average of $250 per month, the lowest wage among Europeans. The country's floundering economy is dependent almost solely on agriculture and remittances. The New York Times says a quarter of Moldova's young workers send money from abroad, but as their jobs are eliminated in the wake of the global financial crisis, many young Moldovans are returning home, anxious to see their country move away from Communist rule.

Natalia Morar, a ThinkMoldova activist, posted regular updates on her "Blog for Democracy". As the protests unfolded, she reiterated the firm demands of her group, called "I am not a Communist":

We demand the formation of a civil coalition made up not just of politicians, but members of civil society. If the parties insist on playing their political games, we call on our young people not to let themselves be manipulated by them.

Wired reported that Morar has been charged with "calls for organizing and staging mass disturbances." But efforts like hers show a clever mass appeal using networking tools to dodge government blockades, especially in a country like Moldova where freedom of speech hasn't always prevailed.

Moldova gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and has since been divided between Communist loyalists and those seeking closer ties to Europe's economic benefits. Moldova's economic isolation has been magnified since next-door neighbor Romania — a nation closely linked with Moldova in language and history — joined the EU in 2007.

How will the so-called "Twitter Revolution" will play out in Moldova? Writing for Foreign Policy's tech blog net.effect, Evgeny Morozov says it may not have the impact as the 2004-2005 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, which was largely aided by mobile and text messaging technology. Yet in a place where media is state-controlled and censorship is commonplace, online social networks, he says, provide a space where people can feel relatively free.