Edward Snowden Presentation Speech

Oumaima Asmama

COM 1301

Occasion Speech

                                                                Edward Snowden.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great honor that I introduce you all to a man who has sacrificed his own freedom for the whole world. A man who took big risks to let every citizen on this earth know about an injustice done by governments on a global scale. This human being, is a not only a whistle-blower, he is a hero. Also described as “The genius among geniuses”, he stood tall against his own government and fought for the privacy of each one of us. Yes, even you who are listening to me right now.

        This computer professional has worked for several American intelligence organizations such as the Central Intelligence Agency, also known as the CIA, or the National Security Agency, known as the NSA. Some of you may be thinking he was a straight A student. The kind of kid who would remind the professor of a homework you have probably forgotten to do. Or maybe the kind of “Model student” who would graduate from an Ivy League School such as Harvard University, or the MIT. Well, let me tell you that this man does not even have a high-school degree. He is a self-taught individual who was able to score 145 in two separate IQ tests. The day I learned about him was when I heard Obama saying in the news "No, I am not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker”. I was impressed by how one single individual would cause so much trouble to these intelligence agencies. I was even more impressed when I learned he made a back-up framework for the NSA that was broadly executed and which regularly indicated security bugs to the agency when I can’t even make a program in my Data Structures course that works properly. At the age of 30, this glorious man has made a choice. He chose to defend our privacy instead of exploiting it. In 2013, he flew to Hong Kong leaving his beloved wife and his job as an infrastructure analysist with the NSA behind. There, he has leaked many secret documents to journalists in the main goal of proving that these agencies were constantly gathering our data and surveilling the movements of every individual without his/her consent. The archives uncovered gave an imperative open window into the NSA and its worldwide accomplices secret mass surveillance programs and capabilities. By doing so, he prompted a global debate on mass surveillance, and for the 1st time in 40 years, the USA passed laws to restrict government surveillance. Global technology companies including Apple, and WhatsApp since then are doing more to protect our personal information.

Ladies and gentlemen, none of this would have happened without this Soldier. Please, let me introduce you to Mister Edward Snowden.

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