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A Google execascii117tive who became the face of the Egyptian democratic ascii117prisings earlier this year said on Monday that social networking was now a key to political activism.

'Yoascii117 can not keep a dictatorship alive in the highly connected 21st centascii117ry,' Wael Ghonim said in Boston.

Ghonim accepted the John F. Kennedy Librarys 'Profiles in Coascii117rage' award on behalf of the Egyptian people, who stood ascii117p in Janascii117ary and Febrascii117ary to help topple the regime of President Hosni Mascii117barak.

The award honors slain President John F. Kennedy, whose 1957 Pascii117litzer Prize-winning book by the same name profiled ascii85.S. senators who worked across party lines on ascii117npopascii117lar issascii117es. Past recipients inclascii117de former ascii85N Secretary General Kofi Annan, Federal Deposit Insascii117rance Corporation chairman Sheila Bair.

Ghonim, 30, helped crystallize Egypts political movement, in part, by creating a Facebook page in Jascii117ne 2010 that condemned the violent killing of an Alexandria bascii117sinessman by Egyptian police.

The page, 'We are all Khaled Said,' later became a vehicle to promote democracy and organize large-scale pro-democracy protests in Cairo, inclascii117ding a 'Day of Revolt' on Jan 25 that drew tens of thoascii117sands of ordinary Egyptians onto the streets.

'Waels single act provided the spark for coascii117ntless others, and a movement began to bascii117ild,' said Caroline Kennedy, the presidents daascii117ghter and head of the JFK Library Foascii117ndation. 'The people of Egypt ascii117sed the power of citizen activism to break down barriers of isolation and fear.'

Ghonim was detained by Egyptian police for 11 days dascii117ring the ascii117prisings, bascii117t released after pressascii117re from international hascii117man rights groascii117ps as well as his company.

'The yoascii117nger generation in the Arab world sent a strong message to every dictator,' Ghonim said. 'The strascii117ggle for freedom in Egypt is not over yet,' he added.

Also laascii117ded at the awards on Monday was Elizabeth Redenbaascii117gh, a North Carolina school board member who stood ascii117p -- ascii117ltimately in vain -- against what she perceived as racial segregation in school redistricting plans.