The Future of the Arab Revolutions - Third World, First Hand

Third World, First Hand

‘The Arab world will never achieve anything’, was what the West believed for decades. But this year we actually witnessed what we in ‘the West’ thought to be impossible: the Arab world rising up against its dictators and demanding real democracy. This struggle continues right down to the present day and, just like any revolutionary process, its outcome is still uncertain. Only the visible part of the iceberg was overthrown in Egypt and Tunisia, and even this initial triumph has yet to take place in areas of unrest such as Yemen, Bahrain or Syria.

In short, it has only just begun. A return to the point of departure would seem to be impossible for the Arab world, but where is it heading? This evening provides rare inside views from the Arab world – of people who were themselves, right in the middle of the revolutions. Two young citizen journalists from Al Jazeera Talk will update us on the latest developments in the Arab world.

Al Jazeera Talk is the pioneering Arab news site that uses exclusively citizen-generated news and has played a crucial role in reporting local stories covering the Arab revolutions. From Al Jazeera Talk we have Ahmed AbdelHamid (Egyptian, writer). Our second speaker is Monique Samuel, Egyptian-Dutch writer and Middle East expert, most famous for her belly dancing act in celebration of the resignation of Egyptian president Mubarak, during Dutch late-night talk show Pauw & Witteman. Tonights chairman is Fred Leemhuis, Arabist and Emeritus Professor at the University of Groningen.

Third World, First Hand consists of a series of public lectures by international speakers in which the audience is challenged by refreshing perspectives on several major global issues. The public lectures will go beyond the reporting in newspapers and television bulletins. The audience will be presented with innovative insights, and that is exactly what these tumultuous times demand of us: a reassessment of our old, stubbornly persistent ideas.

This public lecture series has been organized in co-operation with Globalisation Studies Groningen and is financed by NCDO.