Conversation with Founders of Egypt's April 6 Youth Movement

The founders of the April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt joined Jason Pontin, editor-in-chief of Technology Review, for a conversation on April 29 as part of the CIS Starr Forum series. The series, which is free and open to the public, brings leading academics, policymakers, and journalists to the MIT campus to discuss pressing issues in the world of international relations and U.S. foreign policy. Learn about the speakers at the April 29 event, and watch the conversation below.

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About the Speakers

Ahmed Maher, co-founder of the April 6 Youth Movement, is a civil engineer and a prominent participant in the anti-Mubarak demonstrations in Egypt in 2011. Maher is now one of Egypt's best known youth activists, leading politically mobilized young Egyptians to develop their political consciousness through the skillful deployment of new technologies and social networking platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter.

Waleed Rashed, co-founder of the April 6 Youth Movement, has a degree in commerce and is continuing his studies in political science. He is the spokesperson for the April 6 Movement and the organizer of the April 6, 2008, Youth Movement protest in Alexandria where he and 14 members of the movement were arrested. He has traveled to Algeria, UAE, Turkey, Bahrain, Qatar and Lebanon as a member of the Kafaya movement, aka the Egyptian Movement for Change.

Moderating the event is Jason Pontin. Pontin is editor in chief of the award-winning magazine, Technology Review and TechnologyReview.com, published by MIT.