Revolution

July 5, 2012

The challenges ahead for Egypt’s first democratically elected president

Report by Jonathan Couturier Mohammed Mursi has become Egypt’s first democratically elected president – but while he may have been chosen as the people’s representative, the country still has to contend with the powerful Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), who may thwart any attempt at change. The panel was divided over Mursi’s ability […]


May 15, 2012

Is it time for a global conversation on free speech?

By Helena Williams Social media. Free speech. Democracy. These were the buzzwords of 2011, where international movements like the Arab Spring were said to have been fuelled by the power to communicate with one another without hindrance.  The year of unrest has put the spotlight on the role of the internet and social media in challenging […]


April 27, 2012

Sandstorm: Libya in the Time of Revolution

Rasha Qandeel, a presenter with BBC Arabic was joined last night by Lindsey Hilsum to discuss her experiences in Libya and her new book Sandstorm Libya in the time of Revolution.


April 27, 2012

Writing Libya’s revolution

By Richard Nield Speaking to a packed Frontline Club on 26th April, Channel 4 News’ International Editor Lindsey Hilsum shared a fascinating personal insight into the revolution in Libya last year that overthrew the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi after 42 years in power. In Hilsum’s words, Libya was the "only true revolution of last […]


April 2, 2012 7:00 PM

UK Premiere Screening: Syria, Assads’ Twilight

When he came to power in June 2000 few perhaps expected the UK graduate of Medicine Bashar al-Assad would prove to be a ruthless dictator. Syria, Assads’ Twilight looks at the history of the Assad regime and its chances of survival.


March 23, 2012

POLIS 2012: Reporting Revolution

I’m at the POLIS Journalism Conference where we have been talking about Reporting Revolution with the BBC’s Lyse Doucet, Lindsey Hilsum from Channel 4 and Tom Coghlan at The Times.  "An extraordinary time to be a journalist" All the panellists expressed their excitement at covering the Arab Spring. Tom Coghlan began by comparing the limitations […]


March 6, 2012

The promise and peril of the Arab revolution

“’It came out of nowhere because of Facebook and Google’ is not true. It was a long time coming.”


March 6, 2012 7:00 PM

FULLY BOOKED In conversation with Marwan Bishara: The promise and peril of the Arab revolution

Marwan Bishara Al Jazeera English’s senior political analyst and editor will be joining senior BBC presenter and special correspondent Lyse Doucet to discuss the roots of the uprisings across the Arab world, how they have evolved from country to country, the shifts they have created in the region and asking what lies ahead as people continue to battle for freedom and justice?


February 3, 2012

Screening: Bahrain: Shooting in the Dark Q&A with May Welsh, Jon Blair, and ex-Bahraini MP

By Ivana Davidovic     "With our souls, with our blood, we would sacrifice anything for you Bahrain" people chanted on the streets of Bahrain. In February 2011, while the media glare was firmly focused on the uprising in Egypt, the Bahraini people were left to shout in the dark. One of their rare witnesses […]


February 2, 2012 7:00 PM

Screening: Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark

Al Jazeera’s May Ying Welsh tells the story of the ongoing revolution taking place in Bahrain. Shot undercover the documentary tells the story of the revolution that has been going on since February last year out of sight of the foreign press.


January 31, 2012

Gene Sharp’s ‘terrifyingly simple’ methods for non-violent revolution

by Thomas Lowe As he walks to sit at the front of the room one can see Gene Sharp is frail, and at times it’s hard to hear his gravelly voice. But you can’t doubt the passion with which he speaks, or the power in his words. His ideas on non-violent revolution have been hugely […]


January 30, 2012 7:00 PM

FULLY BOOKED Insight with Gene Sharp: From Dictatorship to Democracy

The past year has seen people take to the streets across the Middle East and North Africa to demand an end to tyranny and oppression, with their actions leading to unprecedented regime change across the region.
Less known is that the tactics used by many of these protestors come from the writings of an 83-year-old political scientist, Dr Gene Sharp. The 198 “non-violent weapons” listed in his book From Dictatorship to Democracy have now been circulated amongst dissidents around the world.
We are thrilled to announce that Dr Gene Sharp will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with Ruaridh Arrow, journalist, filmmaker and director of the award winning documentary How to Start a Revolution to discuss his work and the uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa.


January 18, 2012

Frontline Club panel optimistic about the future of Egypt

By Will Turvill There was an overall feeling of positivity in the Frontline Club last night as the panel, chaired by the Observer‘s foreign affairs editor Peter Beaumont, discussed what the future might hold for the Egyptian people after a year of military rule. Indeed, despite recognising the number of challenges facing the revolutionary movement, each […]


January 17, 2012

Egypt: After a year of military rule, what next?

Tuesday 25 January 2011 has become enshrined in Egypt’s history as the ‘day of rage’ when people took to the streets against the tyranny and oppression of President Hosni Mubarak’s regime. As we approach the one-year anniversary of that day we will be joined by a panel of Egyptians to discuss the hopes of that day and the challenges that lie ahead.


January 17, 2012 7:00 PM

FULLY BOOKED Egypt: After a year of military rule, what next?

Tuesday 25 January 2011 has become enshrined in Egypt’s history as the ‘day of rage’ when people took to the streets against the tyranny and oppression of President Hosni Mubarak’s regime. As we approach the one-year anniversary of that day we will be joined by a panel of Egyptians to discuss the hopes of that day and the challenges that lie ahead.


December 17, 2011

#FCBBCA Part 1: Women of the Revolution

 By Helena Williams The uprisings that shook the Middle East this year have been a focus of relentless debate. ‘Revolutionary Arab women’ – activists, bloggers and academics – took to the streets and fought both for their country and their rights, capturing the western media’s attention and begging the question ‘what does the future hold […]


December 16, 2011 7:00 PM

FULLY BOOKED #FCBBCA: Women of the revolution


IN ASSOCIATION WITH BBC ARABIC


EXTERNAL EVENT HELD AT THE RCS

The uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa were a time when the ‘revolutionary Arab woman’ grabbed the attention of the western media.

The fight for women’s rights didn’t begin with the Arab Spring and has gone on without the attention of the world’s media. We will be bringing together some of the women who took part in the Arab Spring and those who have been working to promote women’s rights to discuss if the revolutions have been good for women.


November 13, 2011 4:00 PM

Preview Screening – How to Start a Revolution

Ruaridh Arrow’s award winning film shows the influence of one academic’s template for non-violent revolution on every major antigovernment protest of recent times.


September 2, 2011

Changing world – conflict, culture and terrorism in the 21st century

To mark ten years since the terrorist attacks on the United States, the Frontline Club, in association with the BBC’s Arabic service, is holding a special event to look at how 11 September 2001 has defined our world today and will continue to shape our future. We will be discussing the "War on Terror" that […]


September 1, 2011

Optimism is a “duty” if the Egyptian revolution is going to succeed

If you want to take part in further discussion about the revolutions in the Middle East and their impact on Western policy, come along to our FIRST WEDNESDAY SPECIAL: Changing world – conflict, culture and terrorism in the 21st century on Wednesday, 7 September. Video streaming by Ustream There has not yet been a full […]


August 30, 2011 7:00 PM

Can Tunisians and Egyptians reclaim their revolutions?

With the world watching the latest uprisings in Syria and the continued intervention in Libya, the media has largely turned its attention away from the catalyst of the Arab spring, Tunisia and the next country to oust its president, Egypt. But what does the future hold for these fledgeling democracies?

Join us at the Frontline club with a panel of experts to discuss what the future holds for Tunisia and Egypt.


August 30, 2011

The week ahead at the Frontline Club: From revolution to escaping Bolivia’s tin mines

Join us tonight as we will bring the focus back to Tunisia and Egypt where the Arab Spring began. We will be discussing how successful these revolutions have been and what more needs to be done before the protesters get their wish for democracy.   Filmmaker John D McHugh will take part in a Q&A following a double-bill screening of Endgame, […]


July 14, 2011

Looking ahead to screenings and talks at Frontline Club in August

August kicks off our summer Change Season, with talks and screenings focusing on the people and events that are changing the world. The season begins with Goodbye Mubarak, a portrait of people in Egypt prior to protests that erupted on 25 January and resulted in the ousting of Hosni Mubarak.   Our season of screenings goes […]


June 2, 2011 7:00 PM

THIRD PARTY: Revolution [email protected]

Organised by BBC Arabic.

Followed by a panel discussion

At a secret rendezvous on the Tunisian border, a young man hands over to Libyan rebels a crate of medical supplies. He’s hoping for a precious cargo in return – memory cards and small video tapes that he will upload to the internet and show the world what is happening inside the Libyan capitol, Tripoli. In the revolutions of 2011, these are the new weapons of the internet age.


May 25, 2011 7:00 PM

FULLY BOOKED Insight with Leila Ahmed: A Quiet Revolution

Leila Ahmed was raised in Cairo in the 1940’s, by a generation of women who never dressed in veils and headscarves. To them, they seemed irrelevant to both modern life and Islamic piety. Today, the majority of Muslim women throughout the Islamic world again wear the veil. Why, Ahmed asks, did this change take root so swiftly, and what does this shift mean for women, Islam, and the West.

Leila Ahmed, who is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Divinity at the Harvard Divinity School, will be joining us at the Club in conversation with Azadeh Moaveni, Iranian-American writer, journalist and author of Lipstick Jihad, to discuss her new book A Quiet Revolution: The Veil’s Resurgence, from the Middle East to America and her surprising discoveries about Muslim women, Islamism and democracy.


May 17, 2011 7:00 PM

Realignment in the Arab world – What does it mean for Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel?

Download this episode View in iTunes With a panel of experts and journalists we will be examining the political realignment taking place in the Middle East and North Africa. We will be asking what the shifts in Arab world mean for Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia: What is Israel’s likely response to the emerging democracies […]


March 31, 2011 7:00 PM

FRONTLINE CLUB SPECIAL: Protest, technology and the end of fear

EXTERNAL EVENT AT THE ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN

The start of 2011 will be remembered as a period in which the barrier of fear fell across the Middle East and North Africa as people took to the streets demanding freedom from the tyrants who had governed for so long.
No one can predict where these momentous events will lead and what the repercussions will be for years to come.

For this special event held at the The Royal Institution of Great Britain the Frontline Club and BBC Arabic Service will be bringing together some of the key players, journalists and experts to discuss what has taken place so far and to try to gauge what the future might hold.


March 29, 2011

What’s on at the Frontline Club – a look at the week ahead

On Thursday we have a fantastic opportunity to engage with some of the key voices in the Egyptian Revolution. A special event in association with BBC Arabic Service at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, this is an unmissable opportunity to hear Omar Robert Hamilton, Manal Hassan, Khalid Abdalla, Salma Said and others reflect on the […]


March 29, 2011

Omar Robert Hamilton: ‘the biggest challenge now is keeping the momentum up’

  Egyptian/British film-maker Omar Robert Hamilton, who can be seen in the above video speaking at a Democracy Now! event with his mother Ahdaf Soueif was in Washington DC on 25 January when Egyptians took to the streets but after four days he flew to Cairo to take part in, and document, the Revolution. For […]


February 17, 2011

Visualising the Egyptian revolution through Twitter

"I was very lucky to get this data", André Panisson tells us. He made the serendipitous decision to perform a test run of a Python server that would collect Twitter statuses around a particular hashtag on 11 February – the day that President Mubarak announced he would step down in Egypt.   The following video documents […]