CRITICAL VOICES IN CRITICAL TIMES

Since the Arab uprisings of 2011, the world has witnessed a stream of popular protest movements, the acceleration of extreme inequality, precarity, migration, unhinged populisms, and a planetary tipping point. "Critical Voices in Critical Times" engages the ideas and works of critical thinkers, artists and activists to make sense of the present moment and think about how to put affirmative ideas into practice. The long-form interviews are available on the North Africa and West Asia (NAWA) section of openDemocracy. Critical Voices videos edited and produced by Linda Herrera

Alain Badiou on the Egyptian Revolution

Alain Badiou talks about the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and why he views it as an event marking the "Rebirth of History."Seven years on he raises questions about the meaning of revolution today, political vision, and the understanding of failure and success.

Gramsci and Egypt: An Interview with Peter Mayo

How can the ideas of Antonio Gramsci help to make sense of the Arab Uprisings and their aftermath? Peter Mayo, leading scholar of Gramsci and Freire, talks with Egyptian sociologist Nadim Mirshak on hegemony, the Southern Question, the Mediterranean and "Optimism of the Will."

Asef Bayat- Revolution without Revolutionaries

Mireille Fanon-Mendes France on Fanon 1/2

Mireille Fanon-Mendès France, daughter of Frantz Fanon, UN expert on people of African descent, and human rights activist, talks about the relevance of Fanon today, global inequality and the continued need for a non-racialized decolonization. Part I/2 Open Captions in English Video by Linda Herrera for "Critical Voices in Critical Times," a column in the North Africa and West Asia (NAWA) section of openDemocracy.

Mireille Fanon-Mendes France on Race & Islam 2/2

Mireille Fanon-Mendès France, daughter of Frantz Fanon, UN expert on people of African descent, and human rights activist, talks about the politics of race and Islam in Europe and the US and the ongoing need for social transformation.

Antonio Gramsci: Son of Sardinia

In commemoration of the 80 year anniversary of Antonio Gramsci's death, this video explores Gramsci's early life and education in Sardinia, Italy. His life and ideas are more relevant than ever in understanding our "time of crisis" and ways forward.

Democracy Dialogue Channels in ENGLISH, ARABIC, URDU, KOREAN, CHINESE

Democracy Dialogue is a channel that features vignettes from an historic encounter between Mohamed ElBaradei and Rajmohan Gandhi during the turbulent post-revolution period in Egypt in 2012, and videos about the lives and ideas of revolutionary thinkers like Antonio Gramsci and Mahatma Gandhi.

Trailer Democracy Dialogue

Ideas vs. Ideology- Mohamed ElBaradei & Rajmohan Gandhi

In this historic encounter in Egypt in 2012 between Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel Laureate and former head of Egypt's opposition coalition, and Rajmohan Gandhi, historian, peace activist, and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, they argue that ideas, not ideologies, are needed to forge more democratic alternatives.

Divide & Rule with Rajmohan Gandhi

Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and historian, tells a cautionary tale from the Indian subcontinent about divide and rule.

Gandhi in Egypt

Seeds of Change:Growing up in the Nasser Era

Education and Global Security

"From kindergarten we have to make children understand the shared values we have." Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel peace laureate, on how education is the key for building a more secure and just global order.

The Nuclear Video with Mohamed ElBaradei

"We are on the path of self-destruction if we do not change course and move into a world that has a global sense of security that does not depend on nuclear weapons." Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel Peace Laureate and former Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Global Studies in Education Study Abroad

Students from the Global Studies in Education program (GSE) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) traveled to Malta and Sicily for the study abroad course, "Refugees & Education in the Mediterranean” led by Professor Linda Herrera. Video by Tara Bayat

YouTube