GlobalPost's 'Egypt Voices' Series Looks at All Aspects of Revolution

WORLD -- November 21, 2011 at 5:26 PM EDT

GlobalPost's 'Egypt Voices' Series Looks at All Aspects of Revolution

Reporters participating in GlobalPost and Open Hands Initiative program.

Unless unrest in Cairo delays them, Egypt's military leaders plan to hold parliamentary elections starting Nov. 28 to forge ahead on a planned transition to democracy following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. Our partners at the international website GlobalPost are taking a closer look.

GlobalPost launched a series Monday, called "Egypt Votes: From Tahrir Square to the Ballot Box," which explores all aspects of the revolution and how it's impacting society today.

The series of multimedia reports was produced by a team of 17 young Egyptian and American journalists participating in a program funded by the Open Hands Initiative. (View a list of the participants and their personal thoughts on the revolution.)

Sara Elkamel, 21, a local culture reporter for Ahram Online, was one of the program's participants. On Monday, she was taking a break from her usual reporting duties to bring medical supplies to makeshift clinics in Tahrir Square to help the injured protesters.

After an intensive 10 days of workshops with the Open Hands Initiative, covering all aspects of the revolution, "I was feeling very nostalgic about everything and I just wanted to play a role again," Elkamel told us from her home in Cairo.

The art scene in Egypt has always reflected society and the different forces playing out in the political scene, said Elkamel. But before the revolution, there were certain lines artists couldn't cross.

In the days leading up to the revolution, artists began sneaking in messages that reflected how society was frustrated, she said. And on Jan. 25, when anti-regime protests started in earnest in Tahrir Square, artists were some of the first to join the revolution.

"Now art is booming," she said. "There are so many new galleries opening and artists are trying to claim their place in everything that's going on. It's been really interesting to see artists express their opinions and feelings through very creative forms of arts."

Elkamel said she hopes elections go forward as planned. "It's such a great feeling thinking who [the country will] elect would actually make a difference -- not like in past years when I wouldn't even consider voting because I felt that my vote wouldn't matter."

Read one of Elkamel's stories on Egypt's art scene here.

The series also includes:

An audio report about how a factory in Egypt is switching over from foreign to national control and the workers who are caught in the middle
A narrative about how Coptic Christians are living in fear of further attacks on their community
A slide show about the thousands of demonstrators seeking an end to military rule in their country

More stories are coming on Egypt's military, political scene, human rights and tourism. Track all of them here.

GlobalPost's executive editor and co-founder Charles Sennott talks about developments in Egypt on Monday's NewsHour. View all of our World coverage and follow us on Twitter.

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