We asked a group of young people in Cairo to take this question to people on the streets: “What advice would you give to the next generation of Egyptians?”
Here’s what people said:
Right now Egypt is in what some are calling the “post-revolution” phase. Yet our conversations with our colleagues in Cairo, as well as news stories and documentaries like The Square, suggest that there are still a lot of problems to be solved. Many people are dissatisfied with certain aspects of the revolution, or of life in Egypt today. We hoped that asking people about their advice for the next generation might allow them to express their hopes, reflections, and opinions without having to speak politically.
We were really impressed with the video that the Cairo group made. They recorded a wide range of perspectives, including a lot of interesting comments about thinking critically, getting an education, and not giving up. It was especially interesting to see how responses changed based on age, given that the revolution was primarily driven by young people. Thanks to Cairo for sharing your views with us!
The Cairo group, for their part, asked us to take this question to DC: “Do you think America is the best place to come to make a better life?” Check out our video response here.
These videos were made possible thanks to Eric Maddox and the Virtual Dinner Guest Project, “a movement aimed at creating a global cultural shift in the way people view their relationship to news media” and interpret the information around them. Check out some of these other VDGP videos:
- Little Rock, AR to Cairo: What makes Egyptians most proud of their culture?
- Cairo to Little Rock, AR: What would it take for the American people to revolt?
- Asheville, NC to Cairo: If you had the attention of everyone in America, just for a moment, what would you tell them?
- Cairo to Asheville, NC: If you had the attention of everyone in Egypt, just for a moment, what would you tell them?
Frame of Reference 
Actually, the current generation is responsible for the next one. It’s responsible for how they’ll raise, the life they’ll live and the behaviors they’re gonna behave.
And judging the next generation based on the current, I can tell you, it will suck
So as an Egyptian, instead of sitting here and giving advice to nonexistent people
I think the only way to ensure a better life for the next generation is by fixing such people you interviewed and whose advices are absolutely wrong by the way.
we stayed away from politics during the entire reign of “Mubarak”, but it wasn’t a good life though. And after him we elected “Morsy” hoping to see any good in his theocratic government but there was no good at all. That’s In response to the first 2 advices that i heard before closing the video.
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Hi Madyan,
Thank you for replying. I understand your frustration with the first two responses, but I’d encourage you to listen to some of the other answers the Cairo group collected – one man who lost friends and relatives in the demonstrations tells young people not to lose hope, and a young woman asks people to speak up for their rights and not to give in to fear. In the spirit of open conversation, the video represents the opinions of a wide variety of people in Cairo.
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