Egyptian Journalist Ahmed Omar Reflects on Career Amid Arab Spring

What’s it like working as a correspondent under four different Egyptian regimes? That’s just a small part of what we explore today on the latest episode of AFPC-USA’s Foreign Correspondents Talk Series 2024.

Joining us is journalist Ahmed Omar, who speaks at length about his experiences as a journalist in a nation characterized in part by its poor press freedom and human rights record. He offers a unique perspective on the evolving challenges and hopes for journalism in the war-torn Middle East. Our listeners will also appreciate his decision to persevere amid the Arab Spring.

This interview was conducted by Indian journalist Khushboo Razdan of the South China Morning Post.

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Alan Herrera is the Editorial Supervisor for the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents (AFPC-USA), where he oversees the organization’s media platform, foreignpress.org. He previously served as AFPC-USA’s General Secretary from 2019 to 2021 and as its Treasurer until early 2022.

Alan is an editor and reporter who has worked on interviews with such individuals as former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci; Maria Fernanda Espinosa, the former President of the United Nations General Assembly; and Mariangela Zappia, the former Permanent Representative to Italy for the U.N. and current Italian Ambassador to the United States.

Alan has spent his career managing teams as well as commissioning, writing, and editing pieces on subjects like sustainable trade, financial markets, climate change, artificial intelligence, threats to the global information environment, and domestic and international politics. Alan began his career writing film criticism for fun and later worked as the Editor on the content team for Star Trek actor and activist George Takei, where he oversaw the writing team and championed progressive policy initatives, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ rights advocacy.