On Politics and Satire: A Conversation with Bassem Youssef

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This is a ticketed event, only guests with tickets will be admitted. Directions and parking information is available below. This event is hosted by the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law and co-sponsored by OpenXChange, Stanford in Government and the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies.  

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International media sensation and Egyptian political satirist Bassem Youssef, also known as the “Arab Jon Stewart,” will share with the Stanford community his thoughts on why political satire has come to embody an important element of modern day politics. He will also reflect on his own experience as the co-founder and host of the internationally acclaimed political satire talk show “Al-Bernameg.” Youssef will discuss the challenges and obstacles he faced in providing the Egyptian public alternative viewpoints on politics not represented by the mainstream news media.

Speaker Bio

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Named one of TIME’s “100 most influential people in the world” in 2013, Bassem Youssef is an Egyptian satirist, columnist, and talk show host. A cardiac surgeon by training, Youssef turned to comedy after he was inspired by the Egyptian revolution. He uploaded the first episode of his homemade newscast, “The B+ Show,” to YouTube in May 2011. After it garnered more than 5 million views in three months, Youssef was named the host of “Al-Bernameg,” a satirical newscast modeled after Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.” Youssef’s bold, intelligent, and humorous critiques of Egyptian politics quickly became a hit with audiences in the country and garnered more than 40 million viewers. In 2012, Mohamed Morsi’s government pursued charges against Youssef for "insulting the president," “insulting Islam," and “reporting false news.” In March 2013, Youssef was briefly detained, released on bail, and fined. CBC suspended the broadcast of “Al-Bernameg” in November 2013. In 2014, Youssef announced that he was ending the program due to the dangerous political climate in Egypt. In the spring of 2015 Youssef served as a resident fellow at the Institute of Politics at the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has recently been announced as the host of the International Emmy Awards gala of 2015.

Directions 

Via I-280 (north or south): LINK

From the east bay via CA-92 (San Mateo Bridge): LINK

Via US 101 (north or south): LINK

Additional directions are available here. 

Parking 

Parking Structure 7 offers underground parking at the Knight Management Center. Permits are required and enforced Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4 pm. Click here to access Campus Maps.

One-day visitor permits (called “scratchers”) allow for parking in any pay-and-display or metered space, and are available for purchase at the Parking and Transportation Services (P&TS) office for $12 each. Be sure to scratch off the correct date and hang your permit facing outward from your rear-view mirror. "A," "C," and "shared" resident/commuter lots are enforced Monday-Friday, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. You are free to park in these areas after enforcement hours.

You can also pay for parking using the pay-by-space kiosks located in Structure 7. Simply enter the number for your parking space and pay with cash or card. You do not need to display your receipt in your vehicle. The receipt is not valid in any other location.

Other nearby parking locations include:

• Parking lot at Bonair Siding Rd. and Serra St. — coin-meter spaces, two-minute walk
• Parking lot at Memorial Way and Galvez St. — pay-and-display machine, five-minute walk
• Visitor Center parking lot at 295 Galvez St. — pay-and-display machine, ten-minute walk
• Parking Structure 6 at Campus Dr. East and Wilbur Way — pay-and-display machine, ten-minute walk

Meters are generally enforced 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., unless otherwise posted. You are free to park in these areas after enforcement hours.

More parking and permit information is available here.

We honor any state's disabled person placards in nearly all marked parking spaces on campus. Please visit the Persons with Disabilities page for more information.