On Wednesday, March 30 Stanford Professor of Middle East History and former Director of the Middle East Studies Center at the American University in Cairo Joel Beinin gave a talk about “The Popular Uprising in Egypt” from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The event was sponsored by the World Affairs Council and the Silicon Valley Red Cross Chapter. It was located at the Los Altos Youth Center at 1 South San Antonia Road.

Beinin discussed the events preceding popular uprising in Egypt and the aftermath of President Mubarak’s departure. His discussion included statistics regarding Egypt and the growth of the Egyptian economy. He stressed the importance of the military and the unemployed, educated youths in the middle class in the revolution.

The speaker also mentioned the formation of the Independent Egypt Federation of Trade unions, the Muslim Brotherhood, and potential causes of the uprising in Egypt.

When Beinin finished speaking, a representative of the Red Cross talked briefly about the role of the Red Cross and reminded the audience the importance of preparing for natural disasters.