Kent State will welcome Cairo, Egypt-based independent journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the Kiva.

Kouddous is an independent journalist and recipient of the Izzy Award for outstanding achievement in independent media for his coverage of the Egyptian revolution, according to the news release. He has reported in numerous Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq and Syria. Kouddous is also a correspondent for the independent TV/radio news hour “Democracy Now!”, a frequent contributor to The Nation magazine and a fellow at The Nation Institute, according to the news release.

Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences will co-host the free lecture, “Covering the Egyptian Uprising,” as part of the Northeast Ohio Consortium for Middle East Studies (NOCMES) speaker series.

Joshua Stacher, assistant professor of political science at Kent State and author of “Adaptable Autocrats: Regime Power in Egypt and Syria,” currently leads the NOCMES speaker series, according to the news release.

The event aims to help generate and improve knowledge of the Middle East.

Stacher also said the event is an opportunity for questions to be asked about the Middle East and to have those questions answered.

“Kouddous will be able to illuminate the story behind the turmoil in Egypt for us,” Stacher said.

Megan Brown is the student politics reporter for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected]