The massive political upheavals witnessed not only throughout the Arab region, but also in various parts of the world for the past few years have been strongly allied with widespread and dynamic social and cultural transformations. These transformations, as is evident, engage untraditional actors who operate rather independently of state institutions, and who are intent on reclaiming both the public space and their own means of representation, which authoritarian regimes had long confiscated. One side of this representation is reflected in the field of popular cultural practices, and is manifest in the outpouring of popular and alternative cultural and artistic production, such as citizen journalism, graffiti, community music, street cinema, digital forms of expression, to name only a few. This forum aims at promoting research in the field of popular culture regionally and internationally. For this end, it seeks to create a network that would facilitate the exchange of expertise among scholars in the field of popular culture, and to encourage and sponsor young researchers from Egypt and the Arab region who opt for studying this under-researched field.