Just 5 kilometres from the peaceful, tree-lined streets and historic villas of Cairo’s wealthy Zamalek neighbourhood is the extremely poor district of Imbaba. The streets are strewn with garbage, roamed by skeletal stray dogs, and flanked by long burnt-out street lights. Unfinished concrete buildings house large families in tight quarters — it is not uncommon for 12 families to share one bathroom. In this impoverished neighbourhood, where population density is three times that of Manhattan, we found two friends: Saeed and Mustafa.

Saeed is elated about the events of the past month. A taxi driver, he abandoned his job for two weeks to participate in the protests in Tahrir Square. Daily he made the commute across the Nile to fight for Mubarak’s resignation. He is optimistic about a better Egypt, but recognizes it will take time. “I didn’t care about politics before January 25, but now I am motivated to learn more.” Like many in Imbaba, he expresses support for Ahmed Zewail as Egypt’s next leader.

In a time of great flux, no conversation in Egypt can avoid the inevitable: What’s next? Unsurprisingly, opinions differ widely on what’s to come as well as the level of agency average citizens will have in determining the future.

Yesterday, we traveled to El-Mahalla El-Kubra. Across Egypt, the city is known as a hub for political dissent, largely driven by its well organized labour groups and civic organizations. Finding ourselves at the heart of a lively and complex national debate, we thought we would share some of the voices we heard today on the topic of change.