Nearly two years into the pandemic and many years into a steady rise of populism, what is the state of democracy in the world? How resilient are its institutions, and which of them need to be completely reimagined? How can we regain trust – in our leaders and in each other?
The Athens Democracy Forum on Tuesday confirmed that prominent Chinese contemporary artist and human rights activist Ai Weiwei will be addressing this year’s installment of the annual event on the subject of “Art and Activism.”
Many young people my age, the hopeful 20-somethings who were about to go out into the world, can agree that 2020 did not turn out to be our year.
As students who have lived in Pakistan, Ecuador, Japan and the United States, our participation in the Athens Democracy Forum highlighted the differences in the ways we interact with our democracies.
This year’s Athens Democracy Forum has not only given us pause for thought, airing the interesting views of the many internationally renowned speakers on its various panels, but it has also demonstrated its innovative and daring nature.
One of the foremost public intellectuals of our time, having gained global recognition with his best-selling books, the Israeli historian and academic Yuval Noah Harari sat down for an interview with Kathimerini Editor-in-Chief Alexis Papachelas.
Can people become immune to fake news and conspiracy theories? Israeli philosopher, historian and best-selling writer Yuval Noah Harari had a lot to say on the question at a discussion on Friday in the context of the ongoing Athens Democracy Forum.
European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas argued on Friday that despite the recent rise of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, the European Union remains the most tolerant corner on Earth during a video address from Brussels to the Athens Democracy Forum.
The changes that the coronavirus pandemic will bring to the functioning of democracy were discussed on the second day of the Athens Democracy Forum Thursday, along with the lessons of the Plague of Athens.
The 2020 Athens Democracy Forum launches Wednesday as a virtual event with an aim to explore real solutions to the most pressing issues facing democracy today.
The Athens Democracy Forum made me understand that populism has a positive side that acts as a warning bell for democracy from turning overly elitist. However, I also came to see that populism has contributed to the extreme polarization of society in several countries and has negatively impacted climate politics.
The annual Athens Democracy Forum has developed into a fixed point from which we can evaluate the health of democracy globally. Among other things, this year’s meeting highlighted the need for democracy to be seen to be delivering goods to the public.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is confident that Greece will be able to deal with Turkey’s increasingly aggressive behavior in the Aegean and off the coast of Cyprus thanks to its “strong” alliances and foreign policy, while he also feels that the Turkish operation in Syria risks “adding another source of instability in an already unstable part of the world.”
With emerging democracies backsliding into authoritarianism and those once considered established falling prey to populism, the need to assess the evolving state of democracy has never felt more urgent.
European Council President Donald Tusk speaks at the Athens Democracy Forum on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, he met with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Maximos Mansion and discussed issues pertaining to next week’s European Council – Brexit, the European Union’s expansion in the Western Balkans and the funding of Turkey to deal with the migrant crisis, as well as Ankara’s illegal activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. [Costas Baltas/Reuters]
“Is what is old new again?” A timeless question heralded the advent of the sixth annual Athens Democracy Forum, convened by The New York Times and aiming to dissect democracy’s biggest challenges in its very birthplace.
