Athens Democracy Forum

Members of The Common Good had the special opportunity to attend the Athens Democracy Forum, a pivotal conference addressing the impact of the current feeble state of democracy on our world and on businesses alike.

The Athens Democracy Forum was hosted by New York Times Op-Ed columnist Roger Cohen and programmed by editorial board member Serge Schmemann, and was held by the Democracy and Culture Foundation, an independent nonprofit entity, in association with The New York Times. The conference coincides with the Arraiolos Group meeting, bringing together various European Union heads of state in Athens.

The theme was “Reinventing Democracy: New Models for Our Changing World”.

The key topics that were discussed include:

  • We and Them: The Tectonic Plates of Nationalism and Multiculturalism

  • The Echo Chamber and the Agora: The Use and Abuse of New and Social Media

  • The Cost of Inequality: Where Has All the Money Gone?

  • Back to Basics: What Must Be Done to Restore Faith in Democracy

The 2019 Athens Democracy Forum gathered acclaimed speakers including: 

  •  Prokopios Pavlopoulos, President of Greece

  • Michael Higgins, President of Ireland  

  • Juan Manuel Santos, Former President, Republic of Colombia

  • Bernard-Henri Levy, French Philosopher

  • Margrethe Vestager, EU Commissioner

  • Wole Soyinka, Poet and Nobel Literature Laureate

  • Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor, State of California

  • HE Laura Chinchilla, Former President of Costa Rica

  • Margot Wallstrom, Foreign Minister of Sweden

  • Ivan Krastev, Centre for Liberal Studies

  • Maria Schmidt, Advisor to PM Victor Orban

  • George Papandreou, Former Prime Minister of Greece

  • Jay Weatherill, Industry Professor, University of South Australia

  • Kassem Eid, Palestinian-Syrian Refugee

  • Sergei Karaganov, Russian Council of Foreign Policy

  • Anna Diamantopoulou, Former EU Commissioner

  • Katharina Schulze, Leader of the Alliance ‘90/The Greens in Germany

  •  Ory Okolloh, Activist & Managing Director, Luminate Africa

  • Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Youth Envoy

  • Paul Polman, Former C.E.O., Unilever and Co-Founder & Chair, Imagine 

  • Kostas Bakoyannis, Mayor of Athens

  •  Annika Savill, Executive Head UNDEF


Interested in attending future events?