The Athens Democracy Forum (ADF), in association with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', is an international

conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

organized by The Democracy and Culture Foundation. It is held annually in September or October and has taken place in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

since 2013. The forum brings together international business leaders, academics, policy makers, young people and activists to discuss and focus on new solutions to the most pressing issues facing democracy. The aim of the Athens Democracy Forum is "to serve as the North Star on which democracy and society can reorient themselves". Key events include the

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

Address, the City of Athens Democracy Award, the Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize, the Democratic Innovators Politicians' Hall of Fame.

The Democracy & Culture Foundation

The Democracy & Culture Foundation exists to empower society through citizen engagement and improved governance. According to their mission statement, they do this by “by galvanizing citizens and leaders as well as bridging the gap between citizens and experts.” They also state that they are “becoming the leading global platform” for discussions about the evolution of democracy, and culture as a reflection of freedom. In addition to the Athens Democracy Forum, the Democracy & Culture Foundation hosts the Art For Tomorrow conference, which aims to analyze the social impacts of art. Established in 2015 in partnership with the New York Times, Art for Tomorrow brings together experts, activists and practitioners to explore the intersection of art, democracy, technology, and policy. Other projects facilitated by the Democracy & Culture Foundation include “Building Blocks of Democracy”, “Teens For Democracy”, “Democracy Catching up with Technology” and the Business, Climate, and Migration projects.

History

From 2013 - 2018, the Athens Democracy Forum was convened by The New York Times. Since 2019, the event has been organized by the non-profit organization, The Democracy & Culture Foundation. The first Athens Democracy Forum was held around the United Nations International Day of Democracy with the endorsement of the U.N. secretary general, and the Athens Democracy Forum continues to partner with the United Nations.

Conferences

2023 Conference

The 11th edition of the Forum took place from September 27–29 and gathered over 450 attendees from all continents. The 2023 Forum was themed under 'Do we Dare to Hope?' and was opened by HE the

President of Greece The president of Greece, officially the president of the Hellenic Republic (), commonly referred to in Greek as the president of the Republic (, ΠτΔ), is the head of state of Greece. The president is elected by the Hellenic Parliament; the ...

Katerina Sakellaropoulou Katerina N. Sakellaropoulou ( ; born 30 May 1956) is a Greek retired judge who served as the president of Greece from 2020 to 2025. She was elected by the Hellenic Parliament to succeed Prokopis Pavlopoulos on 22 January 2020. Prior to her electi ...

. Prominent speakers included European Commissioner for International Partnerships

Jutta Urpilainen Jutta Pauliina Urpilainen (born 4 August 1975) is a Finland, Finnish politician. She was the first female chair of the Social Democratic Party of Finland, which she led from 2008 to 2014. She was the Minister of Finance (Finland), Minister of Fin ...

, Portugal's Former Secretary of State for European Affairs Bruno Maçães, Meta's President Global Affairs

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...

, Filmmaker

Amos Gitai Amos Gitai () is an artist and an Israelis, Israeli filmmaker, born 11 October 1950 in Haifa, Israel. Gitai's work was presented in several major retrospectives in Pompidou Center in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Lincoln Center for ...

, and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

's former Director General

Irina Bokova Irina Georgieva Bokova (; born 12 July 1952) is a Bulgarian politician and a former Director-General of UNESCO (2009–2017). During her political and diplomatic career in Bulgaria, she served, among others, two terms as a member of the Nation ...

. The

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

produced a special report, 'Daring to Hope That Democracy Will Prevail' highlighting the main outputs and discussions.

2022 Conference

The 10th Athens Democracy Forum took place from September 28–30 at th
Zappeion Megaron

Stoa of Attalos The Stoa of Attalos (also spelled Attalus; ) was a stoa (covered walkway or portico) in the Agora of Athens, Greece. It was built by and named after King Attalos II of Pergamon, who ruled between 159 and 138 BC. The building was reconstructed ...

and the Academy of Athens. 250 international guests attended the event from over 30 countries. European Commission President

Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...

delivered the Aristotle keynote address and among the many prominent speakers were the 8th United Nations Secretary General

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

, American Economist

Jeffrey Sachs Jeffrey David Sachs ( ; born November 5, 1954) is an American economist and public policy analyst who is a professor at Columbia University, where he was formerly director of The Earth Institute. He worked on the topics of sustainable develop ...

, Vice President for Values and Transparency, European Commission

Vera Jourova Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarrag ...

, Writer and Academic Yascha Mounk and Founder and Chair,

Mo Ibrahim Foundation The Mo Ibrahim Foundation is an African non-grant foundation founded in 2006 by businessman Mo Ibrahim. Headquartered in London and Dakar, Senegal, it works to strengthen governance and leadership in Africa through its key initiatives: * Ibra ...

Mo Ibrahim Sir Mohammed Fathi Ahmed Ibrahim (; born 3 May 1946) is a Sudanese-British billionaire businessman. He worked for several telecommunications companies, before founding Celtel, which, when sold, had over 24 million mobile phone subscribers i ...

2021 Conference

The 9th Athens Democracy Forum took place September 29-October 1. Prominent speakers included President of the Hellenic Republic

, Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic

Kyriakos Mitsotakis Kyriakos Mitsotakis (, ; born 4 March 1968) is a Greek politician currently serving as the prime minister of Greece since July 2019, except for a month between May and June 2023. Mitsotakis has been president of the New Democracy (Greece), New ...

, American Politician and Voting Rights Advocate

Stacey Abrams Stacey Yvonne Abrams (; born December 9, 1973) is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017, serving as minority leader from 2011 to 2017. A member ...

, Leader of Democratic Belarus

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Sviatlana Hieorhiyeuna Tsikhanouskaya (; born 11 September 1982) is a Belarusian political activist. After standing as a candidate in the 2020 presidential election against the president Alexander Lukashenko, she has led the political opposit ...

, Hungarian Foreign Minister

Péter Szijjártó Péter Szijjártó (; born 30 October 1978) is a Hungarian politician who has been Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Hungary), Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade since 2014. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ...

and Princeton University Professor Emeritus

Kwame Anthony Appiah Kwame Akroma-Ampim Kusi Anthony Appiah ( ; born 8 May 1954) is an English-American philosopher and writer who has written about political philosophy, ethics, the philosophy of language and mind, and African intellectual history. Appiah is Prof ...

Building Blocks for Democracy

Following the 2021 Athens Democracy Forum, the Democracy & Culture Foundation initiated a four-year project “Re-imagining the Building Blocks for Democracy”. The project was launched in response to the calls during the 2021 Forum to establish more specific characteristics that make democracy resilient to 21st century issues. The Democracy & Culture Foundation initially cooperated with five partner organizations, each of which was responsible for a particular “building block”:

Konrad Adenauer Foundation The Konrad Adenauer Foundation ('' German: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: KAS'') is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's head ...

in Berlin, Germany (“The power of Parties, Money and Influence”); Taejae Academy in association with Ban Ki-moon Foundation in Seoul, South Korea (“The power of the Executive”); newDemocracy Foundation in Sydney, Australia (“The power of People’); The Bertelsmann Foundation in Washington DC, United States (“The power of Information”); IDEA in association with Sapienship in Tel Aviv, Israel (“The Power of Voting”). It was agreed that the initial five partners will draft policy proposals in local experts’ panels in 2022 (stage 1), subject those proposals to the scrutiny of citizen’s panels in 2023 (stage 2) and campaign for the implementation of those proposals in 2024 (stage 3). In 2023, the Democracy & Culture Foundation partnered with McKinsey and a variety of academics and EU institutions to create two additional building blocks: “The power of Business” and “The power of AI and Ethics” as well as Foundation for Innovation and Development in Colombia, which took over “The power of Information” building block.

2022 Conference

During the 2022 Forum Luca Belgiorno-Nettis from newDemocracy Foundation, Amir Kochari from IDEA, Marcel Schepp from Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Ji Hye Shin fom Taejae Academy and Anthony Silberfeld from Bertelsmann Foundation presented stage 1 findings.

2023 Conference

In 2023 Forum results of citizens panels were presented by

Andrea Venzon Andrea Venzon (Milan, 8 January 1992) is an Italian politician. In 2017, following the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, he founded Volt Europa together with Colombe Cahen-Salvador of France and the German Damian Boeselager. Follo ...

and Colombe Cahen-Salvador from Atlas, Ahn Byong-jin from Kyung Hee University, Iain Walker from newDemocracy Foundation, Cristian Movilă from EIDOS Foundation, Adrianna Mejía Hernández from Fundación Innovación para el Desarrollo, Marcel Schep from Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Declan O’Brien from Kofi Annan Foundation, Kenza Sifi from Al Akhawayn University and Mael Metis from Franklin University Switzerland.

City of Athens Democracy Award

Established in 2016 by the Mayor of Athens, the City of Athens Democracy

Award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

is presented annually at the Athens Democracy Forum to individuals with international recognition, whose work and ethics defend democratic principles.

Recipients

* 2016 –

Kenneth Roth Kenneth Roth (born September 23, 1955) is an American attorney, human rights activist, and writer. He was the executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) from 1993 to 2022. Early life and education Kenneth Roth was born on September 23, 195 ...

, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch * 2017 – H.E.

Felipe González Márquez Felipe is the Spanish language, Spanish variant of the name Philip (name), Philip, which derives from the Greek adjective ''Philippos'' "friend of horses". Felipe is also widely used in Portuguese language, Portuguese-speaking Brazil alongside Fili ...

, Former Prime Minister of Spain * 2018 – H.E.

Joaquim Alberto Chissano Joaquim Alberto Chissano (born 22 October 1939) is a Mozambican politician who served as the second President of Mozambique, from 1986 to 2005. He is credited with transforming the war-torn country of Mozambique into a successful African democra ...

, Former President of Mozambique * 2019 – Pawel Adamowicz, Former Mayor of the City of Gdańsk * 2020 –

Fernando Henrique Cardoso Fernando Henrique Cardoso (; born 18 June 1931), also known by his initials FHC (), is a Brazilian sociologist, professor, and politician who served as the 34th president of Brazil from 1 January 1995 to 1 January 2003. He was the first Brazi ...

, Former President of Brazil * 2021 –

Wai Wai Nu Wai Wai Nu (; born 1987) is a Burmese human rights activist. She was listed one of the BBC 100 Women in 2014. In 2017, she was named one of ''Time'' magazine's Next Generation Leaders. She is an ethnic Rohingya. Early life Wai Wai Nu was bo ...

, a Burmese activist * 2022 – People of Ukraine and President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

* 2023 –

Jean-Claude Juncker Jean-Claude Juncker (; born 9 December 1954) is a Luxembourgish politician who was List of prime ministers of Luxembourg, prime minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and president of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. He also was List ...

, Former Prime Minister of Luxembourg and President of the European Commission

⁠Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize

At the Athens Democracy Forum, the Democracy & Culture Foundation, in partnership with the Kofi Annan Foundation, awards the Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize at the Athens Democracy Forum. The prize is awarded to a youth activist between 18-30 years old who exemplifies exceptional leadership, to inspire more young people to commit to the advancement of democracy. The award was established in 2023. The Athens Democracy Forum first partnered with Kofi Annan Foundation in 2017, after Annan attended the forum.

Recipient

* Namatai Kwekweza – founder and Director of WELEAD Trust 023

Distinguished speakers

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

017 017 may refer to: * DOL-017, GameCube console * '' Global Underground 017'', DJ mix album * Road FC 017, 2014 Mixed Martial Arts event * Swift 017.n, racing car * Tyrrell 017, Formula One racing car See also * 17 (disambiguation) Seventeen o ...

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...

Ai WeiWei Ai Weiwei ( ; , IPA: ; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been ...

018 018 may refer to: *Air Canada Flight 018, an airline flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada, illegally boarded by a Chinese man wearing a disguise in 2010 *Area code 018, a telephone area code in Uppsala, Sweden *BMW 018, an experimental turboj ...

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins (; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, broadcaster, and sociologist who has been serving as the president of Ireland since 2011. Entering national politics through the Labour Party, he served as a senator ...

019 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

Donald Tusk Donald Franciszek Tusk (born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician and historian who has served as the prime minister of Poland since 2023, previously holding the office from 2007 to 2014. Tusk served as the president of the European Council (20 ...

[2019 *

[2020] * Yuval Noah Harari [2020] * Brad Smith [2020] *

021 069 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta and su ...

Eduard Heger Eduard Heger (; born 3 May 1976) is a Slovak politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Slovakia from 1 April 2021 to 15 May 2023. He previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the Matovič Cabinet, cabinet of I ...

Toomas Hendrik Ilves Toomas Hendrik Ilves (; born 26 December 1953) is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016. Ilves worked as a diplomat and journalist, and he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the 1 ...

Joseph E. Stiglitz Joseph Eugene Stiglitz (; born February 9, 1943) is an American New Keynesian economist, a public policy analyst, political activist, and a professor at Columbia University. He is a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2 ...

Shoshana Zuboff Shoshana Zuboff (born November 18, 1951) is an American author, professor, social psychologist, philosopher, and scholar. Zuboff is the author of the books ''In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power'' and ''The Support Econ ...

Advisory board

* Serge Schmemann – Member of the Editorial Board, Athens Democracy Forum Chairman and Program Director, The New York Times * Jane Bornemeier – Editor, Special Sections, The New York Times * Jonathan Charles – Managing Director, Communications, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development * Kim Conniff Taber – Editorial Director, Democracy and Culture Foundation *

Kishore Mahbubani Kishore Mahbubani (born 24 October 1948) is a Singaporean diplomat and geopolitical consultant who served as Singapore Permanent Representative to the United Nations between 1984 and 1989, and again between 1998 and 2004, and President of the ...

– Former President, U.N. Security Council, and Professor in the Practice of Public Policy, National University of Singapore * Corinne Momal-Vanian – Executive Director, Kofi Annan Foundation * Khalil Osiris – Founder, Truth & Reconciliation Conversations *

Alexis Papahelas Alexis Papahelas or Papachelas (; born March 1961), is a Greek investigative journalist and the current Executive Editor of ''Kathimerini'' newspaper. He is the creator and principal presenter of the weekly prime time news program called "''Oi N ...

– Executive Editor, Kathimerini *

Alexandra Pascalidou Alexandra Pascalidou (; born 17 July 1970) is a Greek-Swedish journalist, television and radio presenter and author. She is also a frequent lecturer and human rights activist. Life and career Pascalidou became known to the public in 1995 when ...

– Journalist, Author, TV & Radio host, speaker, moderator * Alexander Rhodes – Managing Associate, Mishcon de Reya * Iain Walker – Executive Director, NewDemocracy Foundation * Jayathma Wickramanayake – United Nations Secretary General's Envoy on Youth, United Nations

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website

Democracy & Culture Foundation
International conferences Democracy Annual events in Athens Democracy awards