The Athens Democracy Forum 2015, organized by the New York Times (NYT), will be held September 13-15 at the Megaron Athens and at the Ancient Agora of Athens. The Forum, presented in cooperation with the United Nations Democracy Fund and the City of Athens, will reflect on the state of liberal democracies, the major challenges they face in the world today, and democracy's ever-changing role in the way we live and do business.
The American College of Greece supports Athens Democracy Forum as Education Partner, following its policy of supporting initiatives that place Greece in the center of the global map as the cradle of civilization, democracy and education. ACG will host international students who will be participating in the International Debating Competition to be held Monday, September 14 at the Old Parliament Building in Athens. Seven top debating teams from around the world will participate in the competition, including representatives from Princeton, Cambridge and Oxford University. Students will compete on the topic ‘The Mythology of Democracy’ and will be judged by the renowned economist and Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman. Students Vassilis Gkoumas and Peter Paraskevopoulos, members of the DEREE Debating Team, will represent DEREE in the competition.
Athens Democracy Forum 2015
During the event’s main session, scholars, diplomats, politicians, experts and journalists from around the world will meet in ancient Agora, where public dialogue was born, to discuss the four more difficult democratic challenges: The rise of regimes which reject the universality of liberal democracy; the growing concentration of wealth and its impact on governance; the rise of Islamist extremism and its vision of Western democracies as mortal enemies; the opportunities and dangers imposed by the rapid rise of new technologies.
The forum will host renowned personalities such as the economist Paul Krugman, His Highness Aga Khan and NYT columnists who will discuss the challenges of modern democracies, in the birthplace of ancient democracy. The program will also include affiliated enrichment events around the city of Athens.