The 2020 Athens Democracy Forum will be held on September 30 – October 2, as a virtual event with a small in-person conclave for 50 speakers, journalists and key stakeholders held in Athens. The Forum is organized for the second year by the Democracy and Culture Foundation, in association with The New York Times and under the Patronage of H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic, Ms. Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
Even before the current crisis, democracy was threatened: from hijacked elections to the spread of extreme ideologies to the increasingly sophisticated tactics of strongmen. The effects have become alarmingly apparent: migration shifts, climate change, economic uncertainty and general global unrest.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the assaults have become even more prevalent, and calls to reinvent democracy are more urgent than ever.
Themed The New Abnormal: Reimagining Democracy, the Athens Democracy Forum will convene leaders from government, business, civic society and the nonprofit sector to explore real solutions to the most pressing issues facing democracy, among them Democracy Without Borders’ Executive Director Andreas Bummel.