2019 Summary Report

2019 SUMMARY REPORT athensdemocracyforum.com Global Conversation: Reinventing Democracy SESSION BRIEFINGS athensdemocracyforum.com 2 WELCOME REMARKS Achilles Tsaltas, President, Athens Democracy Forum Achilles Tsaltas welcomed delegates and esteemed guests to the seventh edition of the Athens Democracy Forum, introducing the five challenges of populism, new communication technologies, enormous gaps in personal wealth, the shifting terrain of the political-party system, and a sense of alienation and loss among many people, that represent the key themes for this year’s program. Reiterating the importance of preserving democracy as the only viable form of social organization, he outlined democracy as a constant process of reinvention and revival. Mr. Tsaltas warned that many of today’s democracies are so polarized, that they seem paralyzed. While optimists view the current threats to democracy as a natural process of decay and revival, he said, the pessimists are likely to consider the potential for decline into chaos and tyranny. He declared that this year’s conference brings together a sampling of both optimists and pessimists among participants, stating that through their debates and presentations, delegates will be able to glean a better understanding of where democracy might be headed. Mr. Tsaltas explained that the Athens Democracy Forum is becoming a nerve center for democratic debate, and described the new structure of the event, now hosted by the Democracy & Culture Foundation, a nonprofit entity, in association with The New York Times. Mr. Tsaltas thanked all conference partners and sponsors for their commitment. athensdemocracyforum.com 3 Annika Savill, Executive Head, UN Democracy Fund, United Nations Annika Savill underlined the task in front of delegates at this year’s event, highlighting the inspiration they might derive from the City of Athens itself, as the cradle of democracy. She spoke of recent developments in Sweden where a governmental proposal to eliminate the teachings of ancient Greece from the school curriculum met with uproar, leading to a reversal in the government’s position. Pericles is alive and well in the classrooms of Sweden, she declared. As head of the UN Democracy Fund, Ms. Savill stated that this is the only UN department containing ‘democracy’ in its name, advising that conversations about democracy were rare at the time of the inaugural Athens Democracy Forum back in 2013. She explained that the word ‘democracy’ appears nowhere in the UN Charter, as membership of the organization is not determined by whether a state embraces democracy, or indeed its capacity to pay lip service to it. She commented that within the UN tradition, there is no single democratic model that fits all societies, and equally no yardstick by which its ideals can be measured in practice. The focus has tended toward what democracy is not, rather than what democracy is, she added. Ms. Savill reiterated the words of UN Secretary General António Guterres in his endorsement message: “This year’s Forum takes place when trust is low, and anxiety is high.” She urged delegates to rise to the challenge of updating the traditional model by listening to communities, understanding that democracy is not just about elections, exploring tools to enhance civic engagement that foster inclusion beyond the political class, and taking young people very seriously. In a call to arms, Ms. Savill reminded delegates that if Athenians did it 2,500 years ago, they could do the same today. Summoning delegates to be bold, she urged them to ask themselves: What would Pericles have done? athensdemocracyforum.com 4 Kostas Bakoyannis, Mayor of Athens, Hellenic Republic Mayor Bakoyannis described the Athens Democracy Forum as an institution – a laboratory of ideas, and an incubator of novel thinking. He emphasized the Forum’s importance at the forefront of efforts to rebrand Athens as a welcoming, forward- looking, self-confident metropolis; a capital that is as proud of its ancient, glorious past as it is of its modern self. Mayor Bakoyannis described the challenges faced by democracy in the last few years as a crisis of confidence, advocating the need to think in new paradigms as the traditional political categories of left and right have become obsolete. He also suggested that the language of centuries past is unhelpful in understanding and responding to 21st-century challenges, including the fifth industrial revolution, population flows and climate change. Denouncing populism and elitism as the twin enemies of democracy, he stated that we need a new, inclusive agenda that leaves no one behind, especially those who feel disconnected and disenfranchised. Quoting Winston Churchill, Mayor Bakoyannis admitted that democracy is an imperfect system of government. He stated his view that, in recent years, we have focused on the big picture and been rather overwhelmed. To counter this, he highlighted the importance of local government as the closest democratic institutions to the people, and the catalytic role they can – and should – play in delivering real, tangible solutions to real problems, and building bridges in place of walls. athensdemocracyforum.com 5 athensdemocracyforum.com 6 OPENING KEYNOTE ADDRESS Donald Tusk, President, European Council President Tusk shared a personal story of how reading Homer’s “Iliad” before he was 10, and everything else there was to read in Polish about ancient Greek history and philosophy, inspired him to become a historian. He spoke of later defending Creon in a secondary school debate after reading Sophocles’ “Antigone,” and the influence this potentially had on his decision to enter politics. President Tusk outlined violence, lies, hate speech, myths and resentment as the tools of today’s politics; understood as war, even if shots are not fired everywhere, adding that emotions have replaced reason. In political mathematics, he warned, dividing and subtracting have displaced multiplying and adding. He outlined the challenge of making politics about the common good as it once was. He spoke of Thucydides’ reflections on the ancient Greek term ‘stasis,’ meaning a part or a fraction, denoting a state of public disorder and chaos resulting from political passions and a constant escalation of internal conflicts. He asked the audience, are we not today facing our own stasis, amplified by the technological revolution and mass social phenomena? Are Europe and the world not turning, before our eyes, into ancient Korkyra? He posited that President Trump’s United States, Brexit and permanent parliamentary crisis in the United Kingdom, and the undermining of liberal democratic foundations in some countries in East Central Europe and on the border of Russia and Ukraine would certainly give Thucydides something to write about. Speaking from the heart, President Tusk acknowledged the decision to present this year’s City of Athens Democracy Award posthumously to Pawel Adamowicz, who was murdered in January this year. He quoted the last words spoken by the former mayor of his city, “Gdánsk wants to be a city of solidarity. This is a wonderful time of sharing what is good,” lamenting that his friend and close collaborator fell victim to the very hatred he had opposed all of his life. He was not an ancient hero, conquering or destroying other cities, he said, instead building his city with the belief that not everything is lost, that love is stronger than hate, that solidarity is stronger than egoism. Reinforcing his own personal belief that not everything is lost, President Tusk wished delegates the same faith. athensdemocracyforum.com 7 PANEL DISCUSSION Prof. Wole Soyinka, Playwright, Poet, Novelist, Essayist and Nobel Literature Laureate Magdalena Adamowicz, Member of the European Parliament (accepting the 2019 City of Athens Democracy Award on behalf of the late Pawel Adamowicz) Ory Okolloh, Managing Director, Africa, Luminate, and Member of the Kofi Annan Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age Moderated by Roger Cohen, Athens Democracy Forum Host and Op-Ed Columnist, The New York Times. Ms. Adamowicz opened the discussion by explaining that Poland, once so embracing of the liberal ideals of the West but now forging an illiberal path that her late husband stood against, is today very divided because of populism and nationalism. She highlighted the importance of finding a solution together, and her hope that a definition of hate speech can be agreed in order to formulate a sound framework of conduct to educate people, especially young people. Democracy is not a given forever, she said. We have to nourish it. Professor Soyinka stated that the problem with democracy today is that it is too laid back, leaving everybody free to define it, especially oppressive governments. He described the United States as a center of contradictions and an enigma, comparing its position as leader of the democratic world with its favorable treatment of questionable democracies. He suggested that if there were a competition, a kind of counter-Olympics for the least-democratic nations of the world, the United States would qualify on behalf of the Americas. On the tolerance of undemocratic regimes by the United States, Ms. Okolloh expressed her view that there have always been double standards. She acknowledged that previously, political discussions would have taken place in a dark, back room, but that because of technology, it is now very transparent – perhaps too transparent – and that technology makes it very hard for consensus. She articulated democracy in terms of a social contract whereby people vote, obey the rule of law, and so on, but warning that governments are failing to deliver on public goods in return. She gave the examples of the ‘born frees’ complaining of high unemployment, struggling education and public services, athensdemocracyforum.com 8 and the situation in Kenya where people basically self-provide for everything. By comparison, she said, the China model is at least providing something for the people. Professor Soyinka reiterated Ms. Orkolloh’s point that the social contract is very dangerously neglected.

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