Doc 6b
The annual Athens Democracy Forum was held on 14-19 September 2018, organized for the sixth year by The New York Times in cooperation with the UN Democracy Fund and Athens City Hall. This year’s programme centred around the theme Democracy in Danger: Solutions for a Changing World, featuring discussions such as The Allure of the Illiberal: Are there flaws in the classic models of democracy?; When Technology Collides with Citizenship: How are rapid technological advances changing the nature of politics?; Identity, Diversity and Inclusion: How can democracies preserve human rights amidst pervasive populist backlashes?; and The Business of Business: Do companies today have a greater responsibility to society, and when is engagement good for business?
Speakers at the Forum included writer and academic Yascha Mounk; Mayor of Athens Georgios Kaminis; New York Times President and CEO Mark Thompson; New York Times writers Roger Cohen and Steven Erlanger; Diplomat and academic Kishore Mahbubani; Chinese contemporary artist Ai Wei Wei; Italian philosopher-designer Brunello Cucinelli; Tunisian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ouided Bouchamaoui; and UNDEF Executive Head Annika Savill.
Sessions were held at the Zappeion in the National Gardens of Athens; the Stoa of Attalos in the Ancient Agora of Athens – the very birthplace of democracy; the Acropolis Museum; and Costa Navarino, a sustainable destination in Messinia, southwest Peloponnese.
An UNDEF-convened panel focused on economic empowerment of Arab youth to strengthen threatened democracies and prevent extremism, sponsored by Silatech, a social development organization based in Qatar.
An annual exhibition on children and democracy at the Hellenic Children’s Museum was closed by the Mayor of Athens and UNDEF Executive Head Annika Savill.
For further information about the Forum, please go to https://www.athensdemocracyforum.com/
U N I T E D N A T I O N S N A T I O N S U N I E S
Annika Savill Executive Head, UN Democracy Fund -- Remarks at the Stoa of Attalos Sixth Annual Athens Democracy Forum Athens, 17 September 2018
Mr. Mayor, Excellencies, Distinguished leadership of The New York Times,
I am proud to be here for this sixth consecutive Forum. Proud to have been a founding partner of this event. Proud to see it flourish from its first embryonic session of two hours in 2013 to what is now a rich and varied programme lasting several days.
Over these years, as we have come here to the birthplace of democracy and quoted Pericles to one another, we have also been inspired to see how modern Greece has turned the corner, how it has weathered the crisis, resisted the rise of right-wing extremism and xenophobia and received huge numbers of refugees and migrants. Thank you for welcoming us too.
But elsewhere, we have witnessed a different story. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres says in his message to you, on page one of your printed programme, democracy is showing greater strain than at any time in decades. We have heard a great deal at this Forum about how this strain is manifesting itself.
Some of this could have been predicted. And it was. Twenty years ago Kofi Annan, my former boss, warned that unless the benefits of globalization were shared more fairly, all the "isms" of the 20 th century would come back -- the isms that exploit the insecurity and misery of people who feel victimized by the global market: protectionism; populism; authoritarianism; nationalism; ethnic chauvinism; fanaticism; and terrorism.
The more wretched people there are, he warned, the more those "isms" will continue to gain ground.
And this is where we are today. Prescient man, Kofi Annan. Today is an occasion to pay tribute to his memory.
Ladies and gentlemen, in other words, d emocracy dies when no one works at keeping it alive. Now, we need to look for new ways forward. We need to look beyond responses to today’s news cycle. Beyond criticism of individual leaders, and rather, to what brings them to power. Beyond trying to solve today’s problems with yesterday’s solutions.
Almost a lifetime has passed since CP Snow declared that society was divided into two cultures -- humanities and science -- separated by a gulf of mutual incomprehension. It still is. We need to bridge this. We need futurists to think about a future that leaves no one behind. And we need better interaction and understanding between thinkers of technology and thinkers of democracy.
A better grasp of how we humans function -- how we trust, learn and cooperate, but also how we hate, fight and manipulate -- can help public policy-makers and citizens build better governance and better lives.
Tackling some of these issues is what this Forum so important. Thank you all for being part of it.
And now it is my pleasure to introduce a great supporter of this Forum, Mayor Giorgos Kaminis. U N I T E D N A T I O N S N A T I O N S U N I E S
Annika Savill Executive Head, UN Democracy Fund -- Remarks at Panel on Youth Economic Empowerment to Strengthen Threatened Democracies Sixth Annual Athens Democracy Forum Athens, 18 September 2018
Thank you all for coming. I am very excited to be here to talk about a subject that I think is critical to the future of the Arab world and beyond, and to have with me two leaders and practitioners from the region who are at the forefront of this effort.
This discussion stems from a project in Tunisia, generated two years ago by the UN Democracy Fund together with Tamkeen for Development and Zitouna Tamkeen. Silatech later joined the effort as a generous partner in microfinance to support the project. All of us were determined to address the challenges of vulnerable youth, considering the events of the so-called Arab Spring, which started with one desperate, jobless young Tunisian burning himself to death, and less than a decade later, saw Tunisia become the largest contributor of young jihadists to IS – both per capita and in absolute terms.
Add to that the huge migration flows to Europe, the issues posed by the informal economy, the chaos going on next door in Libya, and the full range of political, ideological and security challenges facing any post-revolutionary nation -- yet Tunisia remains a democracy full of highly educated, talented, motivated people. There you have just some of the reasons why Tunisia deserves our attention.
Since 2011, Tunisia has been a priority country for the UN Democracy Fund, UNDEF, which funds and manages civil society projects in more than 100 countries. It should be a priority for all donors and supporters of democracy worldwide. Full disclosure on my part: Tunisia is also a personal priority for me. I was at school in Tunis as a young girl many years ago, and the country continues to be part of me.
Too many young people with diplomas, too few jobs, drawn to extremism through cash and adrenalin. There you have the problem in a nutshell. The project we are highlighting today is one of more than 10 UNDEF projects in Tunisia, but it is by far the most important. It is a pioneering initiative that promotes entrepreneurship for vulnerable youth to build participation and inclusion, and one that we aim to replicate in other democracies at risk.
So far, our project has trained almost a thousand young potential entrepreneurs in soft skills, leadership and participatory democracy; established over 10 civil society groups managed entirely by youth; engaged a team of young people in municipal elections this year, some as independent observers, some as candidates; and provided youth with skills in business and engineering in collaboration with leading private companies.
To tell us more about this and about economic youth empowerment in the region, we have two distinguished panelists.
Ms. Sabah Ismail Al Haidoos is the CEO of Silatech, an organization based in Qatar with a mission to create jobs, economic opportunities and vocational training for Arab youth, particularly through microfinance partnerships. Ms. Sabah is a veteran of youth empowerment and education, who has championed a range of education reforms in Qatar. She has served on the Board of Trustees of Qatar University and the Supreme Council for Family Affairs.
Dr. Nabil Ghalleb is the founding CEO of Zitouna Tamkeen, one of the largest microfinance and economic empowerment institutions in Tunisia. He is also president of Tamkeen for Development, specializing in the economic empowerment of vulnerable youth. He previously served as senior investment manager in the Islamic Development Bank and as investment advisor to the mayor of Medina, based in Saudi Arabia. He returned to his native Tunisia three years ago as a man on a mission: empowering young people through work and leadership. He has blazed a trail from day one.
There you have our two panelists. I invite both of them to make brief opening remarks before we get our interactive discussion going. Ms. Sabah, you have the floor. U N I T E D N A T I O N S N A T I O N S U N I E S
Annika Savill Executive Head -- Remarks at closing ceremony of the Hellenic Children’s Museum Exhibition: Realizing Identity, Respecting Diversity Athens, 19 September 2018
I am delighted to be here yet again for this annual event. Let me pay tribute once more to the Museum’s leadership, and to my friends Mayor Giorgos Kaminis and Deputy Mayor Maria Iliopoulou, for their vision and leadership on behalf of Athens' youngest citizens.
Five years ago, you embraced wholeheartedly the suggestion from the Athens Democracy Forum and the UN Democracy Fund to hold this annual children’s event.
In so doing, you live up to not only the spirit but the letter of UN principles.
And you were ahead of your time, because in the past three years, the UN General Assembly has adopted two resolutions on Education for Democracy. The resolutions strongly encourage countries to integrate education for democracy into their school curricula, taking into account innovative approaches and best practices, to facilitate citizens’ empowerment and participation in political life.
This is what you have done here, even before those UN resolutions, and starting as early as humanly possible in the life of citizens -- and non-citizens too.
Let me also congratulate you all on the theme for this year’s children’s exhibition: Realizing Identity, Respecting Diversity.
Again, this follows not only the spirit but the letter of UN values.
It so happens that at the UN, the very words ‘respect for diversity’ are spelled out as one of the three core values and competencies of the Organization.
This means that at the UN, every single job vacancy has those words ‘respect for diversity’ written at the top, in red letters, along with the words ‘integrity’ and ‘professionalism’.
So the children who take part in this exhibition are already well prepared to be candidates for UN careers.
And that is as it should be.
Because all of Athens is like a UN in itself, respecting diversity throughout its own diverse history, from the Fourth Century BC to the challenging age we live in now, and as you have received so many refugees and migrants, including children. You have resisted the rise of right-wing extremism and xenophobia. Unlike many other societies of today, you have not turned inwards and shut your borders, hearts and minds.
In all these ways, you are an inspiration. Thank you very much.