Activity
The Dukakis Center hosts public programming and applied initiatives that connect academic insight with civic life. Across all activity, the common thread is a commitment to inspiring youth to take active roles in public affairs, while inviting the wider community into informed, constructive dialogue. Our work is broad in format, but consistent in purpose: to create spaces where complex public questions can be examined with seriousness, context, and civic responsibility.
Public events and open forums
Each year, the Center convenes public events on issues that shape contemporary public life. Core themes include foreign policy and diplomacy, international, local, and corporate governance, historical remembrance and creative expression, and lifelong education. Programming is designed to be accessible without being simplistic, and to support civic literacy by bringing together academic perspectives and real-world experience.
Event formats: lectures, seminars, roundtables, public readings, and masterclasses. These are hosted both on campus and, when appropriate, at venues beyond campus in Thessaloniki, Athens, and elsewhere.
Selected past guests include:
- Historians: Mark Mazower, Jeffrey Engel
- Classicists: Angelos Chaniotis, Jenifer Neils
- Political Scientists: Charles Stewart III
- Diplomats: Nicholas Burns, Álvaro de Soto
- Journalists: Stephen Grey, Landon Thomas
- Former intelligence officers and security experts: John Kiriakou, Alan Makovsky
- Foresight experts: Epaminondas Christofilopoulos
Seminar series and youth-focused engagement
Never losing sight of its core mission to engage youth, the Center hosts a regular seminar series that brings younger scholars and non-academic specialists into close conversation with students. These formats tend to be more interactive and skills-oriented than large public lectures, and they aim to help young people build both substance and confidence: how to ask better questions, how to evaluate arguments, and how to connect academic learning with civic participation.
Skills-building and professional capacity development
In addition to public dialogue, the Center supports practical capacity-building that strengthens participants’ readiness to engage the public sphere. This includes specialized training in report writing and research skills, developed in collaboration with the Career Services Office at Anatolia American University. When relevant to an initiative, the Center also contributes to structured workshops and applied sessions that translate civic interest into usable professional competencies.
Politis and public conversation in digital formats
The Center extends civic dialogue beyond the room through public-facing communication and media engagement. Staff provide occasional commentary on Greek television and radio and in select print media. The Center has also established Politis: The Voice of the Dukakis Center, its blog on contemporary citizenship, and maintains an active presence across social media. Together, these channels help sustain an ongoing public conversation around civic values, democratic life, and responsible participation.
Entrepreneurship and the Business and Politics Forum
The Dukakis Center maintains strong interest in entrepreneurship at the local and national levels across business, civil society, and the public sector. A flagship convening in this area is the Business and Politics Forum, organized every other year. The Forum brings together leading practitioners from the private and public sectors to examine a theme of interest to the business and policy communities of Northern Greece. It is designed to encourage candid, practical exchange at the intersection of institutions, markets, and civic responsibility.
Geopolitics, defense, and security studies
Given the chronically turbulent dynamics in Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, the Center is committed to organizing events and promoting research related to geopolitics, defense, and security studies. In its role as an issue-centric think tank, the Center also supports interdisciplinary communication among intellectuals, policy practitioners, and the wider public on questions of regional, national, and international security. This work is expressed through focused public discussions, expert-led sessions, and research-oriented initiatives that bring multiple perspectives into contact.
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Interested in attending an event, proposing a theme, or exploring collaboration? The Dukakis Center welcomes inquiries from institutions, practitioners, alumni, and students aligned with its mission.
