Dukakis Center co-hosts “Voices of Democracy” encore in Athens
For the second time this month, the Dukakis Center at ACT and the Demos Center at ACG teamed up to co-host a roundtable session on the theme “The World in 2025.” The event, an integral part of the Demos Center’s “Voices of Democracy” series, took place on May 28, 2025, at the Demos Center’s Plaka facility in downtown Athens.
An all-star panel addressed an alert and engaged audience of students, expats, and local well-wishers for over two hours, adroitly moderated by the journalist Katerina Bakoyianni of Alter Ego Media. The architect of the evening’s proceedings, Mary Cardaras, Director of the Demos Center, invited a former diplomat, Brady Kiesling, a veteran journalist, Nikos Konstandaras of Kathimerini, an educator, ACG’s Effie Fokas, a human rights activist, and finally Gelly Aroni, Head of the Unit for Integration in the Special Secretariat for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors in the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, to share their perspective on the state of the world halfway through 2025.
The topics explored had to do with challenges to democratic systems worldwide, the state of human rights currently, the difficulties faced by policy-makers and senior civil servants in crafting and carrying out good policy, and finally the role and responsibility of the press in covering -- or not -- the long-term origins of populist movements in Europe and North America.
What is the mood of the moment? Are we facing possible annihilation owing to irresponsible policy choices? Or is the native optimism of the youth cohort many of those present partake sufficient to override any temporary pessimism? What of those pockets of society which resist reform and the clear will of the people, the vox populi? How do we best explain the continued appeal of populist political messaging?
Brady Kiesling evoked the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence in his intervention, lamenting that there no longer seems to be a “decent respect” to the opinions of humanity in how we behave toward one another, all the while noting that the legitimacy of a political system canot be bought or sold on the cheap. Effie Fokas urged the students in the audience not to lose heart, it being the role of youth in society to inspire hope. More broadly, Gelly Aroni challenged all present to look at themselves closely as they make their political choices, to understand where they stand in the electorate. Nikos Konstandaras closed the evening’s deliberation by inviting everyone to tell stories, to tell their story.
A lively reception followed the formal discussion.
The two May round tables (the first having taken place in Thessaloniki on May 14) brought to a rousing conclusion the 25th anniversary season of public service initiatives at the Dukakis Center. The Dukakis Center and the Demos Center will plan to co-host one or more events in similar fashion during the 2025-26 year, as the American College of Greece celebrates the 150th anniversary of its founding.
