Dukakis Center co-hosts Civil Society Forum in Athens

The Dukakis Center and Transparency International Greece co-hosted a conference on “Gatekeepers of Democracy. Think Tanks, NGOs, and Civil Society: from thought to action,” in Athens on May 13. The event took place on the sixth floor of Public Syntagma, overlooking the Greek Parliament building.

Representatives of a diverse group of think tanks, NGOs, and other civil society institutions active in democracy promotion in Greece shared their experience on the state of civil society in the run-up to the 2019 European elections. Panelists included Amalia Zepou, Vice Mayor for Civil Society and Innovation at the Municipality of Athens, and Nikos Vettas, General Director of ΙΟΒΕ.

Anna Damaskou, Chair of the Board of Transparency International Greece, co-moderated the discussion with David Wisner, Executive Director of the Dukakis Center. The debate focused in part on the actual role played by these organizations in preserving and promoting best practices in civic engagement.

James McGann, Director of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program at the Lauder Institute, University of Pennsylvania, delivered a stirring keynote lecture on challenges currently facing civil society worldwide. This was Dr. McGann’s first visit to Greece. With the support of the Dukakis Center and Transparency International Greece he was able to meet with various think tank executives in Athens.

Attendees on the night included Lambros Anagnostopoulos of the Anatolia College Board of Trustees, and Dimitris Keridis, of the ACT Governance Board.

from left to right, Nikos Vettas, Thodoris Georgakopoulos, Anna Damaskou, Giorgos Siakas, David Wisner

from left to right: Olga Daskali, Epaminondas Farmakis, Anna Damaskou, Stefanos Loukopoulos

from left to right: Anna Damaskou, keynote speaker James McGann, David Wisner

from left to right: James McGann, David Wisner