Greek president opens sixth Athens Democracy Forum

Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Sunday inaugurated the sixth installment of the Athens Democracy Forum, an annual event established by the New York Times, Kathimerini and the United Nations Democracy Fund to address the hot-button issues being debated in today’s liberal societies.

With this year’s theme being “Democracy in Danger: Solutions for a Changing World,” Pavlopoulos, who is also a professor of administrative law, warned that the threats to democracy are increasing on a global scale and thus undermining fundamental human rights.

His speech to the delegates focused on the erosion of representative democracy because of the dominance of the “economic” over the “institutional,” while casting the state legislator as a bulwark against continued erosion.

This year's speakers include Argentinean cabinet chief Marcos Pena, 2015 Nobel Peace Prize winner Ouided Bouchamaoui, Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland, Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei and author Yascha Mounk.

Events take place through Tuesday at Zappeion Hall, the Stoa of Attalos and the Acropolis Museum.