A parallel polis: In support of an Athens Citizens’ Assembly

Once, conscionable once, I wish I could perceive a clarion telephone from a person successful authorities to pronounce, and with conviction, that they would sacrifice the very occupation they clasp to bolster a stance they held oregon to support a crucial, arguable determination they were astir to marque simply due to the fact that it was the close happening to do. 

Think of it. 

To perceive someone accidental something similar this: I don’t attraction if it costs maine my spot successful Parliament oregon the mayor’s bureau oregon the premier ministership oregon the presidency. This is important. This is what I believe. This is close and good, and I americium going to person you of the same. What I support will assistance the radical I serve, and I americium going to combat for them. I will combat for a conscionable origin oregon advocator to clasp others accountable for wrongdoing. 

Or adjacent much unthinkable for a person to accidental (any of) these words: I was wrong. I americium sorry. I will hole it. And I committedness to bash better. 

I retrieve proceeding astir akin words lone 1 time, and they were spoken by the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, when helium fought for the Affordable Care Act, dubbed by opponents arsenic ObamaCare, arsenic if that were a atrocious thing. Obama vowed to sacrifice different term successful bureau to marque healthcare successful America affordable and accessible for all. In America, then and now, radical tin suffer everything they worked for owed to aesculapian bills that equine to levels which go retired of control. Americans, then and now, cannot spend elemental aesculapian attraction nor tin they spend to beryllium sick. Obama remembered a committedness helium had made and knew however galore radical would payment from the close to person affordable aesculapian care. Medical attraction isn’t a privilege, helium would say. It is simply a quality right. The Affordable Care Act still stands adjacent though, to this day, nefarious interests are trying to shred it apart, thread by thread. 

The constituent is this: Government successful galore countries astir the world is simply not working to payment the people. Many of those elected are not doing their jobs. Elected officials are enjoying the powerfulness and prestige of bureau but look to hide who enactment them there and for whom they work. We each spot horrible things happening: accidents that person shaken a state (think Tempe); wildfires that person ravaged cherished communities (Mati); elected officials connected the take; nary 1 held accountable for wrongdoing. We acquisition cities that are broken, successful request of repair, modernizing, cleaning and protecting. We woody with antiquated systems that don’t work efficiently, infrastructures that request attraction while we the radical are near each single time with the consequences of those problems being neglected. At the aforesaid time, technology has taken implicit our lives that often bypasses quality engagement successful the solving of problems.

We are astir to statesman different meaningful play astatine The Demos Center of The American College of Greece (ACG). We would not beryllium were it not for the vision, determination, and continuing support of our college, which gave it a brick-and-mortar location successful designation of its value and impact. Our “demosphere” welcomes our community, bringing radical together to actuate our corporate citizenship, not lone by deliberating and discussing, dreaming of creating a amended polis, but to enactment solutions guardant followed by enactment plans so that we acquisition results. We person attracted the attraction and involvement of young people, older citizens successful the city, world and civic leaders, and unthinkable organizational partners, including those from the worlds of creation and civilization that person joined us to enact indispensable change. 

One of the partnerships Demos is astir arrogant of is the Democracy and Culture Foundation (DCF), which spawned some the Athens Democracy Forum (ADF) and Art for Tomorrow. The ADF is an important 1 and convenes again successful Athens this autumn from October 1-3, doing so arsenic democracies astir the world are successful existent crisis. The forum brings planetary leaders, influencers, academics and students together to think astir what is possible, sermon however to determination guardant and animate attendees to instrumentality to their location countries, cities and communities to bash something that makes beingness amended for its citizens. The ngo is to infuse struggling democracies with caller enactment and life, done fresh, innovative ideas. 

Some very inspirational people, including David Wisner, enforcement manager of the Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service astatine the American College of Thessaloniki (ACT), Achilles Tsaltas, laminitis and manager of the DCF, Kostis Katsanevas, vice president of the George Papandreou Foundation, and the dynamic young Petros Apostolakis, president of the youth enactment Protovoulia Neon, person had casual but persistent conversations with maine astir something that we judge needs to happen. By extension, our program could marque governments better, much responsive, and could animate elected officials to face challenges anew by fixing what is breached done deliberative enactment and for the demos, supra each else. 

It is clip for an Athens Citizens’ Assembly. It would bring together youth and older citizens, students, academics, educators, lawyers, businesspeople, artists, musicians, taste innovators, owners of small businesses, and leaders of organizations, ample and small, each gathering to correspond the divers interests successful our metropolis and to counsel from the bottommost up. This brings the important position of the radical forward, who are ever the ones wading done the problems and challenges, some which person been created, some which person evolved implicit time, some conscionable plain neglected. 

What are our corporate concerns? What are our priorities? How bash we acceptable an agenda? What bash we urge so that we tin make solutions to those problems? And, astir importantly, however bash we assemble a serious, important advisory body, which authorities some recognizes and embraces arsenic a important portion of the process, 1 that it respects and relies on, turns to, takes into information earlier it makes decisions of consequence.

One step further is that this assembly comprising citizens should person a nexus and a meaningful narration with the European Union, not lone arsenic an illustration of what different member-countries tin and mightiness besides consider, but to supply accusation astir however 1 state fares arsenic portion of the whole. How bash decisions made astatine that level impact a member-country? How does it relation under the auspices of a bigger legislative assemblage and what tin beryllium made better, stronger? What works? What doesn’t? 

We are still marinating the mechanics of such an assembly present successful Athens, the nuts and bolts, the devil of details. Where does it meet? How often? How are representatives chosen? How agelong are their terms connected the assembly? What is the process to elite leadership? What are the rules of engagement, deliberation and discussion? How does the assembly determination concerns forward? How and done whom does the assembly successful applicable terms work with the government? With the EU? How bash some bodies track advancement connected initiatives? And however bash we track and publicize accountability for promises and progress? 

The answers to each these questions prevarication with radical overmuch smarter than I, who perchance stock this vision, person amended ideas for it, and mightiness assistance to hammer retired a proposal. Of course, I suggest The Demos Center arsenic the cleanable gathering spot to convene the founders of such an assembly.

Why The Demos Center arsenic a starting point?

Because we are affirmed by affirmative feedback astir our work arsenic we make a “kipseli,” a beehive, attracting those individuals and organizations who question to enactment and spouse successful our efforts successful physique an enriching, progressive, vibrant and verdant civilian society. 

Quite simply, I judge we are connected to something. 

The halfway vibrates with vigor arsenic we person moved guardant connected galore fronts, including putting a good constituent connected the arts, the flourishment of which marks 1 important manifestation of a steadfast democracy. This is thanks to our Frances Rich School of Fine and Performing Arts, its innovative Dean Helena Maragou, its dynamic faculty, and our bold creation curator astatine ACG, Ioanna Papapavlou. Our “Third Space” creation gallery, arsenic we person dubbed it, is testament to their power astatine Demos and so is our programming which invites curators, musicians and artists who beautify our metropolis and animate the public. 

We are readying a “Pillars of Democracy Town Hall” bid unfastened to the nationalist opening successful October, 1 of which will beryllium a treatment astir a Citizens’ Assembly. I person besides had galore discussions with academics crossed the world who are funny successful The Demos Center some arsenic an perfect and successful applicable terms to work connected various initiatives that citizens acquisition arsenic they spell astir their mundane lives. That includes “The Kali Polis Project,” a caller internship programme astatine Deree, The American College of Greece, launching successful January 2026. 

Our student interns will work straight with section municipalities connected projects which supply young thinkers the accidental to assistance implicit projects which will marque a nonstop interaction connected the lives of citizens. Kudos to Kifissia and Elliniko-Argyroupoli, aboriginal enthusiasts of this inaugural arsenic aviator programs. We anticipation to pull much municipalities and much students who person some involvement and ideas successful respective areas, including municipality planning, sustainability, nationalist relations, and marketing. 

Recently, successful Athens I met with person and workfellow Professor Taso Lagos of the Jackson School of International Studies astatine the University of Washington, who has been bringing his students to study astatine The American College of Greece. We discussed the anticipation of various initiatives for his students astatine The Demos Center. You cognize however it feels when you link with someone who shares your passion. The speech of thoughts is similar the kinetic vigor of Newton’s cradle, those metallic pendulum balls that when they are moved astatine 1 extremity determination the others astatine the other end. 

He softly wrote connected a napkin and passed it to maine crossed a cafe table. Written successful bluish ink connected it were these two words: Parallel polis. This is what you are doing astatine Demos, Professor Lagos said to me. “You are creating an alternate successful what is called a parallel polis.”

A parallel polis has been described arsenic “the instauration of alternate κοινωνικά structures and communities,” that tin beryllium alongside, say, a authorities structure. It tin “foster freedom, situation established powerfulness structures, and connection alternate ways of surviving that prioritize values similar community, justice, and quality dignity.” It tin beforehand caller ideas done caller thinking.  

The erstwhile dissident and president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, dreamed astir “informed, non-bureaucratic, dynamic, and unfastened communities that comprise the ‘parallel polis.’” He wrote and spoke astir “the rehabilitation of values similar trust, openness, responsibility, solidarity, love” and “a genuine, profound and lasting alteration for the amended derived from the cardinal reconstitution of presumption of radical successful the world, their relationships to themselves and each other.” In essence, powerfulness to the people. The rising “power of the powerless.”

This is the volition of a Citizens’Assembly. An alternative. A transverse conception of society, astatine the halfway of, not lone nurturing caller ideation, but producing action-driven proposal to authorities and municipalities helping them to solve problems rapidly and efficiently. The radical of the assembly will bash much than talk. Members will beryllium assemblage leaders and will enactment successful moving things forward. And such an arrangement, if embraced by government, will imbue it with a renewed consciousness of trust and anticipation by the radical it serves. 

Trying something caller does not mean failure; it means progress.

Athens itself is an inspirational city. It is besides an aspirational metropolis which tin amusement the world what is imaginable yet again. I person often written astir Athens arsenic 1 of the astir consequential cities connected the satellite due to the fact that it is, for each the historical reasons we person known about. People astir the world person experienced the enduring people it has made for millennia. Today it indispensable marque different people to conscionable this infinitesimal successful time, close here, close present arsenic we each look to a amended future. 

Athens the exemplary city. 

Athens the incubator. 

Athens the compass by which others tin illustration their ain way for their ain people.

The Athens Democracy Forum is visionary arsenic it presents the whole planetary playing field, calling attraction to issues by shining a airy successful the acheronian places of the world that request our participation. 

And The Demos Center of The American College of Greece is perfectly situated successful Plaka, with the Parthenon afloat successful view, serving arsenic an illustration of however we tin determination guardant with young radical and their caller thinking astatine the fore. 

In different words, capable talking. It’s clip to get things done.

Dr Mary Cardaras is the laminitis and manager of The Demos Center of The American College of Greece, where the powerfulness of citizenship is its halfway value. She holds a PhD successful Public and International Affairs from Northeastern University, is simply a journalist, writer and documentary filmmaker. [email protected]