The 2014 Symi Symposium “Re-imagining Democracy” , an event organised annually by the Andreas G. Papandreou Foundation, will be held on Spetses island, off the eastern coast of the Peloponnese, from July 14 to 18.

An educational seminar for young people will also be offered on July 17 and 18, the “Symi Symposium Young Leaders Project”.

The annual informal gathering was founded in 1998 and was first held on Symi island (southeastern Aegean), from which it got its name. According to its official site, the symposium brings together “a select group of politicians, academics, activists, and opinion leaders from around the world for a singular purpose: to develop innovative, progressive solutions to global challenges.” It is funded by the participants and by workshops.

This year, the symposium is focused on the crisis of representative democracy leading to citizens disengagement from political institutions and to a significant rise of populism, and the feeling of citizens’ sense of being disempowered and unrepresented in the political process.