Society Uncensored

In “Society Uncensored” series, active citizens share their experiences without any form of censorship. Through deep and sincere discussions, critical aspects of our societal lives are highlighted on an open platform of exchange and fruitful dialogue. This is the objective of “Society Uncensored,” a series that was launched in order to let a multitude of voices be heard and with the ambition to diffuse different – and at times marginalized or controversial – ideas, provoke thoughts, and raise awareness with regards to major societal issues as made prominent by current events, public discourse on social and traditional media, and our everyday life.

A cross-section of citizens – representatives of highly active organizations, members of academic and artistic communities, from the worlds of activism, civil society, journalism, research, legal representation, and governance, and drawn from the various ethnicities and communities that call Athens home – share their experiences uncensored, taking a stand on issues raised and reasoned out during the course of their discussions. Gender-based violence and femicides, the Black Lives Matter movement, hate speech, body shaming, the rights of the Roma people, cultural representation for people with disabilities, democracy in crisis, the institution of marriage, and psychedelic substances are some of the issues that were addressed throughout the series.

This season of “Society Uncensored” returns with a series of new episodes: On the painful and agonizing dilemma of euthanasia, which has polarized societies, states, religions, families, and the scientific community. Also, on the Greek rap music scene and the social, political, and cultural messages it brings to the fore, expressing the concerns and visions of a large part of the younger generation in Greece today. And finally, on the Greek-Albanian community, the largest community of immigrant origin in Greece, constituting one of the many and most important hybrid identities that make up our society.

Onassis Stegi’s “Society Uncensored” online discussion series was launched in 2020 in response to a pressing need to debate everything that concerns us in the here and now, on a local and global level, without censorship.

At its very core remained the round table – a place where people gather to discuss all the vital and pressing issues of our times and of Greek society, openly and unmediated. The discussions were framed by audio-visual materials, interviews, animations, and statistical data gathered and prepared by the Onassis Stegi team in collaboration with international stakeholders. All discussions and interviews were being filmed at Onassis Ready, an industrial building on Legaki Street in Athens’ Aghios Ioannis Rentis area that the Onassis Foundation has transformed into an unexpected space for artistic experimentation and exploration.

With over 600,000 views on the Onassis Channel platform on YouTube, the discussions sparked comments and reactions, prompted reflection and raised awareness, initiating a fruitful dialogue that continued and continues in both physical and digital spaces. The content views of "Society Uncensored" across social media (through excerpts, trailers, etc.) reach 5 million, while the comments (on YouTube and other social media related to "Society Uncensored") surpass 15,000, once again proving that the Onassis Foundation, true to its mission, triggers bold discussions.

Now, the “Society Uncensored” series of digital discussions is physically held at the Upper Stage of Onassis Stegi, inviting citizens to become a part of a productive dialogue through a Q&A session.

Concept & Curation of the series "Society Uncensored": Dimitris Theodoropoulos, Pasqua Vorgia