Athens Dialogues: An International Conference on Culture and Civilization

The Onassis Foundation presents the "Athens Dialogues", an international symposium on Hellenic civilization and its role in contemporary society, in collaboration with eight internationally-renowned academic institutions. Leading thinkers, academics, scientists and intellectuals from around the world meet in Athens for four days for a public discussion of issues (divided into six thematic sections) of universal ambit and significance, to present their views and to pioneer new approaches and solutions. The symposium’s interdisciplinary approach, the participation of important intellectuals and their fascinating and diachronic approach to the problems of our age make the “Athens Dialogues” a unique opportunity for the participants.

The “Athens Dialogues” largely mirror the approach the Onassis Stegi intends to take to Hellenic civilization in general, as a singularly diachronic civilization of absolute relevance to the present and receptive to multiple approaches. The “Dialogues” also embody the Onassis Stegi’s conceptual take on the symposium as a meeting of specialists designed to generate fruitful, lively dialogue, while highlighting technology and the Internet’s potential to facilitate and boost communication between participants.Hellenic civilization laid the foundations of our universal humanistic heritage. According to Anthony S. Papadimitriou, the President of the Onassis Foundation: “The questions addressed over the centuries by great thinkers in Athens, Rome, Alexandria, Constantinople, and elsewhere in the Mediterranean where the Hellenic language and civilization were adopted are still integral to the fabric of contemporary thought. They weave through political, philosophical, artistic, scientific and cultural discourse throughout the world. The “Athens Dialogues” aim to explore the relevance of this ongoing legacy to the changes the world is experiencing today through the prism of Hellenic thought as this took shape down the ages, though without focusing exclusively on Hellenic culture or being restricted to Western thought”.