SNF DIALOGUES: Recent Episodes
iMEdD Podcasts
Questions and concerns, reflections and revelations, new facets and new facts. People, projects, experiences, and ideas come to the fore to illuminate the present and help us envision the future.
The SNF DIALOGUES, convene with the public once a month in a physical or online environment. These monthly discussions are followed by podcasts, which are audio versions of this Stavros Niarchos Foundation initiative that encourages the exchange of ideas in order to promote and defend public discourse.
The SNF DIALOGUES are now part of iMEdD's "Inside the Box" pillar, aiming to enrich them through the journalistic identity of the Organization.
August 2021. As part of SNF Nostos on Humanity and Artificial Intelligence, the SNF Dialogues, in collaboration with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, decided to conduct an experiment: Host a live discussion with artificial intelligence systems, in an attempt to explore how close we are… to the future.
June 2021. During a period when restrictive measures and lockdowns are beginning to recede, the SNF Dialogues, held at the Antonis Tritsis Metropolitan Park Open Theater, embarked on a public discussion about one of the most sensitive and relevant issues of the quarantine period, that of the use of Public Space.
May 2021. After a long period of quarantine and restrictions due to the pandemic, in Greece and in most countries of the Western world, people are starting to meet outdoors again and spend the day outside.
April 2021. The findings from the wastewater of Attica on the spread or not of the Coronavirus are a reference point in TV reports and announcements of authorities and infectious disease specialists. At the same time, however, the measurements show something else: the explosion of addictive substance use in the community.
March 2021. The DIALOGUES for the first time, gave the floor to eleven teenagers, from 15 to 18 years old, from the big urban centers to the most remote villages of Greece. They themselves, without any direction or limitation, defined the themes of the DIALOGUES and participated in a lively discussion.
February 2021. The 40th DIALOGUES took place at a special moment: On the one hand, they were included as a key event on the first day of the iMEdD journalism forum, and on the other hand, they followed the avant premiere of the documentary by Yorgos Avgeropoulos Being Present, produced by iMEdD.
January 2021. The coronavirus vaccine has been approved and is already being used in some countries, giving hope that many aspects of our lives are soon to be restarted.... In a year when scientists came out globally ahead or alongside political leaders, we asked the question: How has this whole adventure morally and practically redefined the relationship between society and science?
December 2020: the last month of a year marked for the whole world by the onslaught of Coronavirus, with all that this implies for health, the economy and society. But another aspect of the pandemic, perhaps a little neglected, was its impact on people's mental health.
November 2020. The DIALOGUES are 3 years old. While we are in another period of polarisation and tension due to the pandemic, we have opened up the subject of the Dialogue itself, in order to examine and reassess its value, especially in times of crisis such as the one we have been experiencing.
October 2020. The theme of Labour has always been and will always be interesting. This time the DIALOGUES with the help of eminent economists, including Nobel Prize-winning economist Christoforos Pissarides, known for his radical proposals on labour, opened up this complex issue, especially in its international dimension.
September 2020. In the midst of a pandemic on the other side of the Atlantic, the first presidential debate between the two candidates for President of the United States at the time, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, has just ended. A few hours after the debate, analysts are commenting on the DIALOGUES, almost in real time, on all the latest developments concerning that very crucial Presidential Election that would take place just a few days later, emerging the winner, the Democratic candidate, Biden.
August 2020. With the restrictive measures continuing, this time we decided to meet and chat with our guests, keeping the necessary distance, on a beautiful rooftop in Athens. There, we talked about this very strange summer that we were all going through.
June 2020. The SNF DIALOGUES and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University held an online discussion about the potential benefits technology holds for democracy and any limits to its potential, during the Summer Nostos Festival.
June 2020. The summer has begun but all indications are that it is going to be very different from the previous ones. With tourism operators and workers struggling and visitors in a state of anticipation, we discussed the tourism that was in "uncharted waters".
May 2020. The pandemic is in full swing and art is one of the hardest-hit sectors of society and the economy. Thus, we attempted to open a discussion about the challenges and the future of art, which at that time, at least, was also in a state of painful lockdown.
May 2020. What does the future look like, in the medium and long term? And how will it define countries, such as Greece, whose economies have so recently been hit by the financial crisis?
April 2020. The DIALOGUES are holding a second webcast in a month. This time, we approach the topic of Journalism in a time of the pandemic, but also data and its reliability, with the help of journalists participating in the discussion and the iMEdD Lab.
April 2020. The pandemic has just knocked on the door of our country, and quarantine - along with harsh traffic restriction measures - has been imposed. Society is watching developments in a numb state.
August 2021. Artificial intelligence robots will change everything. Are we ready to co-exist with them? How will we integrate them into society? Will we be equal? On which ethical basis will they be developed?
January 2020. Climate change has undoubtedly become a climate crisis and perhaps the greatest threat to the survival of the human species on the planet.
December 2019. In a festive atmosphere at Fuzz Club, as theDialoguescelebrated their 2nd anniversary, we participated in a discussion with a lively group of YouTubers about the evolution of the platform, finding their own voice within it, as well as the position of Greece in this special, parallel world!
November 2019. Usually, persons in high political positions are covered by a shroud of mystery, and their public image is protected at all times… We invited the people who are primarily responsible for the creation of this image, as they are the ones hired to photograph them!
October 2019. Shortly before the change in the Animal Cruelty Law, which was brought about by pressure from animal welfare organizations and concerned citizens, we welcomed speakers who are well acquainted with the legal framework and the needs of the animals, while also raising the question of how all these abusive behaviors reflect on our society.
September 2019. In Warehouse C at the Thessaloniki Port Authority, the SNFDialoguesorganized an event, open and free for all, where they discussed the city’s touristic vision, the stereotypes it faces, but also its distinctive multiculturalism.
August 2019. After the sunset, next to a water fountain, at one of the most iconic spots of Athenian nightlife: At Mavili Square, distinguished lovers of the city center accompanied us with their stories and their music, on a journey through the history of the capital’s nightlife and the new pulse of the city, which in recent years has become a global attraction.
July 2019. The SNF Dialogues discuss the return “Back to the Roots,” with a focus on the effort of 5 young people, trying to revive their own roots through the “Vamvakou Revival” project, with the moral and financial support of SNF.
June 2019. The SNF monthly Dialogues series and the Johns Hopkins University host the 2nd SNF Agora Institute Workshop, titled “Talking (and Listening) Across Divides". In a very interesting discussion, which was held in English, renowned scientists and researchers from different fields and disciplines highlighted everything that experience and science can teach us about the conditions that facilitate productive and democratic dialogue and promote civic engagement.
May 2019. SNF Dialogues met up with representatives of the African community in the Municipal Market of Kypseli in Athens, for an open and honest discussion on many issues, including Africa’s relationship with Greece and the rest of Europe, as well as immigration, second-class citizens and racism.
April 2019. At the very beginning of the Brexit debate, Europe’s dilemmas were already numerous and quite ambiguous. At the Dialogues event that took place in the lead-up to the European elections “symbolically” at the premises of a school, the 2nd General High School of Athens, we posed questions on issues that are still considered pressing today, about the initiatives, the diplomatic power and the sometimes-controversial possibilities of real cooperation and, ultimately, the effective unification of Europe. The event was organized in collaboration with Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, one of the world’s leading public policy institutes, based in London.
March 2019. SNF Dialogues traveled to Syros, the birthplace of Markos Vamvakaris and cradle of Rebetiko, where they discussed about things that are usually sung… The speakers—musicians, professors of Music Departments from Greece—shared their knowledge about the roots and influence of Rebetiko on the global music scene, its sociological value, as well as its stigmatization and relatively recent destigmatization.
February 2019. iMEdD, the only nonprofit journalism organization in Greece, opens its doors, by launching a discussion on the global crisis in the field of journalism and the day after.
January 2019. Shortly after the changing of the year, the SNF Dialogues welcomed the Chinese New Year, in a discussion on the imaginary bridges that connect China and Greece, in terms of history, mentality and traditions.
December 2018. The Dialogues celebrate their first year… by nearly dying from laughter!
November 2018. The Dialogues look at the stars and discuss the secrets of the universe! During the astronomy discussion, we presented the PASIPHAE (Polar-Area Stellar-Imaging in Polarization High-Accuracy Experiment) Program for the first time, which aims to provide answers about the origins of the universe.
October 2018. During a period when the Greek-German relations were strained, due to the financial crisis and everything that followed in Greece, we decided to discuss what connects the two peoples. The occasion was the German traditional Oktoberfest celebration, and the guests were people who know or come from Germany.
September 2018. People who have attempted a new beginning, either at a professional or personal level, and shared their own experience with the audience. They discussed the mixed feelings that come along with this, and how uncertainty and fear of the unknown turn into a new beginning, which can bring us even closer to personal fulfillment and happiness.
July 2018. Just before the closing curtain of the 21st World Cup, professional football players and veterans, along with coaches, sports reporters and experts talked about the unseen side of football as a social and cultural phenomenon with a variety of different meanings, focusing on the various aspects of the beloved sport, which excites fans on a massive scale all over the world.
June 2018. The workshop examined how ideological division and partisanship are pulling at the fabric of democracy around the world. Last summer, SNF and Johns Hopkins announced the joint conception of this new $150 million interdisciplinary institute, established to explore ways to reinvigorate civic engagement and civil discourse – the bulwarks of healthy democracy – in the 21st century.
May 2018. Food connoisseurs and experts of Greek and international gastronomic culture and tradition utilized every “ingredient” available, in an enticing discussion on food, its preparation, consumption and enjoyment.
April 2018. Dr. Fiori Zafeiropoulou, Country Coordinator of the global movement Fashion Revolution in Greece and Co-founder of the Social Fashion Factory, SOFFA, the fashion designer, Dimitris Petrou, journalist Effie Falida, and blogger Nancy Spathi, met onstage to discuss fashion, in an effort to approach and highlight the multiple and often contradictory faces of the fashion world.
March 2018. The discussion at DIALOGUES event was stimulated and inspired by questions such as: How stereotypes are created and what is deemed “different”? What makes a refugee “the stranger?” How can gender identity or sexual orientation define social rights? Who can censor art, and in what ways? Why can disability lead to limited accessibility and, as a result, exclusion?
February 2018. Representatives of Science, Philosophy and Arts created a unique polyphony in an attempt to construct and deconstruct the concept of Love.
January 2018. Journalists Sofia Papaioannou, Aris Chatzistefanou and Kostas Zafeiropoulos, drawing from their own experience, spoke about the dynamic nature and diversity of journalism, the challenges that it faces in view of the broader sociopolitical, economic and technological changes, as well as the opportunities that may ultimately arise. Associate Professor of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Nikos Panagiotou, elaborated on how contemporary trends in news consumption, given the omnipresence of the Internet, determine the future of the media. Valentinos Tzekas, student at the Department of Applied Informatics of the University of Macedonia presented an algorithm which he developed, in order to assist with the detection of fake news, as well as with preventing them from spreading online.
December 2017. His Eminence Metropolitan Bishop Nikolaos of the Holy Metropolis of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki, and chef Alexandros Papandreou met on stage and delved into an in-depth discussion about the essence of altruism and giving as a way of thinking that translates into action not only during the holiday season but throughout the year, the basic “ingredients” of giving, as well as what is the true meaning of the holidays and faith nowadays. Drawing on their own personal experience, the panel participants argued whether there is a culture of giving in Greece and looked at whether the sense of social solidarity grows indeed stronger as a response to the crisis.