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To celebrate the International Day of Democracy 2015, the Future Worlds Center’s global initiative “Reinventing Democracy in the Digital Era” in cooperation with the Jean Monnet Chair (2001) of the University of Cyprus and the European Inter-University Center for Human Rights and Democratization co-organized a panel discussion entitled "Democracy in Crisis: The floor is yours".
Description
Around 50 students from the University of Cyprus, along with members of the general public, attended the panel discussion, which took place at the University of Cyprus on Thursday the 17th of September, at 10:30 am. The speakers included Mr. Odysseas Michaelides the General Auditor of the Republic of Cyprus, Kalliope Agapiou-Josephides, associate professor of the University of Cyprus, Lia Pashalia-Spyridou, lecturer at the University of Cyprus and Dr. Yiannis Laouris, Chair of the Board of Future Worlds Center.
The speakers elaborated on issues relevant to democracy, corruption, human rights and the power of the media. General Auditor Mr. Michaelides underlined issues of corruption, defining corruption as the abuse of public authority for personal gain. He underlined that corruption is undermining democracy and the rule of law and subsequently, human rights. He also elaborated on the phenomenon of impunity and mentioned the control systems for corruption that can be put in place, preventive control and suppressive control. Dr. Agapiou noted the relation between democracy and human rights, emphasizing the heavy repercussions of corruption for vulnerable groups and the violation of fundamental principles such as the principle of equality and non-discrimination. She also stated that a country’s constitution is not enough to protect a society from corruption; it is the attitudes of the citizens that are the most important in this regard. Dr. Pashalia-Spyridou elaborated on the inter-relation between media and democracy and the importance of media, especially new technologies and tools in shaping active citizens. Dr. Laouris also commented on issues of participation and democracy and described the Future Worlds Center’s global project “Reinventing Democracy in the Digital Era”, inviting participants to come up with solutions to the problems we are facing towards a more democratic society.
Speakers
Mr. Odysseas Michaelides, Auditor General of the Republic of Cyprus Dr. Kalliope Agapiou-Josephides, Assistant Professor, University of Cyprus Dr. Lia Paschalia-Spyridou, Lecturer, University of Cyprus Dr. Yiannis Laouris, Chair of the Board, Future Worlds Center
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