A citizens’ assembly in Athens, 2,345 years later

When questioning locals around Athens' Acropolis about the Pnyx (or Pnyka), most have no idea what you are talking about; these historical sites are largely overlooked by tourists and residents alike. Yet, nestled on the hillside opposite the Parthenon, the Pnyx is at the very core of Ancient Athens' democratic legacy. Nevertheless, it took 2,345 years since the last ecclesia met in 322 BC to hold a proper citizens' assembly on its plateau. It did so under the aegis of The Democratic Odyssey, a pan-European project bringing together the citizens' assembly tradition of ancient Athens and the potential unleashed by modern cutting-edge technologies, including through the role of AI in enabling translation between our 24 official European languages.

Our world seems bleak these days, as we once more learn the meaning of war on our continent and in our neighborhood. On one side we...