A Citizen’s Guide to Greece 2015
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Available since this morning! Monopoly money for Europe!
Posted May 14, 2013 by MK
By Maria Kalogeroudi This is the new 5 euro bill. The old one is still acceptable and can be used for trade. We still do not know when it will be considered invalid, but announcements will be made. Includes new and more amplified evidence of authenticity. The watermark and hologram present the portrait of Europe, […]
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Coming to grips with children trying to earn money on the streets
Posted July 11, 2013 by Politis
By Alyssa Olivo Even though I’m used to seeing homeless people begging on the streets of New York City, I’ve been surprised at the amount of children trying to earn money on the streets in Greece. I can count on both hands the amount of times I’ve had a child come up to me, play […]
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Greek image, also in crisis
Posted December 4, 2012 by alice
By Maria Alafouzos There is a cafe off Syntagma Square and it’s filled with people drinking coffee and speaking to each other in indoor tones. The smokers sit outside under outdoor heaters. Daylight is beginning to fade. That same day, in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, the CEO of Express Service was arrested […]
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Taxes and citizenship
Posted January 3, 2013 by Politis
We rarely equate paying taxes with citizenship these days, although it is certainly one of those old-fashioned obligations we associate with residing in a certain place. French actor Gerard Depardieu (by the grace of God born a Frenchman, has now been offered Russian citizenship (along with the Belgian citizenship he sought a short while back […]
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Should we look to ancient Athens?
Posted April 21, 2016 by Politis
By Claudia Chwalisz Editor’s note: Originally published on policy-network.net as “An Athenian solution to democratic discontent,” February 19, 2015. Reposted by permission of the author. New forms of contact democracy and innovative forums that allow political and economic institutions to deliberate with citizens are important steps in the long-term battle to renew representative democracy for the […]
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More on those pesky 16 year-old Scottish voters
Posted June 9, 2013 by DW
The British think tank Demos has put this short video out arguing the merits of allowing 16 and 17 year-old citizens the right to vote in Scotland.
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Journalists in jail
Posted March 22, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Kostas Vaxevanis Journalism is often either invested with magic powers or blamed for all that is wrong in the world. Both positions are wrong. Journalism is the way, lonely most of the times, of truth. Often colleagues discuss journalistic objectivity as a mausoleum where we kneel down. There is no objectivity. What matters is […]
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How to make policy that is good and represents what people need and want
Posted October 18, 2013 by Politis
An excerpt below from an article by Brian Heaton in Governing relative to an Online Public Policy Simulator to be put into use in the US state of Massachusetts. “Estimating the financial impact of a new public policy is an uncertain science at best, even for the most experienced government official. What if [policy makers] […]
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Pictures at an exhibition
Posted June 9, 2014 by DW
“Would you vote for me? Exhibition of photographs State Museum of Contemporary Art — Warehouse B1, Port of Thessaloniki June 5-21 The Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service was launched in 1999 to provide a forum for young people to explore the meaning and scope of public service in the contemporary […]
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How frequently do we use opengov services?
Posted April 3, 2013 by Politis
A nice chart below on the top online tasks carried out by frequent users in the UK. Note the lag in opengov service use relative to such tasks as reading the news, making purchases online, or engaging in some form of entertainment.
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Using your voice
Posted October 30, 2016 by Politis
By Jayde Ashante Hansen I’m not sure words can begin to explain how I feel, being an American citizen, and failing to register to vote. All year I’ve been thinking about this opportunity, after all, it’s my very first opportunity to vote for the president of the United States. I won’t have this opportunity for […]
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Europe – Crisis without End?
Posted April 20, 2013 by Politis
By Politis This past week the Municipality of Thessaloniki has hosted a unique Franco-German initiative, in collaboration with the Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe, a Dutch-registered NGO based in Thessaloniki with outreach throughout the Balkans. Academics, journalists, practitioners, and above all university students have gathered in Thessaloniki to continue their ongoing series […]
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When push becomes shove: getting citizens to act in their own best interest
Posted August 1, 2013 by DW
It was originally called the “Behavioural Insights Team,” a team of British policy analysts who employed psychological research to persuade citizens in the most subtle of ways to pay their taxes on time, get off unemployment, or insulate their attic. Now Canada has created a “nudge unit,” whose mission is to “nudge citizens into acting […]
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Citizenship in Greece in questions
Posted February 26, 2012 by pdcadmin
By Despina Ventouri Despite the fact that the concept of citizenship has roots in ancient Greece, one must not confuse this with more modern definitions and forms of citizenship. First, citizenship and democracy were invented in city-states, where it was possible for an elite class of citizens to participate directly to the political process. Second, […]
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Life lessons from Cyprus
Posted March 22, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Edward Scicluna, Minister of Finance, Malta There is nothing more undignified than the sight of a bankrupt person begging for assistance. The contrasts between the cosy and sometimes sumptuous living before the event and the state of helplessness and destitution soon after are stark indeed. While generous persons may come forward to offer their […]
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Announcing CTY Greece
Posted May 16, 2013 by Politis
Helping strengthen civil society in Greece.
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Vandalism and oppression
Posted March 30, 2014 by Politis
Tasoula Karaiskaki has a commentary out in this past Saturday’s Kathimerini English edition relative to the incidence of graffiti in downtown Thessaloniki, partly celebrating the centenial of the founding of Aris football club. This is a subject that has attracted a lot of commentary in the press and on the social media. Excerpts from the […]
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Virtual book launch at the Dukakis Center
Posted March 6, 2014 by Politis
The Dukakis Center will host a virtual launch of “Still at Aulis: Essays on Crisis and Revolution in Greece and the Eurozone,” a Kindle e-book by David Wisner, Executive Director of the Center, on Thursday, March 6, 2014, from 12 noon throughout the afternoon. Interested parties can follow the event on the “Still at Aulis” […]
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How does it feel to be Ukrainian?
Posted March 10, 2014 by pdcadmin
By Iana Nazarenko In a democracy, realists claim that the government should represent the common will of citizens, or at least act in the interest of the state and its people. But what if it does not? Should then citizens take action and change the situation, even if at the cost of hundreds of lives? […]