ATHENS — The annual SNF Conference will open its online gates οn Monday, June 22 at 18:30 (Greek time), hosting speakers who will try to approach issues that concern everyone from their own perspective. The dialogue will begin with a "journey" into the past, exploring whether ideas that have emerged in previous discussions are applicable today, and lead to burning questions about a future that bears the scars of a global pandemic.

The conference is part of the wider Summer Nostos Festival RetroFuture, which is being held online from June 21 to June 28 2020.

"The SNF Conference began in 2012, in the midst of another major upheaval, the 2008 global financial crisis. We have again invited some of the previous speakers to explore how ideas shared at previous conferences on critical issues can apply to the current situation and possible versions of our future. We will look at how the public space is changing and being challenged, the role of charity and cultural institutions in dealing with crises and the role of ethics in shaping our public choices," the Stavros Niarchos Foundation said in a statement.

The park at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center is reopening for the public on June 22, with social distancing rules in place, and without the need for electronic pre-bookings.

Conference Program

Monday June 22, 2020

The conference is hosted and moderated by iMEdD Managing Director, SNF DIALOGUES Executive Director and Journalist Anna-Kynthia Bousdoukou.

Opening Remarks

Andreas DracopoulosCo-President, Stavros Niarchos Foundation

Looking Back, Looking Forward

The SNF Conference emerged in 2012, in the midst of another major disruption – the 2008 global financial crisis. We've invited back some of our most provocative and irreverent presenters, to explore how ideas they've shared at past SNF conferences about critical issues speak to the present moment, and our possible futures. We'll examine the way public space is changing and challenged, the role of philanthropy and cultural institutions in responding to crises, and the role of ethics in shaping our public choices.

with…

Andreas DracopoulosCo-President, Stavros Niarchos Foundation

Ruth FadenFounder, Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics

Bill T. JonesCo-Founder, New York Live Arts

Eric KlinenbergSociologist, NYU

Alan StogaChairman, The Tällberg Foundation

Rebirth, Reinvention, and Return: Framing Questions for the Post-COVID World

What might the world look like, and what choices might we face, in the post-COVID world? How might the practice of public health change? How might society's institutions change, evolve or devolve? How might the world of work change? How might the social contract change? And how might we "bounce forward" to a new and more sustainable future?

with…

Nicholas ChristakisDirector, Human Nature Lab, Yale University

Hilary CottamSocial Entrepreneur and Author

Aarathi KrishnanHumanitarian Futures and Strategic Foresight Advisor

Andrew ZolliVice President, Planet Inc., Forecaster and Author