Reclaiming democracy through citizen assemblies | George Zarkadakis | TEDxThessaloniki

Informed participation in political discourse requires time in order to obtain the necessary knowledge. Acknowledging that we may not have the time or inclination to gain a deep understanding of absolutely everything, we delegate responsibility to our representatives but trust in politicians is declining. How can we protect democracy and ensure we don't fall prey to demagogues? George Zarkadakis has taken part in citizen assemblies and argues that this may be the way to reclaim our decision making power.

Ανακτώντας τη Δημοκρατία μέσω συμβουλίων πολιτών
Για να συμμετέχουμε ουσιαστικά στον πολιτικό διάλογο, πρέπει πρώτα να διαθέσουμε τον απαραίτητο χρόνο για να ενημερωθούμε σωστά. Αναγνωρίζοντας ότι δεν έχουμε τον χρόνο και, ίσως, την διάθεση να εμβαθύνουμε σε κάθε ζήτημα της επικαιρότητας, αναθέτουμε την ευθύνη για την λήψη αποφάσεων στους πολιτικούς, τους οποίους όμως εμπιστευόμαστε όλο και λιγότερο. Πώς μπορούμε να προστατεύσουμε την δημοκρατία και να μην πέσουμε θύματα των δημαγωγών; Ο Γιώργος Ζαρκαδάκης έχει πάρει μέρος σε Συμβούλια Πολιτών και σ'αυτή την ομιλία υπερασπίζεται την δυνατότητα που μας παρέχουν να ανακτήσουμε την θέση μας στην συμμετοχική δημοκρατία.

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George Zarkadakis is the head of Willis Towers Watson’s consulting practice in Great Britain & Western Europe on domains as “the Future of Work & the impact of Artificial Intelligence in the workplace”. He has over 25 years of experience in management consulting, media, marketing & communications, as well as in digital strategy & innovation. He holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence & is the author of “In Our Own Image: will Artificial Intelligence Save Us or Destroy Us?”. He is also the author of several novels published in Greece, Italy and Spain. Apart from his professional and writing career George has a keen interest in the popularization and communication of science and technology. He launched and directed "Focus", the biggest popular science magazine in Greece, and wrote "Eureka!", a very successful popular science television program. For his international work in the public engagement of science, he was awarded a knighthood by the French government. He lives and works in London This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx