Re-imagining Democracy

Date: October 28-29, 2020

Register here.

ABOUT THE YARON EZRAHI CONFERENCE ON DEMOCRACY

The Israel Democracy Institute is honored to join with the Ezrahi family in commemorating the late Prof. Yaron Ezrahi’s extraordinary contributions to Israeli public life, by inaugurating a major annual international conference on democracy to be held in collaboration with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yaron’s academic home.

The inaugural conference, to be held online on October 28-29, 2020, will drive an informed, non-partisan debate about the common challenges facing democracies everywhere in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic and the troubling rise of populism. Decision-makers, policy experts, and scholars from Israel and around the world will engage in an exchange of ideas and best practices. A kickoff web event held on June 30, 2020, featured the Right Honorable Tony Blair, former prime minister of Great Britain, in a fascinating conversation with Pulitzer Prize laureate Thomas L. Friedman on the future of liberal democracy in the post-pandemic era.

In keeping with Yaron’s legacy as an educator and public intellectual, the conference will serve both as a platform for debate among thought leaders, and an avenue of outreach and education to the general public. It will feature a strong focus on education for democratic citizenship and vigorous engagement of traditional and digital media. Over time, we anticipate that this conference will be recognized as one of the most prominent global forums for discussion of the challenges facing contemporary liberal democracy, from the unique vantage point of Israel’s young and challenged democracy.

Israel Democracy Institute, established in 1991, is an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.