Prague, Tawakkol Karman, the first Arab woman who has received the Peace Nobel Prize, will be one of the participants in the Forum 2000 conference called Democracy: In Need of a Critical Update?, scheduled for Prague on October 7-9, organiser Karel Prochazka told journalists on Monday.

The event will also be attended by Finnish-Estonian writer Sofi Oksanen and the founder of the Doctors Without Borders group, Bernard Kouchner, Prochazka said.

The lectures and discussions will deal with social and economic challenges of democracy, the growing populism and nationalism as well as basic change in the digital space.

The organisers are saying that for the all successes of democracy which have brought about a historically unique freedom, stability and prosperity, there were still substantial problems.

"The uncontrolled migration, suppressed feelings of national identity, a high inequality in incomes and uncertainty arising from globalisation and rapid social and technological changes are plaguing major groups of the population," they said.

"A long-standing ignorance of major social problems on the part of elites is inexcusable," the director of the conference of the Forum 2000 Foundation, Jakub Klepal, said.

The voters' reaction, instigated by domestic populists or international dictators, is inadequate, leading democratic societies to a politically wavering system and erratic international relations, "a system of short-sighted national egoism and strong positions of authoritarian regimes such as China and Russia."

Over 300 experts and speakers will include a number of young people who will discuss the way with which to renew the confidence in democracy.

They will include Juraj Seliga, an organiser of the protests For Decent Slovakia, and young economist and the strongest pro-European candidate in the presidential election in Moldova in 2016 Maia Sandu.

 

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