Activities


Presentation
The Constantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy (CKID) was established in January 1998. A non-profit organization, the Institute was founded for the purpose of examining and analyzing social, political and economic issues.

The objective of the Institute is to contribute to the advancement of democracy, civil liberties and private enterprise, while remaining committed to development and social cohesion.

The establishment of the Institute for Democracy is a response to current global changes and the demands of the Greek society. The country's European orientation is not merely a matter of achieving certain indicators. We aim to structural change and solid European policies.

The Constantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy is structured in five Departments (International Cooperation, Publications, Policy Studies, Political Analysis and Political Academy). Apart from Athens, the Institute operates offices in four large Greek cities (Thessaloniki, Patra, Ioannina and Agrinio), as well as an international office in Brussels.
Conference
The Constantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy (CKID) will organize with the support of the European Commission a conference in Athens on “The Participation of women in the social and political life”, on Monday, 25th of May 2009.

The aim of this event will be to discuss the problem of unequal representation of men and women in the decision making process. Ιt will elaborate on the roots of this disproportion in male to female ratios, and it will present and evaluate the implemented policies at a European and national level.

The speakers will include: Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament), Olga Kefalogianni (Member of the Hellenic Parliament), Eugenia Tsoumani (Secretary General for Gender Equality, Ministry of Interior), Dr. Hara Karagiannopoulou (Visiting Lecturer of the Department of International and European Studies, Panteion University, Athens). The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Nikolaos Tzifakis (Head of the CKID International Cooperation Department).

The conference is expected to raise awareness on the dimensions of the problem, provide recommendations for the improvement of the relevant policies, aiming at stimulating women’s greater participation in high level posts in the domains of politics and economy.

A report will be subsequently published.

Towards the site of The Institute Constantinos Karamanlis for democracy






Conclusions of the Conference
The Constantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy organised in Athens on 25 May 2009 a conference on “Women’s participation in the social and political life of Europe”.
Nikolaos Tzifakis, member of the Institute, moderated the debates between Rodi Kratsa-Tsangaropoulou (MEP, Vice President of the European Parliament), Olga Kefalogianni (MP), Eugenia Tsoumani-Spentza (General Secretary for Gender Equality in the Grek government) and Zacharoula Karagiannopoulou (Visiting Lecturer at Panteion University).
Among the 250 persons attending the conference, there were representatives of women organizations and other NGOs, policy makers and university students. The presentations were structured around two major topics: Institutional practice, both at the European and Greek level, and theoretical approaches.