Jordi Vaquer
Secretary General @ Metropolis
Bio
Jordi Vaquer is Secretary General of Metropolis, the international association of major metropolises, which brings together around 150 global cities and metropolitan areas from all continents that have more than 1 million inhabitants. He teaches at Barcelona Institute for International Studies, and is a frequent media commentator on international affairs. He was the Director for Europe and the Director for Global Foresight and Analysis at Open Society Foundations, the leading philanthropy working on democracy and human rights. Before that he directed the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, one of southern Europe’s leading international affairs think tanks. Dr. Vaquer holds a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics.
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Opening Session: challenges for democracy in Europe
This session will address the main advances, opportunities, setbacks and current challenges of democracy and democratic institutions in Europe, identifying the common and specific values that characterise European democracies, but also the different practices and conceptions that coexist throughout the continent. It will conclude with a joint reflection on what can be done from the different actors (institutions, activists, civil society and citizenry) and also jointly to protect and strengthen our democracies.