Draft:The Democracy & Culture Foundation

The Democracy & Culture Foundation (DCF) was established in 2019 as a non-profit organisation. According to their mission statement, they seek "to empower society through civic engagement and better governance". The Democracy and Culture Foundation organises the annual The Athens Democracy Forum and Art for Tomorrow Conference.

History
According to their website, The Democracy & Culture Foundation exists to explore the space between culture and democracy, and organise The Athens Democracy Forum and Art for Tomorrow through a non-profit structure. In September 2020 the organisation established a Board of Governors, which is responsible for overall policy and objectives as well as establishing the Foundation's guiding values. The Foundation also created a Leadership Council, which is responsible for Foundation's funding and overall strategy, in December 2020.

Building Blocks for Democracy
Following the 2021 Athens Democracy Forum, the Democracy & Culture Foundation initiated a four-year project "Re-imagining the Building Blocks for Democracy", in response to the calls to establish more specific characteristics that make democracy resilient to 21st century issues. The Democracy & Culture Foundation collaborated with five partner organisations, each of which was responsible for a particular "building block": Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin, Germany ("The power of Parties, Money and Influence"); Taejae Academy in association with Ban Ki-moon Foundation in Seoul, South Korea ("The power of the Executive"); newDemocracy Foundation in Sydney, Australia ("The power of People'); The Bertelsmann Foundation in Washington DC, United States ("The power of Information"); IDEA in association with Sapienship in Tel Aviv, Israel ("The Power of Voting"). The initial five partners agreed to draft policy proposals in local experts' panels in 2022 (stage 1), subject those proposals to the scrutiny of citizen's panels in 2023 (stage 2) and campaign for the implementation of those proposals in 2024 (stage 3). In 2023, the Democracy & Culture Foundation partnered with McKinsey & Company and a variety of academics and EU institutions to create two additional building blocks: "The power of Business" and "The power of AI and Ethics" as well as Foundation for Innovation and Development in Colombia, which took over "The power of Information" building block.

Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize
The Democracy & Culture Foundation launched the Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize in collaboration with the Kofi Annan Foundation. Every year a youth leader (aged 18-30) is recognised for "leadership and promotion of democratic principles". The prize entails an award of $10,000 and a year-long mentorship program by a recognised democracy expert. The winner is announced during the Athens Democracy Forum.

Teens for Democracy
The Democracy and Culture Foundation is developing the Teens for Democracy initiative, and the project has the stated goal of empowering teens and engaging them in deliberative democracy, ensuring. The project aims to foster active citizenship among teens.

Board of Governors

 * Irina Bokova (Chair) - Former Director-General, UNESCO
 * Anthony Kefalas (Vice-Chair) - Economist and Co-Author of McKinsey Strategy Plan
 * Colombe Cahen-Salvador - Co-Founder, Atlas
 * Mete Coban - Chief Executive, My Life My Say
 * Stephen Dunbar-Johnson - President International, The New York Times Company
 * Sean Evins - Head of Politics and Government Outreach Team, EMEA, Meta
 * Corinne Momal-Vanian - Executive Director, Kofi Annan Foundation
 * Dawn Nakagawa - President, Berggruen Institute
 * Marina Papatsoni - Director General, Business Development and Corporate Affairs, TEMES S.A.
 * Abhijit Pawar - Founder and Chairman, AP Globale and Delivering Change Foundation
 * George Tsopelas - Managing Director, McKinsey & Company Greece