The Kettering Foundation was a headline sponsor for this year's Athens Democracy Forum, held in what many consider to be the birthplace of democracy: Athens, Greece. The theme for the 2025 gathering, New Visions for Hard Realities, acknowledged the need for a reimagining of democratic governance during this critical time when authoritarianism is not only on the rise but also when the number of countries with autocratic governments outnumber those with democratic ones. 

The foundation's Democracy around the Globe focus area took the opportunity to highlight the important work of the 2025 CFK global fellows to an audience from around the world. During a lunchtime symposium titled "Bending the Arc of Democracy," CFK Global Fellows Koketso Moeti, Chris Muriithi, Flávia Pellegrino, and Gábor Scheiring engaged in a roundtable conversation moderated by CFK Global Fellow Ivan Vejvoda. 

The dialogue, which cast light and hope on how people around the world are currently defending and reimagining democracy, focused on the power of the people. As each of the panelists were asked to share how they came to the work of democracy, Vejvoda alluded to his own formative experience because he came of age in 1968, the year the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia. From there, the discussion moved to Brazil's successful prosecution of those attempting the 2023 coup d'état and the power of Gen Z youth in Kenya. This led to an examination of how deep social inequality affects democracy, and how similar inequalities led to the election, and reelection, of Donald Trump in the US. Because illiberal actors around the world are sharing and learning from each other, the panel noted that democracy defenders also need to learn from each other, and that more cross-national, cross-regional exchanges like this one are crucial. KF President and CEO Sharon L. Davies closed the session by reminding the audience that authoritarians recognize and understand the power of the people, which is why they promote and benefit from a divided society. Her powerful call to action promised that the Kettering Foundation would walk arm in arm with those who are working to protect and expand democracy.