When: Wednesday, October 16, 2024 | 12:30-14:00
Where: ACG Events Hall

Organized by:
The ACG Office of Public Affairs and the Andreas G. Papandreou Foundation

Supported by:
Economics, History and International Relations & European Affairs student societies

About the event:

The  ACG Distinguished Speakers Series 2024  presents  Joseph Stiglitz, Economist, Columbia University professor and Nobel Prize winner in Economic Sciences (2001), in an interactive discussion on the topic of “Why Progressive Politics and Economics Matter”, with Georgios Papandreou, Greece’s Prime Minister (2009-2011), moderated by Apostolos Mangiriadis, Anchorman of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT). 

Launched in January 2024, the ACG Distinguished Speakers Series features top policy makers, academics, field experts, diplomats, business executives and community leaders that share their personal trajectories and expertise on key issues of our time with Deree students and the broader ACG community.

About the speakers

Joseph E. Stiglitz
Professor, Columbia University; Founder and o-President Initiative for Policy Dialogue; Chief Economist for the Roosevelt Institute

Joseph E. Stiglitz is an American economist and a professor at Columbia University. He is also the co-chair of the High-Level Expert Group on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress at the OECD, the co-chair of The Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT) and the Chief Economist of the Roosevelt Institute. Stiglitz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2001. He is a former senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank and a former member and chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Stiglitz founded the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, a think tank on international development based at Columbia University, in 2000. He has been a member of the Columbia faculty since 2001 and received that university’s highest academic rank (University Professor) in 2003. In 2011 Stiglitz was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2024 he was named an Honorary Academician by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. He is the author of numerous books, including, most recently, The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society.

Georgios A. Papandreou
Prime Minister of Greece (2009-2011)  

George A. Papandreou is former Prime Minister of Greece (2009-2011) and currently Member of Parliament with the Panhellenic Socialist Movement/Movement of Change. As an MP, he represents Hellenic Parliament in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and has lead over the years the work of several Committees in producing recommendations for the deepening of democracy, human rights and the rule of law across its 47 member-states. He currently serves as the Council’s General Rapporteur on Democracy. 

First elected as MP in 1981, he served in many governmental posts. As Minister of Education (1994-1996), he founded the Greek Open University and promoted multicultural programs. As Minister of Foreign Affairs (1999-2004), he promoted peace building and European integration in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans and managed a breakthrough in Greek-Turkish relations. In 2004, Papandreou was elected leader of PASOK in the party and country’s first open primary—a move highly symbolic of his commitment to participatory governance. Throughout his political career, he has actively sought to maximize citizen participation in governance through information technologies. 

From 2006 to 2022, he was the President of the Socialist International, the largest global political family. Around the world Papandreou has deployed ‘Green Diplomacy,’ calling for the protection of the environment by placing sustainable development at the epicenter of policy-making and multilateral cooperation. 

During his premiership, he applied a series of structural reforms in his attempt to modernize his country whilst avoiding bankruptcy during Greece’s 2010 debt crisis. For his achievements related to government Transparency, he received the Quadriga Award in the category “Power of Veracity”. In 2010, he was named one of the Foreign Policy magazine’s TOP 100 Global Thinkers. In 2017, he was honored with the International Leadership Association (ILA) Distinguished Leadership Award.

For more information, please contact [email protected]