On 20 June Lene Rubinstein participated as a panellist, together with Prof. Mavrogordatos and Prof. Chaniotis, in a discussion on one of the most pressing problems facing modern democracies: the growing polarization that characterises political life, as well as the interaction between citizens.

The panel, 'Disrupting Polarization: A Lesson from History — Ancient Parallels to Modern Phenomena' was moderated by Stelios Vassilakis, Director of Programs and Strategic Initiatives at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and it opened the first annual workshop of the SNF Agora Institute, an ambitious joint venture between the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and Johns Hopkins University, which has benefitted from a donation of $150 milllion from the SNF. The panellists discussed the ways we may be able to learn from the Greek past, with its violent conflicts and civil wars, and above all from the Greeks' ability, observed on several occasions, to heal the wounds and restore consensus within their communities.