Remaking citizenship in Athens

14 January 2022

How can we understand citizenship beyond the state? How do people build the city, collectively and creatively?

A new video discussion on citizenships in Athens was published on 12 January by the Onassis Centre in Greece, moderated by Tom Western of UCL Geography, and co-organised by Tom along with colleagues at the Onassis Centre and the Syrian and Greek Youth Forum.

The discussion breaks the borders of citizenship, reflecting the realities of everyday urban life and showcasing street-level practices of city making. It gathers knowledges from multiple perspectives: community art, refugee-led activism, sex work, Black Studies, asylum law, environmental sustainability, education, and more.

Tom said: ‘It was a real pleasure to think with an amazing group of organisers and educators, artists and activists – people who have built collective methods of citizenship and remade questions of belonging in the city’.

From the discussion, forms of citizenship emerge that are lively and creative, joyful and rebellious.

The talk emerges out of Tom’s collaborative work as part of citizenship movements in Athens, and ongoing collaborations with the Onassis Centre.

Watch the trailer below:

You can find the full discussion here.

And you can read more information on the video here.