The Center for Critical Democracy Studies

AUP Junior Attends Athens Democracy Forum

Home>News>

Fatimata-Atty Germaine Djibrine '22

Fatimata-Atty Germaine Djibrine, who goes by Fatima, is an AUP junior majoring in international and comparative politics with minors in international law and international business administration. She was recently invited to be a delegate at the Athens Democracy Forum, which ran from September 29 to October 1, 2021. The forum was a wide-ranging conference organized by the Democracy and Culture Foundation in association with the New York Times. 

Fatima first heard about the opportunity via an internal call for submissions from AUP candidates, which was jointly moderated by the Center for Critical Democracy Studies (CCDS) and the Quai d’Orsay Learning Commons. After a competitive process, which included an essay submission, she was selected as one of 24 student representatives from universities across the world to participate in the conference. 

The hybrid event was held both online and on site in Athens; Fatima traveled to Greece as a delegate to a panel titled “Wake Up to the Climate Crisis,” during which a video she created on the subject of climate change policy and the Global South was aired and discussed by panel attendees. “The Global South is where climate change is most significant, but there’s little clarity about it and few people helping,” explains Fatima. “My video was about finding sustainable policies that are inclusive of all nations or that can be contextualized and adapted almost anywhere.” 

Following Fatima’s achievements in Athens, she will report back to peers and faculty at the Learning Commons Forum for Research and Practice later this semester. She has also been invited to speak at an upcoming conference in Rome. “The organizers want youth representatives to speak about the kinds of climate change solutions they would like to see,” she explains. “I’m really looking forward to it!”