Agoras, ancient and modern, and a framework for science-society debate

This paper offers a contemporary version of the ancient Greek agora (assembly) designed for the conduct of science-society dialogues. Drawing on what is known from ancient Greece, we identified the dimensions of forum, participation and interactivity as the three central criteria for contemporary agora. Insights into the workings of a recent potential agora - New Zealand's Royal Commission on Genetic Modification - were gained by applying this three-part framework. The alignment of participant expectations with the purpose of agoras, particularly that their role is to support debate rather than determine decisions, emerged as crucial for the acceptance of contemporary science-society agoras.