PM George Papandreou`s interviews with international media

The Economist

In an interview with “The Economist” in London (uploaded on February 23), Prime Minister George Papandreou says he understands the EU’s concerns but stresses his country is not asking for handouts:
George Papandreou on Greece’s woes & video 

ABC Australia

The premier discusses his plans to deal with the nation’s crippling debt in the face of fierce anti-reform protests, in an interview Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Europe that was broadcast on February 24 on “Lateline” (information programme).
ABC.net: Greek PM discusses economic turmoil
(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)

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Mediterranean Research Centre

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  Greek researcher, Dr Evangelos Kyriakidis, lecturer in Classical and Archaeological Studies at the University of Kent in the UK has received €300,000 of a potential €4.2 million from the Los Angeles-based Cotsen Corporation to establish a Mediterranean conservation, research and education centre in Greece. Through the centre, Dr Kyriakidis aims to set up a visiting scholars’ programme, workshops and lectures on archaeological site management and planning in the Mediterranean region, as well as developing collaborations with relevant institutions in this field worldwide. T he €300,000 grant will be used to fund the pilot phase of the project which, if successful, will be eligible to receive a total of €4.2 million over the next eight years.

Greece: Energy Plant to Boost Energy Plants

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  A new unit at the Liquified Natural Gas Terminal at Revythousa – one of Greece’s most significant national infrastructures and one among the ten equivalent liquefied natural gas terminals operating today throughout the Mediterranean and Europe- was inaugurated yesterday (May 28) by the Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator (DESFA) and the Ministry of Development.   The new unit has an output of 13 MW of electrical energy and 14 MW of thermal energy. It has the highest production rate in the country (90%), cutting 22,000 tones of carbon dioxide emissions. Twenty percent of the electrical energy produced is sold to the Public Power Corporation.  During the inauguration ceremony, Development Minister Kostis Hatzidakis announced government’s goal for another 85,000 Greek households to have access to the natural gas network by the end of the year, amounting to 250,000 households, and hopefully increasing that number to a total of one million citizens by the end of 2010.  Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Energy Affairs; Public Gas Corporation: Natural Gas

Greece: Challenges in the Digital Era

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)     A conference on the “Digital Dividend” took place (February 24) organised by the Hellenic Communications and Post Commission. Minister of Transport and Communications Evripidis Stylianidis, Deputy Interior Minister responsible for the media Konstantinos Gioulekas, President of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation Christos Panagopoulos, directors of regulatory bodies across Europe, corporate executives and experts in the field of telecommunications  addressed the event.  The conference focused on Greece’s regulatory framework and  elaborated on the technological applications, as well as the prospects in terms of business opportunities. The ‘digital dividend’ is the part of the radio spectrum which will be freed up when analogue television (occupying large part of the spectrum) is switched off and replaced by digital (which utilises far less).  Greece has declared 2009 “Year of Broadband, Telecommunications and Mass Media Convergence.” Ministry of Transport and Communications: ww.yme.gr; Secretariat General for Communication-Information: Legislation and Audiovisual Policy & About Greece- Mass Media   EETT: Radio Spectrum Availability for New Mobile Telecommunications Services   European Commission- Communications: EU Member States on course for analogue terrestrial TV switch-off & Digital Broadcasting- National Switchover Plans

Greek Islands Wind Parks

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Greece’s Public Power Corporation’s (PPC) subsidiary PPC renewables announced on Wednesday that it will invest €60 million in nine wind parks, producing 35.1 megawatts of power. The islands of Crete and Samos will each get two wind parks, while Paros, Lesvos, Rhodes, Sifnos and Lemnos will get one each. The projects are scheduled for completion in the next 24 months. Kathimerini daily: Greener power for PPC plants; Centre for Renewable Energy: Wind Energy 

Award to the Greek Film: “The Secret of the Snake Goddess”

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   The film titled “The Secret of the Snake Goddess” is a Canadian – German – Greek co-production. The Greek company Anemon Productions and the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) have produced it and the documentary has won awards in Canada and Greece.  It will be broadcast by the slot “Doc on Air” by the Hellenic Broadcast Corporation’s channel ET-1 on January 5, 2009. This is the story of the discovery of Knossos and the Minoans by Sir Arthur Evans in the beginning of the 20^th century. Following Canadian archaeologist Alexander MacGillivray, the documentary travels from Crete to Boston, New York and Toronto, to discover the secrets behind the most famous Minoan masterpieces. Film Awards: Yorkton Film & Video Festival (May 2008), Golden Sheaf Award for Best Documentary – History; International Science Film Festival: Athena Award – Special Mention of Art  J. Alexander MacGillivray: Minotaur: Sir Arthur Evans and the Archaeology of the Minoan Myth (New York: Hill and Wang, 2000).

Greek Foreign Ministry: “An Afghan Odysseus”

The awarded documentary “Qadir: An Afghan Odysseus” officially premiered on October 29, and a message from Minister Dora Bakoyannis was read out during a press conference to mark the occasion. The film tracks the nine-year journey of a young Afghan immigrant as he tries to make his life in Greece. In her message, Bakoyannis hailed the final effort as “a programme of developmental cooperation that seeks to sensitize western societies to the problems of the developing world, to show understanding for difference and the importance of encouraging return through developmental activities.”  Co-financed by Hellenic Aid and the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), the film was screened at the ministry, in the presence of Afghan Deputy Culture Minister Omar Sultan. The filming of the documentary – that received 1st Prize at the International Roma Fiction Festival (Factual Section)- took place in Greece and Afghanistan. In an overview of Greek developmental diplomacy over the last five years, Secretary General for International Economic Relations and Development Cooperation Theodoros Skylakakis pointed out that Greece had given more than €60 million to Afghanistan’s reconstruction in that time, financing initiatives including emergency aid, health, education, preserving peace and culture.  Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Qadir – An Afghan Odysseus 

News in Polish from the Greek Radio

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  Through its successful European course, Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation” ERT – from a sending country of migrants in the 1960s – became a recipient country for workers from all corners of the globe. The radical changes in the country’s cultural and social map took place in a very short period of time and constituted a challenge for everyone. The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (www.ert.gr) offers news in 12 languages through its multilingual radio programme “FILIA” (“friendship” in Greek). The news is broadcast in Arabic, Russian, Romanian, Turkish, Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian, Albanian, German, Spanish, French, Polish, and English. FILIA Program (665 ΑΜ): Daily Programme Schedule; Saturday Programme Schedule; Sunday Programme Schedule

Greek Director won Best Documentary Award

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)     Greek director Anneta Papathanassiou won the Best Documentary Award at the 2008 Roma Fiction Fest on July 12 in Rome, in the competitive section, for her documentary “Qadir, Enas Afghanos Odysseas” (Qadir, an Afghani Odysseus/Ulysses). The awarded documentary is a co-production with the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), with the support of the, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the production company Orizontas Greek Film Centre and Al-Jazeera.  Express.gr: Greek director wins Best Documentary award at Roma Fiction Fest; Secretariat General of Information: World Media on Greece – Culture and Education