International Conference “”More Europe” in and outside the EU. What role can culture play?” (Warsaw, 19/11/2012)

19 listopada 2012 (poniedziałek), godz. 9:30 – 20:00
Warszawa, Centrum Nauki Kopernik, Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 20  

19 November 2012 (Monday), 9:30 am – 8:00 pm
Warsaw, Copernicus Science Center, Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 20 

”MORE EUROPE” to obywatelska inicjatywa kulturalna, której celem jest podkreślenie i wzmocnienie roli kultury w relacjach zewnętrznych UE. Obecna edycja debaty ”More Europe“ odbywa się w stolicy największego kraju spośród tak zwanych „nowych członków“ UE. Polska, aktywnie współpracując w dziedzinie kultury z krajami spoza Unii, zwłaszcza z państwami Partnerstwa Wschodniego, pełni rolę „mostu“ pomiędzy Zachodem a Wschodem, także w obszarze polityki i gospodarki, kładąc jednocześnie szczególny nacisk na wzmocnienie społeczeństwa obywatelskiego przez kulturę. Debata dotyczyć będzie głównie sposobu, w jaki kultura może wspierać budowę europejskiej tożsamości kulturowej w oparciu o społeczeństwo obywatelskie wewnątrz i na zewnątrz UE; struktur do tego potrzebnych; a także sposobu, w jaki artyści i artystki oraz organizacje pozarządowe spoza UE, widzą te kwestie.

 “MORE EUROPE” is a civic cultural initiative that seeks to highlight and reinforce the role of culture in the external relations of the European Union. This edition of More Europe takes place in the capital of Poland, the biggest country among the so called “new” EU Member States and a very active player in the field of cultural co-operation with countries outside the European Union, notably the Eastern Partnership area. Poland acts as a “bridge” between the West and the East in terms of politics, the economy and culture, and puts special emphasis on strengthening civil societies through culture. The Warsaw debate will focus on ways in which culture can contribute to the development of a European cultural identity through the activities of civil societies inside and outside the EU. It will also look at the structures needed to support this process, and present insights of artists and NGOs from outside the EU.

Tłumaczenie: cała konferencja będzie tłumaczona na język polski i angielski
Interpreting: the entire conference will be interpreted into Polish and English
Informacja/Info:
www.austria.org.pl
prosimy o kontakt z /please contact at:
moreeurope@austria.org.pl; 0048 22 526 88 00

19-go listopada Centrum Nauki Kopernik, ul. Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 20, będzie otwarte od godziny 8:30
Doors open at the Copernicus Science Center, Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 20 Str., at 8.30 am on 19 November

Διάλεξη “Ο ελληνικός εμφύλιος πόλεμος” – Εκδήλωση Γραφείου Τύπου (Βαρσοβία, 5/3/2012)

Διάλεξη του αναπληρωτή καθηγητή του Πανεπιστημίου Μακεδονίας (Θεσσαλονίκη), Νίκου Μαραντζίδη, με θέμα «Ο ελληνικός εμφύλιος πόλεμος – Εσωτερικές και διεθνείς διαστάσεις», πραγματοποιήθηκε στις 5 Μαρτίου στο Πανεπιστήμιο Βαρσοβίας.
Η διάλεξη διοργανώθηκε από το Γραφείο Τύπου, σε συνεργασία με το Τμήμα Ελληνικών Σπουδών του Πανεπιστημίου Βαρσοβίας.
Ο καθηγητής παρουσίασε το ιστορικό πλαίσιο και τα σημαντικότερα γεγονότα του εμφυλίου, προκειμένου να αναδείξει το πολύπλοκο πλέγμα σχέσεων που συνέδεε την Ελλάδα της περιόδου του εμφυλίου με ξένες χώρες.
Επικεντρώθηκε στον ρόλο χωρών της Ανατολικής Ευρώπης και την υποστήριξη των κομμουνιστών ανταρτών από το Ανατολικό μπλόκ, δίνοντας έμφαση στην βοήθεια της Πολωνίας προς τους έλληνες κομμουνιστές, η οποία περιελάμβανε την υποδοχή και περίθαλψη προσφύγων ανταρτών και παιδιών, την ίδρυση μυστικού στρατιωτικού νοσοκομείου στη Βαλτική, αποστολές τροφίμων, ιατροφαρμακευτικού υλικού κ.ά..
Αναφέρθηκε, επίσης, στις διάφορες περιόδους μνήμης του εμφυλίου στην Ελλάδα και στην θεματολογία του εμφυλίου στην ελληνική λογοτεχνία.
Την διάλεξη, στην οποία παρέστησαν ο πρέσβης Γαβριήλ Κοπτσίδης και πολλά μέλη της Ελληνικής Πρεσβείας, παρακολούθησαν οι φοιτητές και οι διδάσκοντες του Τμήματος Ελληνικών Σπουδών, καθηγητές του Πανεπιστημίου Βαρσοβίας, ομογενείς και άλλοι Έλληνες της Βαρσοβίας.
Ο καθ. Ν. Μαραντζίδης συνεργάζεται στενά, τα τελευταία χρόνια, με το Γραφείο Τύπου, το οποίο παρέχει διευκολύνσεις στη  έρευνά του για την βοήθεια της Πολωνίας προς τους έλληνες πρόσφυγες του εμφυλίου.

Lecture by professor Nikos Marantzidis about the Greek Civil War (Warsaw, 5/3/2012)

A lecture titled “The Greek Civil War – Internal and international dimensions” was held at the University of Warsaw by the professor of the University of Macedonia (Thessaloniki), Nikos Marantzidis, on the 5th of March 2012. The lecture was organized by the Greek Press and Communication Office in Warsaw, in conjunction with the Department of Greek Studies of the University of Warsaw.
The professor presented the historical context and the main events of the Civil War, aiming to demonstrate the complicate relations of Greece with foreign countries during the Civil War. He focused on the role of various Eastern European countries and their support to the Greek communist partisans, emphasizing Poland`s aid towards the Greek communists, which concentrated on the reception and care of refugees (partisans and children), the creation of a secret military hospital in the Baltic Sea, food provisions, medical equipment etc.. There were, also, references to the different periods of collective memory regarding the Civil War in Greece and to issues related to the Civil War in Greek literature.
The lecture was attended by the Greek Ambassador Gabriel Coptsidis and several members of the Greek Embassy, students and professors of the Department of Greek Studies, professors of the University of Warsaw, along with members of the general public, among which were Greeks, expatriates and residents of Warsaw.
Professor Marantzidis works closely with the Press Office during the last years, in his research about Poland`s aid towards the Greek refugees of the Civil War.

“Kali Patrida” Greek Communities of Political Refugees in Eastern Europe

By the end of the Greek Civil War (1946-49), Greece was in a tragic state. The human loss and physical destruction incurred in this conflict was added to the suffering and damage already accumulated during World War II and the occupation. One of the most dramatic consequences of the Civil War was the odyssey of thousands of Greek men, women and children who settled in Eastern Europe and the USSR – mainly in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The Hellenic Parliament Foundation for Parliamentarianism and Democracy is hosting until December 31, 2011, an exhibition titled Kali Patrida… Greek Communities of political refugees in Eastern Europe.
The exhibition draws on material (printed and audiovisual) from many sources, both from Greece and abroad in order to shed light on particular themes in the lives of political refugees: their establishment in the host countries (East Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Uzbekistan); their children’s education, their communities, their efforts to preserve their distinctive cultural heritage as well as their repatriation.
“Kali patrida” meaning “Happy Homecoming,” is actually a wish political refugees shared, expressing their nostalgia for their homeland.
ERT Archive: Documentary: Second Homeland – Episode: Stepmother Homeland & Michalis Gkanas: The history of my times [VIDEO]; TVXS: Writer Alki Zei talks about the Civil War [VIDEO]
ODYSSEY Magazine about Greece and the Greek Diaspora: Features-Our Town Beloiannisz in Hungary
(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)

 

PM George Papandreou`s intervention at the plenary session of the Eastern Partnership Summit (Warsaw, 30/9/2011)

By virtue of its location, Greece is uniquely positioned as a bridge linking the Eastern and the Mediterranean dimensions of Europe’s Neighborhood Policy and has promoted the development of both since the ENP’s inception. Therefore, we are very supportive of the strengthening of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) envisaged in the new Neighborhood Policy, based on our shared principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.
The re-launching and re-energizing of the Eastern Partnership, and of the European Neighborhood Policy as a whole, was long overdue. It was necessary in order to better respond to serious common challenges – political, economic, geostrategic, environmental or pertaining to security and energy – but also in order to better prepare for the future.
Structural reforms, internal political tensions, gas routes, energy supply, ecological risks, economic development, illegal immigration and organized crime, are only some of the challenges we are faced with in the framework of the Eastern Neighborhood Policy. Our engagement in the Eastern Neighbourhood is also a matter of consistency and credibility for the EU. Our strategic goal is and will remain the creation of a wider area of stability and prosperity, both in the South as well as in the East. This could only be done by boosting mutually beneficial institutional cooperation and by converging on a set of common values and standards, modeled on the EU positive paradigm and experience.

PM George Papandreou at the EU Eastern Partnership Summit (Warsaw, 29-30/9/2011)

Prime Minister George Papandreou attended the EU Eastern Partnership Summit, held in Warsaw on September 29-30.
Addressing the summit, Papandreou urged his European partnersto explore ways of institutional cooperation that would help promote stability and prosperity in both the eastern and southern zones of the European Neighbourhood Policy.

Papandreou proposed that the summit establish a small number of realistic and shared short-term and long-term targets, especially in areas of heightened interest that had a tangible impact on citizens, such as mobility, visas, tourism and energy.

“We will then be able to focus on their effective implementation for our mutual benefit,” he said, adding that too ambitious a programme could become counter-productive.
Η Σύνοδος για την Ανατολική Εταιρική Σχέση πραγματοποιήθηκε στη Βαρσοβία στις 29 και 30 Σεπτεμβρίου, στο πλαίσιο της Πολωνικής Προεδρίας της ΕΕ.
Στη Σύνοδο συμμετείχαν εκπρόσωποι 33 χωρών, μεταξύ των οποίων τα 27 κράτη μέλη της ΕΕ και οι έξι χώρες της Ανατολικής Ευρώπης και του Νοτίου Καυκάσου: Αρμενία, Αζερμπαϊτζάν, Γεωργία, Μολδαβία, Ουκρανία και Λευκορωσία. Την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση  εκπροσώπησαν οι Πρόεδροι του Ευρωπαϊκού Συμβουλίου, Herman Van Rompuy, του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου, Jerzy Buzek, της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής, Jose Manuel Barroso και η ύπατη εκπρόσωπος για την εξωτερική πολιτική και την πολιτική ασφάλειας, Catherine Ashton.
Η Ανατολική Εταιρική Σχέση (ΑΕΣ) αποτελεί ευρωπαϊκή πρωτοβουλία που αφορά στη συνεργασία των προαναφερθέντων 6 χωρών της Ανατολικής Ευρώπης.
Την Ελλάδα εκπροσώπησε ο πρωθυπουργός Γιώργος Παπανδρέου.
Στο περιθώριο του δείπνου εργασίας στις 29 Σεπτεμβρίου, ο πρωθυπουργός Γ. Παπανδρέου είχε συνομιλίες με τους πρωθυπουργούς της Γαλλίας Francois Fillon, της Ισπανίας Jose Zapatero, της Πορτογαλίας Pedro Coelho, της Ιρλανδίας Enda Kenny, της Εσθονίας Andrus Ansip με την γερμανίδα καγκελάριο Angela Merkel, με τον αντιπρόεδρο της βρετανικής κυβέρνησης, Nicholas Clegg, με τους Προέδρους της Ουκρανίας Viktor Yanukovich, και της Γεωργίας Mikheil Saakashvili.
Στις 29 Σεπτεμβρίου ο πρωθυπουργός είχε, επίσης, συνάντηση με τον Πρόεδρο του Αζερμπαϊτζάν, Ilham Aliyev, με τον οποίο συζήτησε ενεργειακά και οικονομικά θέματα, καθώς και εθνικά θέματα, όπως το Κυπριακό.
Στο περιθώριο της Συνόδου στις 30 Σεπτεμβρίου, ο πρωθυπουργός Γ. Παπανδρέου συναντήθηκε με τον Πρόεδρο του Ευρωπαϊκού Συμβουλίου, Herman Van Rompuy, με τον οποίο συζήτησε μεταξύ άλλων για την πορεία της ελληνικής οικονομίας και την υλοποίηση των αποφάσεων της 21^ης Ιουλίου.
Συναντήθηκε, επίσης, με την πρωθυπουργό της Σλοβακίας Iveta Radicova. 
Τα κυριότερα σημεία της εισήγησης του πρωθυπουργού Γ. Παπανδρέου στο δείπνο εργασίας των εθνικών αντιπροσωπειών έχουν ως εξής:
“Είναι γεγονός ότι φέτος η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση χρειάστηκε να εστιάσει την προσοχή της σε άλλες γειτονικές περιοχές, κυρίως στο Νότο, λόγω των ιστορικών και ευρείας εμβέλειας εξελίξεων που σημειώθηκαν εκεί.

Επίσκεψη Υπουργού Εξωτερικών Δημήτρη Δρούτσα στη Βαρσοβία (19/1/2011)

Ο Υπουργός Εξωτερικών Δημήτρης Δρούτσας πραγματοποίησε επίσημη επίσκεψη στην Πολωνία, κατά την διάρκεια της οποίας συναντήθηκε με τον πολωνό ομόλογό του, Radoslaw Sikorski, και στη συνέχεια με την Κοινοβουλευτική Ομάδα Ελληνο-Πολωνικής Φιλίας.
Κατά την συνάντησή του με τον πολωνό Υπουργό Εξωτερικών συζητήθηκαν θέματα διμερών σχέσεων, καθώς και θέματα ευρωπαϊκού ενδιαφέροντος εν όψει της Πολωνικής Προεδρίας της ΕΕ το δεύτερο εξάμηνο του 2011.
Το πλήρες κείμενο της συνέντευξης τύπου που πραγματοποιήθηκε μετά την συνάντηση των δύο Υπουργών Εξωτερικών έχει ως εξής:

Kedzierzawska, Lechki win awards at Thessaloniki Film Festival

Poland’s film director Dorota Kedzierzawska was granted the honorary Golden Alexander award for lifetime achievements at the 51st Thessaloniki International Film Festival that ended on Sunday.
Marek Lechki won the Best Screenplay Award for “Erratum”, the film he also directed and produced.
On show during the festival were Kedzierzawska’s films “I am”, “Devils, Devils” and “Time to Die”. The films illustrate the Polish director’s original, outstanding style and her compassion for the people she portrays and profound respect she has for their choices, festival organizers wrote.
The Thessaloniki International Film Festival is a top film festival of South Eastern Europe. Founded in 1960 as the Week of Greek Cinema, it became international in 1992.
(Polish Press Agency) 

Russia honours Polish director Andrzej Wajda

Polish film director Andrzej Wajda has been awarded an Order of Friendship by Russian president Dmitri Medvedev, the Kremlin informed Tuesday.
The Order of Friendship is one of the highest Russian distinctions.
Kremlin spokesmen said Wajda was granted the Order for his contributions to Russian-Polish cultural ties.
Wajda, 84, one of the founders of the so-called “Polish film school” in the 1950s and 60s, won world fame with his epic works Man of Marble and Man of Iron, in which he criticized Stalinism. Wajda has received numerous international awards for his films, including a lifework Oscar in 2000.
Earlier this year Wajda’s film Katyn about 1940 mass executions of Poles in Katyn Forest, west Russia, evoked broad reactions in Russia. Wajda said at the time that he had been personally involved in the film as his father had been among  the Katyn victims.
(PAP, 11/8/2010)

“Greek Foreign Policy: Challenges and Prospects”

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) Addressing the conference “Greek Foreign Policy: Challenges and Prospects” held yesterday on the premises of the Foreign Affairs Ministry,  Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis referred to Greece’s foreign policy priorities centering on economic diplomacy, relations with Greeks abroad and green development.

Kouvelis stressed that the Balkans, the wider Black Sea region and that of Eastern Mediterranean is of particular interest to Greece.
He therefore took the opportunity to refer to the country’s upcoming Chairmanship in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC, June 1 to December 31, 2010),  forwarding the message that, in its capacity, Greece is committed to strengthen the organisation’s role with respect to its member-states and the region’s economic development.
Finally, on green development, Kouvelis emphasised Greece’s need to live up to the challenges of the new situation taking shape globally. The conference was organised by the Institute of International Relations, an Athens-based think tank affiliated with Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences.

Greece: Commemorating the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Tear Down the Last Wall!

Two decades have elapsed since November 9, 1989, when the border separating Western from Eastern Germany was effectively opened.

Prime Minister George Papandreou attended the events, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, held yesterday in Berlin. The premier called for the last wall still dividing a European city, Nicosia, to be brought down and stressed that “as Greeks and Europeans, we can shout: Tear down the last wall, the one that divides Cyprus into two.” In Berlin, Papandreou held also a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during which they discussed issues of mutual interest. Kathimerini daily: PM sets sights on Cyprus wall

“Breaking Down Walls, Building Bridges”

In Greece, the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall was commemorated in a special event, titled “Breaking down walls, building bridges” on November 8 at the City of AthensTechnopolis.

The President of the Hellenic Republic, Karolos Papoulias, Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas and the German Ambassador in Greece Wolfgang Schultheissaddressed the event, stressing the great importance of the fall of the Berlin wall, which has become the “symbol of freedom for all humanity.” The event organised under the auspices of the German Embassy in Athens. Droutsas also addressed the OSCE event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in Vienna on November 6.

Conference: The Image of Germany

Τhe Association of Greek Press Attachés and the German Embassy in Athens are holding, on November 12, a conference titled “The public image of Germany,” at the Amphitheatre of theTheocharakis Foundation.

The event is being held on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany, the 20th anniversary since the fall of the Wall and 10th anniversary since the transfer of the country’s capital from Bonn to Berlin.
Experts from Germany and Greece will discuss how the image of Germany has changed over the years, from the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany, until the fall of the Berlin Wall and the restoration of the unity of the country [Programme, in Greek]. Government Spokesman George Petalotis will address the event. International Communication Policy Forum: “The Public Image of Germany“

Greek Prime Minister: Let’s go for Energy

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  The 27 members of the European Union have agreed that the time is ripe for the EU to inaugurate a new framework of cooperation with its Eastern Partners, engaging in dialogue with 6 countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus.   On May 7, the Czech presidency held the Prague Summit, which officially launched the “Eastern Partnership,” with the participation of EU’s 27 members and representatives from the 6 countries.   Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis addressed the inaugural session of the Eastern Partnership Summit, emphasising the importance of energy interdependence between the European Union and its partners in Eastern Europe, noting that energy security must be safeguarded at all times by all EU members, regardless of their level of dependence and that this constitutes a perception that needs to be endorsed widely by all Europeans.  Lastly, Karamanlis stressed that the importance of the EU’s strategy for the Eastern Partnership Summit lies in the possibilities that the strategy provides for strengthening regional stability. Greece supports the economic and social development of the 6 countries without this being associated to accession to the EU. In particular, Greece’s chairmanship at the OSCE is already in cooperation with all six EU’s Eastern Partners within the Organisation’s structure. Moreover, pledging to deliver tangible results in troubled region such as Georgia, the Greek chairmanship has assumed the responsibility to act as a broker to promote peaceful settlement of conflicts.

• Greek monastic food gets cookbook treatment

(The Salt Lake Tribune/AP, 15.08.08) A cookbook written by Father Epifanios Milopotaminos, the cook on the secluded Mount Athos sanctuary gives us a rare glimpse into life in this community of some 1,500 monks in 20 monasteries that strictly limits outside access, including barring women. Published in April, ”Cooking on Mount Athos” (so far available only in Greek) offers 126 unpretentious, tasty recipes. ”It’s a clean diet that people once ate across the eastern Mediterranean. It’s the same way meals were prepared 100 years ago, or 50 years ago,” Epifanios says. FOR MORE LOOK AT: http://www.sltrib.com/faith/ci_10218542

Tourism Up in Greece

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Tourism revenues showed unexpected growth in the first five months of the year, compared with the same period in 2007, according to data from the Bank of Greece (BoG). Travel spending by non-residents in Greece from January – May 2008 grew by 8.2% or €157 million, reaching €2.065 billion from €1.908 billion in the same period last year. In May alone, tourism revenues increased by 13.7%, or €131 million reaching €1.084 billion. This rise in growth in much higher than the increase in arrivals from abroad by air, which came to just 2.8% in the same period. This is attributed to increased tourism traffic from the emerging Eastern European markets, mainly Russia.  Kathimerini daily: January-May tourism revenues increase  Links and Map of Greece:  http://www.varlaam.freehost.pl/map/map.html

 

Greece: Island of Ikaria

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  The island of Ikaria is named after the famous myth of Ikaros, who drowned in the surrounding sea when he tried to fly as far as the gods and got burnt by the sun. This island of the Eastern Aegean Sea sports wild beauty, breathtaking panoramas, therapeutic hot springs, quaint villages, truly unspoiled seas as well as superior tourist accommodation. A rarity amongst the islands, Ikaria has remained true to herself and to the ways of her people- the friendly and humorous Ikarians. Tourism on Ikaria reflects a balance between nature, freedom, time and development.   For the successive year, the Icarus Festival for Dialogue between Cultures is taking place on the island. This year the festival is dedicated to violin playing.

Cruise in Greece

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Greece can play a leading role and become a hub for sea cruise programmes in Eastern Mediterranean, sea cruise executives told an international conference CruiseinGreece (June 25-27), organized by the Hellenic Assosiation of Travel & Tourist Agencies (HATTA) and Seatrade in Athens. President of HATTA, said the aim of CruiseinGreece was to examine the country’s prospects in the sea cruise industry and acquire a better view of how to make a more efficient use of the country’s wealth as a preferential destination.