Summer learning

 The College Year in Athens

The “College Year in Athens,” a study-abroad programme focused on Greek history and civilization, offers foreign students university-level courses on Greece and the eastern Mediterranean world.
In addition to classes taking place in Athens, an annual project is held on the island of Paros.

The Hellenic Language School

The “Alexander the Great” Hellenic Language School offers courses to foreigners. The school has branches in Thessaloniki and Chania in Greece, in Sophia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in Skopjie, F.Y.R.O.M, and Tirana, Albania.

Hellenic Culture Centre

The “Hellenic Culture Centre” offers Greek language courses to foreigners. While classes are held in Athens, the institute organises an Easter and summer language teaching programme on the island of Lesvos. 

   

The Athens Centre

The “Athens Centre” language programme consists of Greek language courses held in Athens and a three week summer session on the island of Spetses, which apart from the typical language classes, includes extra cultural activities.

The Greek House

The “Greek House” in Athens is a centre for language lessons and culture. The school’s aim is to provide students with a wide range of courses, seminars, lectures and art exhibitions.

Ikarian Centre

Greek Language courses can be a fruitful experience for foreigners on the island of Ikaria.

The “Ikarian Centre” runs a summer Greek Language School combining learning with entertainment.

Summer Programme in Crete

The Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA is organising a summer programme in Crete for those students who wish to spend four weeks on the island, studying the culture of Crete. 

Thessaloniki International Summer School

The International Summer School for Greek Language, History and Culture of the Institute for Balkan Studies offers summer courses for non-native speakers.  The courses include an intensive language teaching programme plus a special Greek history and culture class. 
(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)

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PM George Papandreou at the White House

Meeting with Obama

Prime Minister George Papandreou met with US President Barack Obama in Washington yesterday.
After the meeting Papandreou said that the US is willing to work with the European Union to regulate the international financial system so speculators cannot target countries with troubled economies.
The premier said  that the issue of speculation will be discussed at the G20 summit in Canada, in June. The two leaders also discussed foreign policy issues such as the Cyprus issue, the integration of Western Balkans into Euro-Atlantic institutions, as well as Greece’s relations with Turkey.

Visa Waiver

Furthermore, the US side announced that Greece will be included in the ‘visa waiver’ programme, thus enabling Greek citizens to travel to the US without a visa.
Papandreou termed the visa waiver “a vote of confidence” to Greece and noted that the Greek government is determined to respond to its obligations and cooperate closely at international level on the tackling of terrorism.

Kathimerini daily: US joins fight against speculators
The White House: Honouring Greek Independence Day (21.35mins)

Papandreou’s Op-ed

In an op-ed published in the International Herald Tribune (IHT), Papandreou notes that the Greek case is not an outlier, but one more flare-up in a broken system of financial regulation and predatory behaviour.
“If global economic growth is to be sustainable, we need better coordination and greater solidarity between nations… We must now establish and enforce clear rules to contain the inordinate power of markets over our national economies and our common currency – not for Greece’s sake, but for Europe’s,” he stresses.
Prime Minister’s website: Meeting with President Barack Obama: Prime Minister’s statement ; Brookings Institution: Prime Minister’s speech & YouTube: PM’s speech at Brookings Institution  
New York Times & International Herald Tribune: Prime Minister’s article “Greece is not an island“; Hellenic Finance Ministry: Newsletter Updating Greek Fiscal Measures  
(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)

Antibes Remebers Nikos Kazantzakis

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  Nikos Kazantzakis, one of the most important and translated writers and philosophers of the 20^th century settled in Antibes on the Côte d’Azur in June 1948. Reminding him of Greece, Antibes became a place of inspiration for the writer, as it was there that he wrote almost all of his famous novels, which earned him worldwide fame. Antibes’ local authorities have renovated Kazantzakis’ house in the old town near the famed seawall and they have also rechristened one of its squares in the writer’s name. As of recently, Kazantzakis’s house is being used in the “service” of artists. The latter may use the premises gratis for a period of six months with the precondition to donate one of their works to the town. For more information about this initiative, artists may visit the Town Hall of Antibes’ website. 

The New Athens Opera House’s Prelude

GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   World-renowned architect Renzo Piano unveiled his concept design for the new cultural complex in Faliro on January 24 at a special event at Zappeion Hall, which will include a new National Library and Opera House to be built and donated to the Greek state by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis who attended the event hailed the project as a monumental, unique point of reference for the new age. Renzo Piano presented a draft plan using stone, light, sea view, an energy conservation system based on photovoltaic cells and includes landscaping of the surrounding area with locally-grown plants. The €450 million project, which will be constructed on a 16-hectare site – once a horse-racing track – will also feature an ‘agora’ inspired by the meeting place of ancient Greek cities and a park and is due to be completed by 2015. Greek News Agenda: New Opera House’s Prelude

New Athens Opera House’s Prelude

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   The architect Renzo Piano has been chosen to build a cultural park in Greece that will house the country’s new Opera House and National Library. Piano designed the New York Times Building, co-designed the Pompidou centre in Paris and left his mark on Berlin’s Potzdamer Square, the Paul Klee Centre in Bern and Osaka’s international airport. The internationally acclaimed architect arrives in Athens on January 24 to present his project to the public, and will deliver a lecture on the same day as part of the “Megaron Plus” series. Piano aspires to take advantage of the country’s gift of sunlight, combined with the element of water. The complex will be built on a former race-course in the southern suburbs of Athens and will be funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation through an exclusive sponsorship of €300 million.  

Kifissia at Benaki Museum

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   An exhibition based on photographs, books, documents and archival material revealing the architectural splendour of Kifissia suburb, north east of Athens, runs until March 31, at the Benaki Museum, Delta House, in Kifissia.  Benaki Museum – Flashback to Kifissia 

Greece @ China’s Cultural Year

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Greece relishes international attention by being the honoured country for this year’s Cultural Year in China (www.greece-china.com). Culture Minister Mihalis Liapis on Sunday inaugurated the International Olympic Truce Centre exhibition at Beijing’s Hellenic House (“From ancient Olympia to Beijing 2008 – forty Greek and forty Chinese artists discuss the Olympic Truce” ) in the presence of former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch. The “Agon” exhibition by the National Archaeological Museum, initially held in Athens during the 2004 Olympic Games, presents themes from the athletic events of the ancient Olympic Games, along with the whole context of poetry, theatre and artistic competitions held from time to time at the major temples throughout the Greek world (Beijing’s Capital Museum). Dimitris Papaioannou, director of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games opening ceremony, brought his adapted version of ancient Greek tragedy Medea to Beijing (Grand National Theatre in Beijing on August 1 and 2). Greece will be the country of honour at the 15th International Beijing Book Fair to be held early September 2008. Greece is the fourth country after France, Russia and Germany to be receiving such an honourary invitation. Within the same framework, China will be the country of honour at the Thessaloniki International Book Fair in 2010.

Athens’ Facelift: A High-tech Tribute to Arts and Letters

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   The outline of his plan for the new opera house and the new national library was recently presented by the Italian architect Renzo Piano to Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis. Commissioned by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre, the new complex worth €300 million will be located at the Faliron Delta site. Explaining his vision to the premier, Piano was proud to announce that the new opera house will be “a jewel” and emphasized the importance of quality over size. As for the new library, Piano promised to deliver a new-generation library which will be connected to the biggest and most famous ones in the world, such as Harvard and Cambridge. 2010 is the most probable date for the commencement of the construction and the project is due to 2015.  Kathimerini daily: Renzo Paino’s vision of high-tech ‘jewel’