Acropolis Museum receives British award

The Acropolis Museum in Athens (see Photo Gallery) has won the British Guild of Travel Writers (BGTW) prestigious global award for the Best Worldwide Tourism Project for 2010.
The prize was presented to Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister George Nikitiades, during a ceremony in London on November 7.
Nikitiades thanked the organizers and the travel writers who voted for the Acropolis Museum, noting that this distinction opens the door for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to their home.
Nikitiades is currently in London with a Greek National Tourism Organisation delegation to participate at the World Travel Market fair, taking place from November 8 to 11.
Greek News Agenda (29.10.2010) Acropolis Museum: Best Overseas Tourism Project

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Poems on the Underground – Greek contemporary poetry

The Press Office of the Greek Embassy in Warsaw promotes the contemporary poetry of Greece and participates to   “Poems on the Underground” events (6-30 September 2010).
“Poems on the Underground” (Wiersze w Metrze) has been inspired by other similar projects  in many cities: Dublin, Paris, New York, Barcelona, Stockholm, Stuttgard and Moscow, organised for the first time in London in 1986.
Wiersze w Metrze promotes contemporary European poetry in public city spaces, through happenings, haiku competition, poetry city game and a performing poetry festival.
Many cultural institutes and embassies participate to the project, which takes place under the auspices of the the mayor of Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz.
Greek contemporary poetry will be represented by two acclaimed poets, Kiki Dimoula and Nasos Vagenas.
Kiki Dimoula has recently been awarded the European Literature Prize for 2010. Her poetry has been translated into English, French, German, Swedish, Danish, Spanish and many other languages.
Dimoula’s poetry is haunted by the existential dissolution of the post-world era. Her central themes are hopelessness, insecurity, absence and oblivion. Using diverse subjects and twisting grammar in unconventional ways, she accentuates the power of the words through astonishment and surprise, but always manages to retain a sense of hope.
Nasos Vagenas, professor of Theory and Critique of Literature in the Department of Theatre Studies of the University of Athens, in 2005 was awarded with the State Poetry Prize for his poetic collection ‘Stefanos’.
His poetic work includes the books: ‘Field of Mars’, ‘Biography’, ‘Roxani’s Knees’, ‘Wandering of a non-traveller’, ‘The Fall of the Flying’, ‘Barbarous Odes’ , ‘The Fall of the Flying B’, ‘Dark Ballads and Other Poems’, ‘Stefanos’.
His poetry has been translated into English, German, Italian, Dutch, Romanian, Serbian.
Two poems of Kiki Dimoula and Nasos Vagenas have been translated in polish language for “Wiersze w Metrze” by the professors and students of the Department of Greek Studies of the University of Warsaw (Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies “Artes Liberales”).

Tourism campaign “You in Greece”

Greek tourism is about to be given an image boost – through the launch of the latest advertising campaign “You in Greece.”
The campaign aims to promote the country as an attractive tourist destination, but also provide the media with useful statistics on tourism, while shedding light on little known information regarding this year’s tourism prospects.
Visit Greece at: www.visitgreece.gr

This Summer, We Travel to Greece
Another goal is to appeal to the Greek Diaspora to visit and promote Greece abroad.

A two-month campaign has been launched under the motto “This Summer We Travel to Greece” by the bilingual Greek-American newspaper “Greek News” addressed to the Diaspora Greeks, and philhellenes.

2010 Reasons to Visit Greece

The exhibition titled “2010 reasons to visit Greece” is taking place once again at London’s Harrods department store. The Secretary – General of the World Tourism Organisation, Taleb Rifai, called Greece “one of the most important destinations in the world and a point of reference for us all.”

So Far Yet So Close

Boundaries in the Chinese market seem to be lifted one by one as increasingly more Chinese explore Greece every year.

Last year, 48 million Chinese travelled abroad but only one million visited Europe.
Chinese tour operators expect this number to increase in the future, stressing that Greece should consider capitalizing on educational tourism.
Visit Greece: “Kalimera” (Good morning)
(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)

Online petition to save department of Greek Studies at King`s College London

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) A petition has been submitted in an effort to persuade King’s College London not to dismantle the department of Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies at the university.
“We would like to express our deep concerns over the projected dismemberment of the Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies at King’s College London. […]

The great strength of King’s has always been that it is the only university in the UK to offer a combined programme in Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, thus  emphasising the importance of continuity through the centuries,” reads the petition which may be found at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/sdbmgs10/petition.html
Foundation of the Hellenic World:  The Byzantine Empire &  
Modern Greek Studies Association: www.mgsa.org & European Society for Modern Greek Studies: www.eens.org

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)

PM Papandreou interview on BBC

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) “Greece is not looking for an EU bailout but for political support from its European counterparts” said Prime Minister George Papandreou in an interview yesterday on BBC One, on the sidelines of his visit to London.
“Give us the time, give us the support – and I’m not talking about financial but political support – in order to show you that what we’re saying is being implemented and we are credible again,” stressed Papandreou, emphasizing on the fact that Greece needs to borrow at the same rate as other countries.
Meanwhile, speaking to “Der Spiegel,” Papandreou expressed confidence that Greece can achieve its target to reduce its budget deficit by implementing serious economic reforms.
BBC News: Greece ‘not looking for bailout,’ Papandreou tells BBC  

Papandreou at Conference on Progressive Governance in London

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) Prime Minister George Papandreou arrived in London yesterday and will be participating today at a Conference on Progressive Governance, on “Jobs, industry and opportunity: growth strategies after the crisis.”
The premier will speak at a panel on the theme “Europe after the global crisis: A strategic role for government,” together with his British counterpart Gordon Brown, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. 
While in London, Papandreou will attend a working luncheon with the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and will meet with British Foreign Minister David Miliband.

Papandreou in “Le Monde”

French daily “Le Monde” portrays George Papandreou in an article (‘L’ homme qui fait trembler l’euro’, February 5) describing Greece’s current affairs and Papandreou’s personal and political career over the years:
“Le monde le regarde. Le destin de l’euro tient à lui. Elu depuis tout juste quatre mois, le premier ministre grec est le point de mire des dirigeants et des marchés de la planète, pressé de questions affolées sur la situation dont il a hérité : un pays au bord de la faillite, discrédité sur les marchés, exposé à la spéculation, étranglé par une dette et un déficit public colossaux, un Etat dysfonctionnel, un système de fraude généralisé.
Le raffinement est son arme. Costume bleu marine, chemise blanche, cravate délicatement violette, Georges Papandréou a la silhouette longue et distinguée, la moustache taillée au millimètre, la politesse souriante, l’anglais parfait du brillant élève passé par Harvard et la London School of Economics, la graisse évanouie dans des heures quotidiennes de fitness et de cyclisme à haute dose. Si peu balkanique, si différent.
Devenir premier ministre n’était pas sa vocation, lui qui, à la fin des années 1960, étudiait la sociologie aux Etats-Unis et manifestait, cheveux longs et guitare rock en bandoulière, contre la guerre du Vietnam. “Si la Grèce avait été à l’époque un pays normal, dit-il dans son bureau à Athènes, je ne serais pas entré en politique.”
Son nom a fini par le rattraper. Celui de son grand-père, Georges Papandréou, trois fois premier ministre, centriste, figure mythique de la politique des années 1960. Celui de son père, Andréas Papandréou, ministre et économiste renommé, fondateur du Pasok (parti socialiste grec), et premier ministre dans les années 1980. Quant à lui, ce rêveur affable et modeste que l’on appellera longtemps Yorgakis (petit Georges), personne n’imaginait qu’il dirigerait le pays à son tour, dernier-né de l’une des trois dynasties familiales qui, avec les Caramanlis et les Mitsotakis, se partagent le pouvoir en Grèce depuis l’après-guerre.
Il a 14 ans ce 21 avril 1967. Le coup d’Etat des colonels, prélude à la dictature qui durera sept ans, vient d’avoir lieu. Les militaires viennent chercher son père, Andréas, caché sur le toit de la maison. L’un d’eux lui colle sa mitraillette sur la tempe. “Où est-il ?” L’enfant ne répond pas. La mitraillette frémit. Andréas se rend. Pour lui, c’est la prison. Puis, pour toute la famille, l’exil.
Georges Papandréou vient d’ailleurs. Avant la guerre, son père Andréas, déjà forcé à quitter la Grèce pour des raisons liées à ses activités trotskistes, était devenu citoyen américain, avait enseigné l’économie à l’université de Berkeley, puis en Suède et au Canada. Georges a une mère américaine, est né au Minnesota, a grandi en Californie et étudié dans l’Illinois, à Londres, à Stockholm. Il parle à quasi-égalité l’anglais, le grec et le suédois.
A son retour en Grèce, en 1974, la dictature abolie, il découvre un pays où tout est à réinventer. Et une élite forcée comme lui à l’exil, revenue “avec des idées nouvelles, la capacité de comparer, de tirer réflexion des contrastes.”
Etre différent, c’est son atout. “L’étranger” est un drôle de zèbre, mélange de “libéral” à l’américaine et de social-démocrate suédois, défenseur des libertés individuelles, de l’Etat-providence, de l’environnement, du progrès technique. Théodoros Pangalos, vice-premier ministre, s’amuse à rappeler ces années 1990 où Georges était ministre dans le gouvernement de son père, Andréas Papandréou : “En réunion, Georges prenait des notes sur un ordinateur portable. Nous, nous avions nos feuilles et nos crayons. On se donnait des coups de coude : “Regarde, le petit Georges joue, il n’a toujours pas grandi !”. En fait, comme toujours, il avait plusieurs longueurs d’avance…”
Au sein de la dynastie Papandréou aussi, il fait la différence. Après Georges “l’ancien”, le centriste anticommuniste, après Andréas le tempétueux tribun socialiste aux accents nationalistes, Yorgakis, président de l’Internationale socialiste depuis 2006, conquiert les Grecs par un agenda progressiste inhabituel. Il est hostile au blairisme, croit en la primauté de la politique sur le marché, préconise une société ouverte et multiculturelle, une économie tournée vers la valeur ajoutée et la croissance verte. “Je suis fier de porter mon nom mais je gouvernerai à ma façon. Comme Sinatra, je pourrai dire : “I did it my way”.”
Son style politique, il l’a déjà esquissé. Ministre de l’éducation, en 1988, il s’affronte au conservatisme ambiant et à la puissance de l’Eglise orthodoxe en défendant les droits des homosexuels. Ministre des affaires étrangères très estimé, en 1999, il milite en faveur de l’Europe et tempère l’anti-américanisme, sport national en Grèce. Il établit des conditions de dialogue avec la soeur ennemie, la Turquie, soutient la candidature de celle-ci à l’Union européenne (UE), contribue à l’intégration de Chypre dans l’UE.
“Yorgakis sait écouter, il ne fait pas l’intelligent, il prend calmement des décisions audacieuses. Il nous change de ce théâtre balkanique dont nous sommes tous fatigués”, témoigne l’un de ses anciens collègues au gouvernement, Nikos Dimadis. “La Grèce a plus que jamais besoin d’un dirigeant différent, citoyen du monde, qui a sur son pays une pensée globale”, analyse l’éditorialiste de centre droit, Georges Kirtsos.
Depuis quatre mois, Georges Papandréou est parti en guerre contre un Etat pléthorique, contre la corruption et l’économie parallèle. La droite l’accuse déjà d’immobilisme. Des mouvements sociaux se préparent contre les mesures d’austérité annoncées.
Certains le craignent plus visionnaire que pragmatique, plus théoricien que politique. Mais la Grèce n’a plus le choix, la zone euro non plus. Le petit Georges est peut-être la dernière chance. Lui-même en a fait un slogan : “Nous devons changer, ou sombrer.””
(LeMonde.fr)

2nd “London Greek Film Festival 2009” Awards

The Press Office of the Greek Embassy in London, along with the

"London Greek Film Festival" Awards

Hellenic Centre and the London office of the GNTO supported and co-organised the second London Greek Film Festival. Among the people who followed the festival’s events were artists, film makers, producers, members of the Academia, reporters and so on.
The London Greek Film Festival is a unique opportunity for the Greek culture to reach the British public, while contributing in promoting Greek films as well as new film makers and actors.
On Sunday 1^st November the Odysseus awards ceremony took place at the Hellenic Centre. Key speakers at the ceremony were the Head of the Greek Press Office in London Mr Spyros Diamantis and the Head of the GNTO London Office Ms Sophia Panagiotaki.

The film director Stefanos Mondelos

The Script Award for short film at the 2^nd London Greek Film Festival 2009 was attributed to the script:  “Two Shoes on Wheels” of Stefanos Mondelos, based on the illustrated fairytale of Nikolaos Andrikopoulos (“Ellinika Grammata” editions).
This script was awarded for the second time recently, as it has received the 3^rd Award for Adapted Script for short film by the Hellenic Book Center.

Τα βραβεία του: «2ου London Greek Film Festival»

Με στόχο την προβολή του ελληνικού κινηματογράφου, αλλά και γενικότερα την προβολή της χώρας μας στη Μεγάλη Βρετανία, πραγματοποιήθηκε φέτος στο Λονδίνο για δεύτερη συνεχή χρονιά από τις 30 Οκτωβρίου έως την 1^η Νοεμβρίου το Φεστιβάλ Ελληνικού Κινηματογράφου, το οποίο συνδιοργανώθηκε από το Γ.Τ.Ε. Λονδίνου, το Hellenic Centre και τον ΕΟΤ.
Στα πλαίσια του Φεστιβάλ, το κοινό είχε την ευκαιρία να παρακολουθήσει 41 ταινίες μικρού μήκους – με αγγλικούς υπότιτλους – οι περισσότερες από τις οποίες παρουσιάστηκαν για πρώτη φορά στη Μεγάλη Βρετανία. Στις προβολές που πραγματοποιήθηκαν στις δύο ημέρες που διήρκεσε το Φεστιβάλ, συμπεριλαμβάνονταν ταινίες μυθοπλασίας, επιστημονικής φαντασίας, ντοκυμαντέρ, ταινίες κινουμένων σχεδίων (animation), ταινίες μικρού μήκους, και video art. Επίσης, παρουσιάστηκαν σενάρια για ταινίες επιστημονικής φαντασίας και για ταινίες μικρού μήκους.
Την πρώτη μέρα του Φεστιβάλ (Παρασκευή 30 Οκτωβρίου) παραγωγοί και σκηνοθέτες είχαν την ευκαιρία να λάβουν μέρος στο Informational Networking Event με τίτλο Shooting in Greece: Ένα εργαστήρι, στα πλαίσια του οποίου, οι συμμετέχοντες είχαν τη δυνατότητα να ενημερωθούν σε βάθος από τους αρμοδίους και να λάβουν κάθε είδους πληροφορίες όσον αφορά την κινηματογράφηση στην Ελλάδα, (επίσης πληροφορίες για ελληνικές εταιρείες παραγωγής, για σημεία ειδικού ενδιαφέροντος στην Ελλάδα, για χρηματοδοτήσεις κλπ). Το Φεστιβάλ περιλάμβανε επίσης συζητήσεις, παρουσιάσεις σεναρίων και διοργάνωση εργαστηρίων (workshops).
Την Κυριακή 1^η Νοεμβρίου, ημέρα λήξης του Φεστιβάλ, απονεμήθηκαν στο Hellenic Centre τα βραβεία Odysseus. Κεντρικοί ομιλητές στην τελετή απονομής των βραβείων ήταν ο Σπύρος Διαμαντής, επικεφαλής του Γ.Τ.Ε. Λονδίνου, η Σοφία Παναγιωτάκη, Διευθύντρια του Γραφείου ΕΟΤ και ο Διευθυντής του Φεστιβάλ, Χρήστος Προσύλης.
Το Βραβείο Σεναρίου μικρού μήκους ταινίας στο 2nd London Greek Film Festival 2009 έλαβε το σενάριο “Δυό Παπούτσια με Καρότσι”  του Στέφανου Μονδέλου, βασισμένο στο ομώνυμο εικονογραφημένο παραμύθι του Νικόλαου Ανδρικόπουλου (εκδ. Ελληνικά Γράμματα). Το συγκεκριμένο σενάριο βραβεύεται για δεύτερη φορά, μετά το 3ο Βραβείο Διασκευασμένου Σεναρίου για ταινία μικρού μήκους που έλαβε εφέτος, στον Διαγωνισμό Διασκευασμένου Σεναρίου που διοργανώνεται για πέμπτη συνεχή χρονιά από το Εθνικό Κέντρο Βιβλίου.

Tourisme: Greece Britain Coordinated Action

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   The behavior of certain British tourists in Greece, as well as security issues concerning the 2012 Olympic Games in London, were the main focus of a meeting on July 15, between Alternate Interior Minister for public order Christos Markoyiannakis and Britain’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Chris Bryant. Markoyiannakis said afterwards that a meeting will be held on Zante on July 23 with the participation of police chiefs from the islands of Rhodes, Crete, Zante and Corfu, regions that face such problems. Three high-ranking British police officers will attend the meeting as observers. On his part, Bryant stated that he is grateful to Greek authorities for their efforts to ensure safe vacations for all.    

Greece’s Press & Communication Offices Abroad

♦ Greece’s Ιmage Αbroad

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Wishing to promote Greece’s image abroad, Greece’s Press and Communication Offices Abroad often hold events which highlight the country’s cultural aspect. Be it an educative seminar, a music concert, or an artistic workshop, the idea behind the events is to bring foreign publics closer to the Hellenic spirit and contemporary lifestyle.

♦ Fashion-art in Paris

The collection “Blind Adam” is Thanos Kyriakides’ art project presented by the Parisian art gallery C LAGENCE and the Greek Embassy Press and Communication Office in Paris. Kyriakides used to work as a fashion editor, collaborating with many fashion magazines.  In 2002, he was diagnosed with a genetic disease provoking gradual loss of vision. His recent fashion work consists of clothes made from assembled wool knots. Inspired by the artwork of Cocteau, Giacometti, Pollock, Magritte, but also the Braille writing method, Kyriakides wishes to play with idea of “invisible clothes”, reflecting on blindness, the real world and spirituality.

♦ Book Presentation in London

“Language and nationality in Greece, 1766-1976” is Peter Mackridge’s latest book published by the Oxford University Press. His book was presented during a ceremony at the Hellenic Centre by the Greek Embassy Press and Communication Office in London. Peter Mackridge is an Emeritus Professor of Modern Greek at Oxford University. He has taught modern Greek letters and culture since 1981 and during his academic career he published other three books, all on modern Greek language.  Naturally, the book presentation revolved around the Greek language question, a two-century dispute on whether the language of the Greek people or a cultivated imitation of ancient Greek should be the official language of the Greek nation. The question was resolved in 1976 with the prevalence of contemporary Greek.  Mackridge’s observation on the matter points to the 18^th century, the time when a group of Greek scholars inspired by the Age of Enlightenment embarked on fortifying Greeks national identity by pushing for the adoption of a language closer to ancient Greek, because this would meant the symbolic bridging of the ancient and modern world.

Book on the Making of Modern Greece

The Making of Modern Greece, Nationalism, Romanticism, and the Uses of the Past (1797–1896), edited by Roderick Beaton and David Ricks, King’s College London, UK Ashgate, May 2009.  This book brings together the work of scholars from a variety of disciplines to explore the ‘making’ of Greece as a modern state, using current theoretical and historical thinking about nations and nationalism in the modern world.  It spans the period from 1797 – when Rigas Velestinlis published a constitution for an imaginary ‘Hellenic Republic’ – to the establishment of the modern Olympic Games, in Athens in 1896, an occasion which sealed with international approval the hard-won self-image of ‘Modern Greece’. 

The Impact of Byzantium

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   The 18th Runciman Lecture was delivered on February 5, at King’s College London by distinguished Professor Judith Herrin, whose latest book “Byzantium: the Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire” has been recently translated into Greek. Under the title “We are all children of Byzantium”, Professor Herrin traced, during her lecture, some of the less obvious ways in which Byzantium continues to have an impact on world civilization today.  Noting that thanks to the efforts of a multitude of scholars -as well as events such as the ongoing exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts “Byzantium 330-1453“- many of the negative stereotypes traditionally associated with Byzantium are being countered by substantive demonstrations of what the empire achieved in its millennial history, she drew attention to the “larger family” of “real, symbolic and imagined children of Byzantium” that enriches our perception of the great civilization. Kathimerini daily (7/2/09): “We are all the children of Byzantium” (abridged version of Professor Herrin’s lecture) 

Seferis: The Middle East Years

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   The Harvard University Program of Modern Greek Studies (George Seferis Chair) is holding a lecture on George Seferis and his memoirs, written during his years in the Middle East. (A Greek Poet and Diplomat in the Middle East: George Seferis). The lecture will be delivered on February 20, by Roderick Beaton, Professor at King’s College, London. Roderick Beaton will speak about the travels of poet and diplomat George Seferis (Nobel Prize for Literature, 1963) in the Middle East during World War II and in the 1950s. See also: European Society for Modern Greek Studies; Modern Greek Studies Association and its sponsored Journal of Modern Greek Studies 

Byzantine in London

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Presenting the “Byzantium 330–1453” exhibition which is currently hosted at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, curator of the exhibition and Professor at the University of Thessaly Maria Vassilaki will deliver a lecture on the topic on November 24. The lecture is organised by the London Hellenic Centre and will take place on its premises.

Byzantine Encounters in Greece

 (GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   The British School at Athens is hosting a lecture on “Encounters of British Architects in Byzantium”  on November 19. The event is jointly organised by the British School and the British Hellenic Chamber of Commerce. After the lecture, there will be a preview of the exhibition, “The Byzantine Research Fund Archive: Encounters of Arts and Crafts Architects in Byzantium,” which has been shown at the Hellenic Centre in London, Edinburgh and Thessaloniki.

Greek Film Festival: A London First

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   The first London Greek film festival was organized from November 13 to 16. The event promotes Greek films abroad and aims at becoming a meeting point for producers, directors and writers who are either of Greek origin or promote national themes, use the Greek language, or whose works are produced in the country itself.  In addition to the in-house screenings and special events, the organisers of the festival have also launched an online festival, a portfolio of films that will be available for viewing online for months.  The festival was supported by, among others, the Greek Film Centre, the London Hellenic Centre, the City of Westminster, and the Secretariat General of Information.  Visit the 49th Thessaloniki International Film Festival: tiff.filmfestival.gr; Secretariat General of Information: About Greece- Cinema  

Greek Literary Translation Prize for 2008

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   The Hellenic Foundation for Culture (HFC) Literary Translation Prize for 2008 will be awarded to Roderick Beaton, Professor of Contemporary and Byzantine History, Language and Literature at King’s College, University of London, for the translation of the book “George Seferis: A Levant Journal.”  The book comprises selections from the notebooks that Seferis – winner of 1963 Nobel Prize for Literature – kept during his diplomatic postings in the Middle East (1941-44 and 1953-56). Edited, by Professor Roderick Beaton, the book records Seferis’ impressions of Beirut, Amman, Damascus, Cairo, Baghdad, Cyprus, Jerusalem, and the Dead Sea. The award ceremony will take place in Queen Elizabeth Hall (South Bank Centre) on September 29. The Literary Translation Prize was first launched in 2002 by the HFC and it is awarded every three years for literary translation from the Greek to English. National Book Centre of Greece: Literary translations from Greek to English

Acropolis Exhibit in Berlin

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) An exhibition titled “The Restoration of the Acropolis and the New Acropolis Museum” at the Berlin Pergamon Museum presents: the restoration and preservation works carried out on the monuments of the Acropolis, the new Museum created in Athens to house the exhibits, and representative finds of the excavations in the area of construction of the new museum. The display includes original ancient works found at the site of the new museum, such as portrait busts of Aristotle and Plato, statues of Isis Panthea as well as Zeus. The display runs from March 6 to May 25, and will then travel to other international cities, including London, Vienna, and Washington. 

Athens joins Global Climate Change Initiative

Athens is now a member of C40 Cities, an international initiative involving large cities which have joined forces to help combat climate change. Mayor of London Ken Livingstone established C40 with the aim of coordinating efforts cities throughout the world are undertaking to tackle global warming and climate change.