Category: CULTURE

News about culture and cultural heritage

European Day of Languages

At the initiative of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, the European Day of Languages has been celebrated every year since 2001 on the 26th of September. Its goal is to encourage plurilingualism, intercultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through events held worldwide. This year in Alexandria, Egypt an interactive festival will be hosted at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. At this event participants will be able to experience different European countries first-hand by exploring various languages and their culture: English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Lithuanian, Spanish and

Language games, workshops, music and more are organized by the British Council, the Institut français d’Egypte, the Goethe Institut, the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, the Consulate of Italy, as well as the Italian Cultural Institute, the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania (Cairo), the Instituto Cervantes and the Swedish Institute in cooperation with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. In addition, students from language schools will be given the opportunity to present their language interactively. The event is from 12-6pm and the students will be presenting from 2-4 pm.

VENUE: Bibliotheca Alexandrina
TARGET GROUPS: Adults (in general), Children, General public, Language learners, Media, Parents, Participants in adult education programmes, Pupils, Students, Young people (in general)

ORGANIZER: The British Council, the Institut français d’Egypte, the Goethe Institut, the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, the Consulate of Italy, as well as the Italian Cultural Institute, the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania (Cairo), the Instituto Cerv
ADDRESS: 10, Sharia El-Batalsa, Azarita, 21511 Alexandria, Egypt
CONTACT NAME: Yasmine Abdelaziz
CONTACT EMAIL: [email protected]
TELEPHONE: +20 3 4879870

September 22, 2016
Bookshelf: Walking in Athens with Constantine Cavafy

Renowned Greek poet Constantine Cavafy was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on 29 April, 1863. A cosmopolitan by birth, Cavafy travelled for the first time to Greece in the summer of 1901, accompanied by his brother Alexandros. His stay in Athens constitutes the topic of a new book entitled Walking in Athens with Constantine Cavafy.

Wandering through Athens with Cavafy is a fascinating experience. Readers will have the chance to discover that, despite the fact that it’s been over a century ago and with dramatic changes have taken place in the capital, the city centre has preserved the broad outline of its physiognomy. The urban grid, shaped like a large symmetrical triangle and dating from the time of King Otto (mid 19th century), is still the city’s most obvious trait, while the large public buildings that remain attractions adorning the city would have also been seen by Cavafy at the time.

The map that is attached to the publication has, among other things, the intent to introduce the reader to this dual path between the Athens of today and the Athens of yesterday, the one described by Cavafy. The game of comparisons will be a further element of discovery for the curious traveler willing to experiment. To see Athens with Cavafy’s eyes and compare it with their own experience of the modern city, will give an unexpected force to the reader’s Athenian experience, to discover a city of many faces, simultaneously the cradle of ancient civilization and a modern Mediterranean capital.

The book has been another yet venture of Enzo Terzi Publishing, a publishing company active since 1989. The publisher’s move to Greece in 2008 helped to strengthen the knowledge of an unknown literary world to the general public and the rediscovery of many texts that, until now, were the domain of strictly academic production and research. This led to the idea of disseminating works and authors that are often of high literary value but also rich in themes and languages that constitute a reservoir of pleasant, easy and fun reading that is also suited to a wider audience driven by simple curiosity.

ETPbooks work in three languages: Italian, French and English markets, where many of the titles to be proposed have never been published. This is the case of the works of Yannis Maris, the founder of detective stories in Greece, and of Theodore Prodromos, the first among the Byzantines to use popular Greek (dimotiki, i.e. the vernacular form of the Greek language), who among other things, wrote the hilarious “War Between Cats and Mice” to be launched next summer.

It should be noted that Cavafy was introduced to the English-speaking public in 1919 by his friend E.M Forster, who used translations of selected poems by George Valassopoulo, while numerous translations followed over the years. Given that Cavafy never published a poetry collection in book form and opted instead for publishing them in newspapers, periodicals and annuals reaching thus a much wider audience, his international appeal, attested by the multiplicity of its translations, would not come as a surprise to the poet!

(www.greeknewsagenda.gr)

September 8, 2016
An innovative platform brings international students closer to Greece

A new project called “Study in Greece” has been launched by a group of faculty members from the Department of Informatics and Telematics, of Harokopio University, with the help of students (international and Greek) who worked on a volunteer basis, in order to bring the project to life. Their aim was to provide information, support and advice to both international students who wish to study in Greece for a higher education degree, as well as to existing international students, addressing in this way, the most important issues faced by international students while applying, registering and settling in Greece.

So the main focus of the “studyingreece” group was to gather all necessary information that would allow prospective students to not only navigate their way through existing academic programmes on offer but to also understand the conditions for foreign students living in a friendly and safe destination such as Greece. This way, students who are interested in pursuing post-graduate studies in Greece can search the catalogue of specialized study programmes taught in English or directly contact the international relations offices of the Higher Education Institutes listed in the relevant section. A very comprehensive list for beginners wanting to embark on their new life in Greece comprises many interesting sections, such as the main characteristics of the country, interesting destinations, archaeological sites, monuments and museums to visit, as well as data about Greek gastronomy, the cost of living, facts concerning international students living in Greece , health and safety issues, contacts for embassies and visa details . But the most useful tool this platform offers is without a doubt the section Education Institutes, where one can simply type a word reflecting the area of studies he/she wishes to explore and a full list in English of programmes/ universities/ departments and cities corresponding to the search word appears.

Whilst this is truly a remarkable project, its importance does not lie only in the support it provides to prospective international students wishing to explore their academic horizons in Greece. It mainly contributes to the international spread of Greek culture, it promotes Greece as a destination for higher studies among international students, and it even includes support to refugees and people seeking international protection by offering suggestions regarding ongoing educational programmes, updates on plans by the Greek State to provide support to the educational needs of refugees, including special courses, e-learning platforms and summer schools.

Harokopio University has been long known for its contribution to research development aiming to promote the results on scientific knowledge and public health, as well as to improve the economic and social development of the country. It is the 18th state University established in Greece, named after the national benefactor Panagis Harokopos, who envisioned an educational institution with excellent building facilities and equipment, in harmony with the natural environment, which could offer contemporary science. Today, the University comprises three Schools (School of Environment, Geography and Applied Economics/ School of Health Science and Education/ School of Digital Technology), and four Undergraduate Departments (Department of Home Economics and Ecology / Department of Geography / Department of Nutrition and Dietetics / Department of Informatics and Telematics) as well as four postgraduate programs on Sustainable Development / Applied Nutrition and Dietetics / Applied Geography and Spatial Management and Education and Culture.

(www.greeknewsagenda.gr)

September 7, 2016
Pakistan unearths the city defeated by Alexander the Great

Pakistan has unearthed the city defeated by Alexander the Great.

The ruins that Italian archaeologists have unearthed in modern-day Barikot, in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, once belonged to Bazira, the city conquered by Alexander the Great.

In short, Italian archaeologists working in the Italian-Pakistani excavations in the Swat valley did not go on vacation this summer.

Bazira is mentioned in classical sources as having been put under siege and conquered by the Macedonians led by Alexander the Great towards the end of the 4th Century BC. Up to now there had been no trace of this ancient city. Archaeologists had dated the city at the Indo-Greek period of King Menander, the Greek King of Buddhist faith who ruled almost two centuries after Alexander and whose coins were found in the excavation site.

The Italian Archaeological Mission (renamed ISMEO), founded by Giuseppe Tucci in the Swat District in 1955, has been excavating in Barikot since 1984. Since 2011 the excavations at Barikot, the ancient Bazira (12 hectares including the acropolis) have concentrated on approximately one hectare in the south-western quadrant of the city.

During the last few weeks, an analysis of the materials conducted with the help of the CIRCE team headed by Prof Filippo Terrasi (Napoli2 University, Department of Mathematics and Physics) revealed that the pre Indo-Greek city levels can be dated with absolute certainty at the middle of the 3rd Century BC, one century prior to the city walls, which means in the middle of the Mauryan period. And that’s not all: the protohistoric village unveiled by the trench foundations outside the city walls dates back to 1100-1000 BC.

“Today it is clear that the Indo-Greeks fortified a city that already existed and that, in order to build the city walls, they destroyed most of the stratigraphy and exposed extremely ancient structures through extended and deep terracing work. We used to think that the city lays on nothing more than a late protohistoric settlement. Today we know that it was already a city and that the ruins at the foot of the walls are 800 years older than we had originally thought,” said the Mission Director, Luca M. Olivieri. This means that the city reveals an amazing sequence of occupation.

(www.pakistantoday.com.pk)

September 4, 2016