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  • “Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin”

    “Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin”

    Λογότυπο Ηνωμένων ΕθνώνThe Resolution on “Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin” was unanimously adopted yesterday by the Plenary of the UN General Assembly, following a Greek initiative. The Resolution is submitted by our country every three years, and the final text was formulated through systematic consultation under the mediation of Greece, pursuant to relevant instructions from Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias.

    The Resolution enjoyed wide acceptance, as it was co-sponsored by a total of 74 states, including many member states of the European Union, a significant number of Latin American states, as well as a number of Arab and African states.

    This initiative bolsters the return of cultural property to countries of origin, as well as the effort to protect cultural heritage. These two dimensions of the Resolution are seen as particularly timely, given that the Middle East daily suffers destruction of works and monuments of world cultural heritage, while the link between trafficking in cultural property and funding of terrorism is well known.

    Special mention is made in the Resolution to the “Ancient Olympia Recommendation,” which calls on member states to mobilize for the return of stolen cultural treasures, with express reference to the return of the Parthenon Marbles. Another, equally important, dimension of the Resolution is the condemnation of the destruction of monuments of world cultural heritage in areas of armed conflict, including in occupied territories, and of illegal trafficking of cultural property by armed terrorist groups, such as ISIS.

    As a cradle of knowledge and culture, Greece will always be in the vanguard for protection of world cultural heritage and will continue to promote similar initiatives.

  • Egypt wins IMO Executive Membership

    Egypt wins IMO Executive Membership

    Egypt IMOEgypt won the Executive Board membership in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for 2016 and 2017 during the elections on Friday at the organisation’s headquarters in London.

    Transport Minister Saad El-Geioushy, who heads the Egyptian delegation in London, said Egypt’s IMO membership will have an influential role in the shipping industry.

    Egypt received 130 votes out of a total of 154 votes where it occupied seventh place after Singapore, Turkey, Malta, Cyprus, Australia, and Peru. Other countries that won membership include Indonesia, South Africa, Morocco, Denmark, Chile, Bahamas, Belgium, Mexico, Malaysia, Philippines, Liberia, and Thailand.

    Egypt’s ambassador to Britain Nasser Kamel, who is also a Permanent Representative of Egypt in IMO, said after the great victory Egypt achieved last month in the elections of the non-permanent membership of the Security Council, it succeeded Friday in restoring its seat on the Executive Board of IMO.

    He said Egypt had the largest number of votes since it began contesting for membership in the council since the establishment of the organisation. He said this achievement reflects the appreciation given to Egypt at an international level and at the shipping industry level after its success in completing the Suez Canal expansion project and launching the Suez Canal Axis Development project to serve the international maritime trade.

    El-Geioushy thanked the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its significant role in Egypt’s membership at IMO: “Ambassador Nasser Kamel exerted tremendous effort in this regard and also the Egyptian private sector in the field of maritime transport contributed greatly to Egypt’s access to this important international seat”.

    He  headed the Egyptian delegation in the Executive Board of IMO elections and also included head of the maritime transport sector General Abdul Kader Darwish.

    Egypt is the only non-member country on the board, with 40 other countries as members of the organisation. Egypt restored its membership, which was lost to Turkey in the previous session during the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

    IMO is legislative authority that accredits marine laws and agreements related to the safety of maritime navigation and marine environment. It is one of the United Nations organisations concerned with the shipping industry and issuing maritime conventions to achieve safety, environmental protection, and maritime security.

    http://www.dailynewsegypt.com

  • Beware of Greeks building smart cars

    Beware of Greeks building smart cars

    ΠάρθιμοςGeorge Parthimos presents his plan for an innovation centre linking Melbourne and Detroit, to develop applications for internet-connected vehicles.

    Read more at neoskosmos.com

  • World Congress “Aristotle 2400 years”

    World Congress “Aristotle 2400 years”

    ΠολιτισμόςThe “Interdisciplinary Centre for Aristotle Studies,” of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is proud to announce theWorld Congress “Aristotle 2400 Years” which is to be held at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in ancient Stageiraand in ancient Mieza, under the auspices of the President of the Hellenic Republic, May 23-28 2016. The Congress has the support of theFédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie (FISP), of the Academy of Athens, of the Research Centre for Greek Philosophy of the Academy of Athens and of the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO.

    Read more at aristotleworldcongress2016

  • Greece Among the ‘Smartest’ Countries in the World

    Greece Among the ‘Smartest’ Countries in the World

    ΓενικάThe OECD released a list that ranks countries based on the highest number of scientists per capita in fields such as mathematics, physics, technology and engineering. As it turns out Greece was placed among the 10 “smartest” countries in the world.

    Read more at greece.greekreporter.com

  • Greek president promises greater cooperation with Egypt

    Greek president promises greater cooperation with Egypt

    ΠαυλόπουλοςGreek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos promised stronger cooperation with Egypt, while hailing the North African country’s efforts to ensure stability in the Middle East.

    In an interview published by Ahram Arabic news website on Wednesday, Pavlopoulos outlined his talks with Egyptian President El-Sisi, who is currently on a three-day visit to Athens. Pavlopoulos said the talks have been focused on cooperation between Egypt and Greece in geostrategic, security, and economic sectors.

    Read more at: english.ahram.org.eg

  • Greece, Cyprus, Egypt to speed up talks over sea boundaries

    Greece, Cyprus, Egypt to speed up talks over sea boundaries

    Ελλάδα-Αίγυπτος-ΚύπροςGreece, Egypt and Cyprus agreed on Wednesday to speed up talks to demarcate sea boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean as part of efforts to turn the region into an offshore natural gas hub.

    Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades met in Athens to discuss how they could take advantage of gas reserves especially after Egypt this year discovered the biggest offshore gas field in the Mediterranean.

    Read more at: www.reuters.com

     

  • Egypt at the 2016 Summer Olympics

    Egypt at the 2016 Summer Olympics

    ΑίγυπτοςEgypt is scheduled to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016.

    More information here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics

  • Greece at the 2016 Summer Olympics

    Greece at the 2016 Summer Olympics

    Ελληνική ΣημαίαGreece is scheduled to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. As the progenitor nation of the Olympic Games and in keeping with tradition, Greece will enter first, leading the Parade of Nations during the opening ceremony at the Maracana Stadium.

    More information here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics

  • Greeks Establish Successful Theatrical Group in Dubai

    Greeks Establish Successful Theatrical Group in Dubai

    Πολιτισμός“It is humbling to realize how much in common you have with people who were away from their country each for different reasons and at different stages in their life,” said Greek professional actress and theater scholar Vicki Koumoutsi, who currently lives in Dubai.

    The actress wanted to find a way to express herself through the arts while also promoting Greek theatrical culture in the United Arab Emirates. Therefore, she created a theatrical group called “Scenes and Skenes” in Dubai, which consists of amateur actors.

    “The theater and more generally art, has the magical ability to become the thread that binds us allowing us to maintain our cultural identity while providing entertainment and projecting our Greek culture,” she explained.

    Dubai currently hosts many Greeks who work under difficult conditions but garner good wages. The group is an outlet, a means of entertainment, both for the Greek Diaspora members and for the Arabs who attend their performances.

    All group members wish to bring a smile to people’s face through their art, so they are supporting the nonprofit organization Emfasis Foundation. The organization was the brainchild of a group of Greek expatriates, who sought to give immediate and effective solutions to growing social problems like homelessness, lack of medical insurance, one-parent families, as well as to support the fight against child labor.

    The group’s first theatrical season kicked off on November 7 in Dubai at Ductac theater with the comedy play “Dad…don’t die again on a Friday” by Alexandros Rigas and Dimitrios Apostolou.

    (http://world.greekreporter.com)