8th International Summer University "Greek Language, Culture, and Media" will be held in Kastellorizo

The 8th International Summer University “Greek Language, Culture, and Media” will be held in Kastellorizo on 10 – 15 July 2022, at the Hall for Cultural Events of the island.

The programme is organised by the University of Ioannina – School of Education, Department of Early Childhood Education (ECEDU), and the Department’s Social Issues, Mass Media, and Education Studies Laboratory, in cooperation with the Modern Greek Studies Programme of the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University, and the Macquarie Greek Studies Foundation in Sydney, Australia, with the participation of the Circle of Hellenic Academics in Boston and the Boston University Philhellenes (BUPh) project.

The summer university will be held under the auspices and with the support of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and of the Municipality of Megisti (Kastellorizo).

The 8th International Summer University has been given the subtitle: “Outermost places, language and culture”, and is set to address issues including language and symbolism in frontier areas of Greece, dialect and folk culture, the Press in remote areas of the country, Artificial Intelligence in the service of remote areas, computational linguistics and more. The island of Kastellorizo (officially named Megisti) was chosen as an ideal host for this installment of the Summer University, being Greece’s remotest island and a place with a long history and rich Greek heritage.

The programme is aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students, PhD candidates and educators, while a limited number of professionals with relevant interests are also accepted, in the framework of lifelong learning. Educational material is provided to the participants and a certificate of attendance is given upon completion of the course. The programme also features cultural activities, always adhering to the health protocols in place.

The event’s Scientific Director, Nikoletta Tsitsanoudis – Mallidis, Associate Professor of Linguistics and Greek Language (ECEDU – University of Ioannina), explains in her remarks that the idea for the Summer University was designed to serve the ideals of lifelong learning and Continuing Professional Development, and so long has had a successful, and has been successfully organised for eight years. In the past, it has enjoyed the support of various prestigious institutions including Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece (Harvard University), the Greek Delegation to the European Parliament, the Association of European Journalists – Greek Section, the Orthodox Academy of Crete, the Hellenic Cultural Centre in Paris and others.

This year the programme is organised by the Laboratory for the Study of Social Issues, Media and Education of the Department of Early Childhood Education (ECEDU, School of Education, University of Ioannina), in collaboration with the Modern Greek Studies Programme of the Department of Media Studies (Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University) and the Macquarie Greek Studies Foundation.

On his part, Prof. Triantafyllos Albanis, Rector of the University of Ioannina, stresses the importance of the programme’s contribution to the study, research and cultivation of the Greek language, and to its interaction with modern media and communication, while he makes special mention of the great honour of the its having been granted the auspices of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy.

Dr. John Chrysoulakis, Secretary General for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasises in his remarks the General Secretariat’s enduring efforts to disseminate the Greek language and Greek culture worldwide, not only as a means of uniting the Greeks of the Diaspora with their roots, but also the people of Greece with anyone who loves the country and studies its culture, inspired by the universal values of Hellenism.

As he points out, through the establishment of the International Summer University, and especially by focusing on the idioms and culture of frontier areas this year, the University of Ioannina manages to approach the Greek civilisation through the prism of the unique local identities, while at the same time conveying the universal dimension of Hellenism; this aspect is amplified by the choice of the historic island of Kastellorizo as the host for this year’s Summer University.

N.M.