The "Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation" bestowed its "Access To Learning Award ("ATLA" to the National Library of Veria (Veria is a city in northern Greece with a population of about 50,000.)
The award, which is accompanied by a one million dollar cash prize, was bestowed to the Veria National Library as the "most successful library model in Greece and throughout the world". Great news for the library.
According to an Education Ministry announcement, Veria's library candidacy was among the final three that were shortlisted from over 250 candidacies from all over the world.
The candidacies were appraised by the Foundation's evaluators from abroad.
DF: The library also has a very active program in which they have a bus mobile so to say, and drive a bus full of material through neighorbhoods of the city and serve literally as a mobile library.
posted on Tuesday, August 17
Winning top honors this year for best nudist beach is Greece's own Little Banana Beach on Skiathos. The survey was conducted by tripadvisor.com recently and was dubbed best 'nakation' spot in the world. If you've never heard the term 'nakation' before don't worry, neither have we.
The term and trend however seem to be gaining ground as more and more travelers are willing to bare all, up 22% from last year. Many of the participants pointed out that its the natural beauty of the landscapes and the lack of crowds that attract them to these beaches rather then the lack of clothing. What do our readers have to say, have you ever visited a nudist beach?
wtsp.com
skiathos review (tripadvisor.com)
posted on Tuesday, August 17
The Dormition of the Theotokos which commemorates the "falling asleep" or death of the Theotokos (Mary, the mother of Jesus) was celebrated by Greeks around the world yesterday. As is the case every year, droves of pilgrims made their way to the island of Tinos to worship at Panaghía Evangelístria.
A very special service was also held for the first time in nearly 88 years at Panagia Soumela in Turkey, where liturgy was held at the monastery located in Pontus for the first time since the exchange of populations in 1923. Worshippers from Georgia, Russia, Greece, Turkey and North America gathered for the special occasion.
Other News:
» Vandals desecrated 10 Muslim tombstones in a cemetary outside of Komotini in northern Greece.
» Third man dies of West Nile virus in Thessaloniki. Another 8 are hospitalized with the disesase.
» Paschalis Terzis has annoucned his last Australian tour. He will be visiting Sydney and Melbourne in October later this year.
» The Cyprus Community of NSW (Sydney)is moving forward with a 20 million dollar upgrade to its facilities. The additions will include over 50 units for senior housing.
posted on Monday, August 16
For the first time since 1923, thousands of Greek Orthodox Christians coming from Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, North America and beyond; will descend on the monastery of Panagia Soumela in the mountains of Pontus in Turkey for a liturgy commemorating the Assumption of the Virgin Mary,a very important holiday in the Orthodox Church.
Turkish authorities have reopened the Byzantine-era stone monastery of Sumela near the Black Sea, built nearly 1,000 feet into the side of a mountain , for once-yearly worship. Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, will hold the first liturgy there on Sunday.
The monastery was abandoned after the creation of the Turkish Republic and subsequent population exchange between Turks and Greeks.
One reader of ours, of Greek Pontic descent from Germany wrote to us and told DF :
'My grandparents are from Tonya. They were forced to flee to Trapezounta during the post World War I upheavel in Turkey and fled with only the bags on their backs. From there, they were sent to Greece, and later relocated to Germany to raise their family. It is time I go back to my 'homeland'. I have never been to Turkey, I don't speak Greek that well, but it is time I go back. The time is right. The Patriarch will open new doors to our people."
- Xristina, Berlin, Germany
DF; We applaud the Turkish authorities for allowing this service to take place. We are aware that several readers of ours will make the trek to the region, and we hope to be able to provide some photographic coverage of this important and emotional trip.
posted on Friday, August 13
The relentless heatwave, drought and now subsequent forest fires that are sweeping through Russia have caused the government of the country to declare states of emergencies in several states. Greece, which has itself gone through devastating summer forest fire seasons has offered EMAK speical services to be used by Russia. Greece also is allowing any Russian tourists who are in the country to be able to stay until at least September 10th, extending travel visas until hopefully the situation calms down.
Greek Embassy staff and consulates throughout Russia are still operating normally.
Other News:
A 2,500 year old theater on Limnos came back to life on August 11th with the ancient Greek theater performance of Oedipus the King. The ancient theatre of Hephaistia, the city of the ancient Greek god Hephaestus, underwent reconstruction in 2000-2004 and is regarded as one of the most important ancient Greek theatres dating back to the late 5th and early 4th century BC.
posted on Thursday, August 12
The world premiere of William Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello" (1604), directed by Thomas Ostermeier, was staged by the German Schaubuehne Theater at the ancient Epidaurus open-air theater, the sole foreign performance of this year's Epidaurus Festival.
The Berlin-based Schaubuehne Theater presented the premiere performance on Friday night, with a repeat performance on Saturday night, staged as part of the Athens and Epidaurus Festival (Hellenic Festival) 2010.
The ancient theatre of Epidaurus may prove an ideal venue for Othello (1604), a play that has been described as "Man’s tragedy enacted beneath an empty sky".
Thomas Ostermeier, director of the celebrated Schaubuehne, tackles the tale of Othello, Desdemona and the diabolical puppeteer, Iago, frantically yanking the strings of passion and base instinct.
posted on Wednesday, August 11
Some of your favorite stores might not be open next time you visit Athens. The debt crisis and ensuing recession plaguing Greece has shut down some 15 percent of businesses in Athens, a study released by a leading trader association said on Monday.
The research, taking into account over 3,400 shops in both affluent and low-income districts, recorded an average closure rate of 14.8 percent, the national confederation of Greek commerce (ESEE) said. The hardest hit areas have been in the city centre, where regular protests and walks have shuttered up to 25 percent of businesses. The retail market has been going through a crash this year, and many predict that it will continue into 2011.
Globe Mail
Other News
» The Anti Kytherian Mechanism will go on display on the island of Kythera starting August 11th in Chora (The island's capital). The exhibiton will run until September 15th.
» 100 Years. The parish of St. George Greek Orthodox Church celebrates its 100 year anniversary this year in the New Bedford area of Massachusetts. Parish website
» Promise of Tommorrow showing. The Greek Heritage Society of Southern California will premiere “The Promise of Tomorrow 1940-1960,” a documentary highlighting the first generation Greek Americans, at the Rhode Island International Film Festival 2010. The screening will take place at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium Arts & Cultural Center, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Providence, Rhode Isand 02903 on August 11, 2010 at 7:00 P.M. This film is narrated and hosted by Academy Award Winner, Olympia Dukakis. For tickets click here.
posted on Tuesday, August 10
Over 250,000 individuials are believed to have taken part in a nearly 200 kilometer long pentozali, yes we are serious, on the island of Crete. At sunset on August 7th, individuals gathered along the central axis of the main west to east highway on the island, connecting Xania to Agio Nikolas (approximately 200 km).
Once together, they all danced a slow versin of the pentozali, hoping to to break a world record. Organizers of the group Planet Crete, want to make this an annual event dubbed as a.."Day of dance for all the people of the planet".
“Planet Crete” is a non-profit, non-governal , scientific, cultural, environmental, educational, humanistic society. Its aspiration are respect to life and human dignity, the different “beliefs” among people regardless of religion, language, tribe and culture. Its aim is to unite, protect, create, teach and assist all the people around us."
DF: It's interesting to note that the event was held as a“humanitarian-cultural event” on August 7th, the day after the anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing on Aug. 6, 1945 towards the tail end of World War 2. We will try our best to get some pictures up.
posted on Monday, August 9
Canadians will be treated to two huge events this weekend, one in Toronto and one in Montreal, celebrating Greek heritage and culture.
Toronto - The Pilaros Taste of the Danforth will take place this weekend in Toronto's Greektown. This event has exploded to be one of the largest attended events during the year in Toronto with over 1 million visitors descending on Greektown. With family acitivites, live Greek dancing and music, and dozens upon dozens of booth to visit, this is a must visit if you are near Toronto.
Montreal - The annual Hellenic Flame Festival also called La Flamme Hellenique hosted by The Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal (HCGM) is holding its annual festival "The Hellenic Flame" August 6th to August 8th, 2010 at Parc Jean-Drapeau.
For three days, the organizers of the festival have prepared cultural activities designed to showcase the Greek culture in Montreal . The Hellenic Flame Festival highlights an array of activities that portrays the colorful and rich culture of Montreal Greek population. The Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal has enthusiastically assembled an exciting program designed to spotlight their customs, music, traditional dishes, and cultural activities designed to entertain all ages.
Hellenic Flame
posted on Friday, August 6
Greece is delivering fiscal and structural reforms on time but must crack down harder on tax evasion, a monitoring team from the European Union and International Monetary Fund said on Thursday. Experts from the the European Commission, the fund and the European Central Bank – made clear Greece would qualify for a second loan tranche of €9bn from a €110bn rescue package, based on their current assessment of progress.
Greece was commended for its “vigorous implementation of the budget programme” which reduced the first-half deficit by 45 per cent as a result of deep cuts in public spending. “There’s been impressive progress in key areas of structural reform . in many areas it’s ahead of schedule,” said Servaas de Roose, a senior Commission official.
However, the experts said spending controls must be tightened as public hospitals, local government and state-owned transport companies are still running excessive deficits. Greece's economy is projected to shrink by 4 percent this year and another further 2.5 percent in 2011.
Associated Press
posted on Thursday, August 5
