“Young journalists chained to their chairs and people on tourist trips are writing about the current state of Greece. But for those of you studying abroad here, you’ll actually be able to understand. So take good notes,” declared Alec Mally to the over-full Tiano Room at the US Consulate General of Thessaloniki.

On March 15, 2012 a group of ACT students along with other members of the general public gathered for a panel discussion on “Trans-Atlantic Perspectives on the Economic Crisis in Greece and in the Eurozone.” The featured panellists were Alan Cafruny, Henry Platt Bristol Professor of International Affairs at Hamilton College, and Alec Mally, the Executive Director for Global Economic Affairs at Foresight Strategy and Communications. The panel was moderated by the Executive Director of the Dukakis Center, David Wisner.

Before the Round Table began, a woman from the Consulate encouraged the people in the room to challenge the speakers and to question them. “The fundamental idea that education teaches you is how to think and how to question,” she claimed. “By developing these skills, you become a better and more active citizen.” Her encouragement sparked an intense question and answer session at the end of the discussion, which continued over half an hour past the pre-designated end time. Little did we understand at the time, but this was Catherine Kay, the US Consul General of Thessaloniki herself!

Both speakers focused on American policy towards the crisis in the Eurozone. Alan Cafruny claimed that the American government has always been broadly supportive of the Eurozone. However, the current Obama Administration is nervous that the Eurozone crisis will undermine the American recovery. “American policy is tactical not strategic” Cafruny contended. The US is unwilling to take a position of leadership in rehabilitating
the economy of the Eurozone because of domestic politics and the fact that the US is
currently rebalancing away from Europe and towards Asia.

Meanwhile, Alec Mally, a senior US diplomat and Consul General of Thessaloniki in his day, asserted that “Greece is considered the bad boy of public finance.” Yet half the time observers debate ideology over facts. Mally lamented the multitude of armchair experts crunching numbers and claiming to have the answers, albeit with little actual knowledge and understanding of the Greek case. Essentially, suggested Mally, there is a “Greek Debt Calculator” that allows anyone to create their own disaster situation.

The audience in the room left feeling fortunate to have had the opportunity to listen to two speakers with such great academic and professional experience. “I really enjoyed the discussion. It was incredibly interesting and educational,” remarked American ACT student Norma Katherine Butts. It was agreed, moreover, particularly among the study abroad students in attendance, that something momentous was happening in Greece before their very eyes.

Lily Allen-Duenas

 

The ACT-SEESOX Summer Module is an integral part of the Summer '12 session courses at the American College of Thessaloniki (ACT). The Module is the result of a unique collaboration between South Εast European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX) at St Antony's College, University of Oxford and the Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service at ACT.

Module courses are designed and taught by internationally acclaimed Oxford and ACT scholars and aim to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the complex political and social structures of the European Union and particularly of South Εast Europe. Scholarship aid is available for qualified students. Eligibility criteria include: junior or senior standing; academic major in history, politics, international relations, or some related academic field; and good academic standing (GPA: 3.2).

Exclusively for the Summer 2012 session study abroad students will have an opportunity to take a six-credit option of the ACT-SEESOX Module, which will consist of a core of lectures and discussion sessions, a mini-conference on the Eurozone crisis in the periphery of the EU, and a series of tutorial sessions with leading scholars from Oxford.

For more information, please contact the admissions office: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or click here.

More than 170 students and faculty members gathered in the ACT Bissell Conference area for an afternoon conference showcasing positive trends in Greek Entrepreneurship. Jointly-organized by Innovation Farm, ACT, and the TEI-Thessaloniki Innovation & Entrepreneurship Team (MoKE), the event featured speakers from successful Greek Startups in the fields of Healthcare (Vidavo Corp.), Agriculture/Biological Control (Bio-Insecta Corp.), and Energy IT (Intelen Corp.), as well as an overview of the startup process from Giorgos Gatos (OpenCoffee, International Hellenic University, TedXThess, ReStart TV).

The second-half of the conference placed students from ACT, ATEI-Thessaloniki, Aristotelion University, University of Macedonia, University of Thessalia, and the University of Western Macedonia in small-group break-out sessions, where each group chose a themed-topic and brainstormed a business opportunity and business plan. The event closed with each team pitching their ideas to the larger group.

A team of four students from the Law School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki conducted a session of the annual Jessup International Moot Court simulation at ACT on Thursday, March 15, 2012.

Grigoris Bacharis, Orfeas Chassapis-Tassinis, Aikaterini Chnitidou, and Semina Michailedou took the roles of lawyers presenting arguments for the applicant and the respondent of a fictional dispute involving complex international issues. They pleaded their case before a panel of judges, including Dukakis Center lecturers Alan Cafruny and Alec Mally. ACT instructors Lambrini and David Wisner rounded out the panel with Yannis Naziris of the Aristotle Law School.

The team of law students were also accompanied by one of their law instructors at Aristotle, Professor Anastasia Grammatikaki-Alexiou.

The law students, a mix of under- and post-graduates, are members of the team that won the Greek national moot court tournament earlier in the year. They are now preparing for a trip to Washington, DC, where the finals of the international tournament will soon be underway.

Dr. Nassis' "International Law" class observed the proceedings as part of their course requirements. The session was held in the in the Niarchos Teleconference Room of the Bissell Library, decked out to resemble an international tribunal.

ACT instructors regularly take part as guest judges in the training sessions of Aristotle's Moot Court team. This is the second time a session has taken place at ACT.

The next Inspiration Exchange event will take place on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, at 5 PM in the ACT New Building Conference Room under the auspices of the Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service.
 

Mr. Giorgios Toulas, Editor of Parallaxi Magazine and guiding force behind the "Thessaloniki Allios" initiative, will engage in frank discussion on the prospect for volunteerism and service learning in the wider Thessaloniki community.


The Dukakis Center will also launch formally its Politis blog to mark the event, and will live stream the discussion.
 

Mr. Toulas will address the public in Greek.

Dr. Christos Pechlivanidis will deliver two interesting lectures on philosophy in Thessaloniki (April) and in Athens (May):
 

1. "Apagoge and Phantasia in Aristotle".

Lecture at the Department of Philosophy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Thessaloniki: Old Building of the School of Philosophy (Ethnikis Amynis Str.), 1st floor - 215 hall, Wednesday, May 2nd at 19:30

Click here to view the poster.

2. "The concept of 'apagoge' in Aristotle's logical system".

Lecture at the Department of Philosophy and History of Science, University of Athens.

Athens: Zografou Campus, Main Building of the Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Teaching Classrooms, Monday, May 28th at 16:00

Κάντε κλικ εδώ για περισσότερες πληροφορίες.

Dukakis Center welcomes sociologist Berch Berberoglu

“Look out the window. See what is happening. Reality,” stated Berch Berberoglu to a roomful of twenty students and staff members. Professor Berberoglu, Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Nevada, Reno, and author of twenty-nine books, visited the American College of Thessaloniki on March 14, 2012, and gave a lecture on the global capitalist crisis and it’s origins, nature, and impact on the United States.
 

This was Berberoglu’s second visit to ACT. Born in Turkey and educated in the US from an early age, he first spoke in Thessaloniki in 1999.
 

“Are we marching in dangerous directions and times?” Professor Berberoglu asked the room. He declared that each and every individual has a large burden on his or her shoulders, the burden to address the current political and economical issues at hand. After discussing the origins, nature, and reasons for the crisis he proposed an economic remedy. The remedy calls for society to step outside of the framework of the existing capitalist system and to place the interests of the working class as the new focal point.
 

He encouraged the students and staff in the room to “argue, discuss, debate.” He then inquired, “Didn’t your mothers teach you that?” Indeed, Professor Berberoglu has sounded a call to action.

Lily Allen-Duenas

The Business Crisis Management Center (BCMC) is a new initiative undertaken by the MBA faculty at the American College of Thessaloniki.  The BCMC provides a platform for entrepreneurs to present the impacts of the current financial crisis on their businesses. The mission of the BCMC is to present tools and best practices available that can help them develop effective response measures. In addition to offering network opportunities, BCMC also provides access to library resources.

On March 7, Ms. Ioanna Tavanidou, ACT Finance Instructor and Unit Leader at the A6 Business Center of NBG, delivered a lecture on Business Debt Restructuring. The current institutional framework, the restructuring process, requirements and restrictions as well as examples of debt restructuring were analyzed under the prism of the current economic and financial conditions. In the discussion that followed, moderated by ACT faculty Manos Agrodimos, MBA students and alumni interacted with the speaker as well as with entrepreneurs and professionals and exchanged views on the topic.

The Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service announces the following events during the week of March 12-16

Wednesday, March 14, 5-6:30 PM, Niarchos Teleconference Room
Dukakis Lecture: "The Global Capitalist Crisis: Its Origins, Dynamics, and Impact on the United States"
Berch Berberoglu, Foundation Professor of Sociology and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Sociology at the University of Nevada, Reno

Thursday, March 15, 3-5 PM, Tiano Room, US Consulate General of Thessaloniki
Dukakis Round Table: "Trans-Atlantic Perspectives on the Crisis in Greece and the Eurozone"
Alan Cafruny, Henry Platt Bristol Professor of International Affairs, Hamilton College, and Alec Mally, Executive Director for Global Economic Affairs at Foresight Strategy and Communications
Moderator: David Wisner, Executive Director, Dukakis Center

Address inquiries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..