Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society, is one of those rare public figures who can shift seamlessly from the esoteric to the essential, from the fictional to the factual, from philosophy to policy. This trait was in abundance on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, when Mr. Schell spoke to an overflow audience live from his office in New York via Zoom webinar. The occasion was the European launch of Mr. Schell’s latest book, his eleventh, a novel based on his experience growing up as a boy in the China of Mao Tse-tung. Co-hosting with the Dukakis Center was the Manchester China Institute, in the person of the Institute’s founding Director, Peter Gries.

Spectators logging in from Seoul to Seattle were treated to an exclusive appearance in Greece by one of the leading experts on China in the United States today. The discussion ranged from Aristotle to Lenin, from the “century of humiliation” to “rejuvenation” and global dominance. The major theme of the discussion emerged early on as Mr. Gries, Professor of Chinese Politics, University of Manchester, and Lee Kai Hung Chair and Director, Manchester China Institute, masterfully engaged in an extended discussion on Mr. Schell’s novel, his experience in China, his views on Chinese leadership from Mao to Xi Jinping, and his predictions for the outcome of east-west rivalry in the 21st century.

Is mutual understanding possible between China and the West? Do outsiders need to be more empathetic in their interactions with their Chinese counterparts? Can either side be considered open-minded by the other? 

A revealing moment came when Mr. Schell was asked by session moderator David Wisner, Executive Director of the Dukakis Center, where Greece and Europe stood in this equation. Fittingly for an audience in Thessaloniki, Mr. Schell quoted Aristotle on the meaning of life, in terms clearly alien to the conceptions of Chairman Mao and the Chinese Communist Party. When queried how, in practical terms, one should approach talking with the Chinese, be it formally through diplomatic channels or informally via the cultural or commercial exchange, Mr. Schell concurred with the views of former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, the namesake of the Dukakis Center, that Americans and Europeans needed to be prepared to talk and listen, but from a position of multilateral strength and reinforcement. 

The specter of a second cold war between China and the United States was present throughout, and Mr. Schell did not attempt to dispel the pessimism of certain auditors in the Q/A session. Asked what he had to say to young people wanting to learn more about China and Chinese society, he counseled patience and endeavor. Do not worry if you are confused, most of us are, was his message.

The webinar marked the launch of an informal institutional partnership between the Dukakis Center and the Manchester China Institute, based at the University of Manchester. Dr. Wisner also announced a new internship program at the Dukakis Center for select high school seniors at Anatolia College who are keen to study how China is portrayed in Greek and European media. Dr. Wisner plans meanwhile to organize additional online events in the near future in the ChinaWatch webinar series.

The guest speakers:

Orville Schell is the Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society in New York. He is the author of ten books about China and a contributor to numerous edited volumes. He has written widely for many leading magazines and newspapers. Schell is a Fellow at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University, a Senior Fellow at the Annenberg School of Communications at USC, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a former professor and Dean at the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

Peter Hays Gries is the Lee Kai Hung Chair and founding Director of the Manchester China Institute at the University of Manchester, where he is also a Professor of Chinese politics. He was previously founding director of the Institute for US-China Issues at the University of Oklahoma. He studies the causes and consequences of how Chinese feel and think about the world—and how the world feels and thinks about China and is particularly interested in the dynamics of mis/perception and mis/trust.

Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society, is one of those rare public figures who can shift seamlessly from the esoteric to the essential, from the fictional to the factual, from philosophy to policy. This trait was in abundance this past Wednesday evening, when Mr. Schell spoke to an overflow audience live from his office in New York via Zoom webinar.

The occasion was the European launch of Mr. Schell’s latest book, his eleventh, a novel based on his experience growing up as a boy in the China of Mao Tse-tung. Co-hosting with the Dukakis Center was the Manchester China Institute, in the person of the Institute’s founding Director, Peter Gries.

Spectators logging in from Seoul to Seattle were treated to an exclusive appearance in Greece by one of the leading experts on China in the United States today. The discussion ranged from Aristotle to Lenin, from the “century of humiliation” to “rejuvenation” and global dominance.

The major theme of the discussion emerged early on as Mr. Gries, Professor of Chinese Politics, University of Manchester, and Lee Kai Hung Chair and Director, Manchester China Institute, masterfly engaged in an extended discussion on Mr. Schell’s novel, his experience in China, his views on Chinese leadership from Mao to Xi Jinping, and his predictions for the outcome of east-west rivalry in the 21st century.

Is mutual understanding possible between China and the West? Do outsiders need to be more empathetic in their interactions with their Chinese counterparts? Can either side be considered open minded by the other? 

A revealing moment came when Mr. Schell was asked by session moderator David Wisner, Executive Director of the Dukakis Center, where Greece and Europe stood in this equation. Fittingly for an audience in Thessaloniki, Mr. Schell quoted Aristotle on the meaning of life, in terms clearly alien to the conceptions of Chairman Mao and the Chinese Communist Party.

When queried how, in practical terms, one should approach talking with the Chinese, be it formally through diplomatic channels or informally via cultural or commercial exchange, Mr. Schell concurred with the views of former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, the namesake of the Dukakis Center, that Americans and Europeans needed to be prepared to talk and listen, but from a position of multilateral strength and reinforcement. 

The specter of a second cold war between China and the United States was present throughout, and Mr. Schell did not attempt to dispel the pessimism of certain auditors in the Q/A session. Asked what he had to say to young people wanting to learn more about China and Chinese society, he counselled patience and endeavor. Do not worry if you are confused, most of us are, was his message.

The webinar marked the launch of an informal institutional partnership between the Dukakis Center and the Manchester China Institute, based at the University of Manchester. Dr. Wisner also announced a new internship program at the Dukakis Center for select high school seniors at Anatolia College who are keen to study how China is portrayed in Greek and European media.

Dr. Wisner plans meanwhile to organize additional online events in the near future in the ChinaWatch webinar series.

The guest speakers:

Orville Schell is the Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society in New York. He is the author of ten books about China and a contributor to numerous edited volumes. He has written widely for many leading magazines and newspapers. Schell is a Fellow at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University, a Senior Fellow at the Annenberg School of Communications at USC and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a former professor and Dean at the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

Peter Hays Gries is the Lee Kai Hung Chair and founding Director of the Manchester China Institute at the University of Manchester, where he is also Professor of Chinese politics. He was previously founding director of the Institute for US-China Issues at the University of Oklahoma. He studies the causes and consequences of how Chinese feel and think about the world—and how the world feels and thinks about China, and is particularly interested in the dynamics of mis/perception and mis/trust.

It was the summer of 1988. Alec Mally, a career foreign service officer, was completing a three-year stint as an economics officer at the US Embassy in Manila. A Sovietologist by inclination and training, with an interest in Eastern Europe, Mally was keen to land a spot on the far side of the Iron Curtain, having sensed that change was in the air in the countries of the Warsaw Pact.  There was a spot due to open at the embassy in Bucharest if Mally so wished. Not among your more popular destinations, Mally nonetheless jumped at the opportunity.

After six months of country and language training in Washington, DC, Mally arrived in Romania shortly before the country's long-standing dictator, Nicolae Ceaucescu, was overthrown by a popular insurrection in December 1989, much to the surprise of the American intelligence community, which thought that the Romanian strongman would show more staying power than other communist leaders throughout Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

Mally was in Bucharest during the opening phases of the so-called Romanian Revolution, until instructed to help non-essential US personal and civilians to evacuate (Mally himself traveled to Poland, where he would later serve after his tour in Romania had come to an end.) When he returned to Bucharest a few weeks later, he was welcomed by bullet holes in the window of his apartment building, testimony to firefights within blocks of the American embassy between and armed revolutionaries the infamous Romanian secret police.

A gripping tale, when told by a master eye witness. Mr. Mally did not disappoint in an exclusive appearance on Friday, 19 February 2021, at the Dukakis Center for a Seminar Series talk to ACT students on his experience at the end of the Cold War. Mally also shared his experience working back in the State Department in the mid-1990s working on democratization and economic development in Southeast Europe, and particularly in Bosnia and Kosovo (where he ended his diplomatic career as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Office in Pristina).

Learning in action, ACT's pedagogical mantra had yet again been realized in what one student called a "fabulously great class."

* About Alec Mally:

Alec Mally is currently Director for Global Economic Affairs at Foresight Strategy and Communications, an Athens-based consulting firm, Director at the Institute for Regional Dialogue and Strategy (IPEDIS) an Athens-based think tank, as well as adviser for the Repower Greece public diplomacy initiative (www.RepowerGreece.com). Mr. Mally has also been an international media commentator on Greek economic issues, including on Bloomberg TV, National Public Radio, and Fox News. He contributes regularly to the New Europe newspaper based in Brussels. He is a board member of the new firm Blue White Capital LLC, which invests in/advises on climate-friendly ventures and has served as Chair, Vice-Chair, and Treasurer of Democrats Abroad (Greece). Prior to moving back to Greece, Mally was a career U.S. Foreign Service Officer for 27 years, with a range of assignments in Balkan and global affairs. In Southeast Europe, he served as U.S. Consul General in Thessaloniki and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Pristina, Kosovo. Stateside, he served as Economic Counselor at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York, as the State Department’s Senior Desk Officer for Greece and as Regional Economic Officer for Southeast Europe during the Bosnia war. He was also assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon as Political-Military Adviser for the Balkans. Mr. Mally held prior postings in Bucharest, Warsaw, Athens, Manila, and the State Department Executive Secretariat.

In 1995 the French journalist and scholar Jean Lacouture published a small book with a series of portraits of the figures who had “made” the world after World War II. Some were widely acknowledged to be monstrous for their misdeeds; others were the source of Lacouture’s personal inspiration.

In a similar vein, in early February 2021, the Dukakis Center hosted a select group of scholars and activists representing think tanks, NGOs, and other civil society organizations based in Greece, to reflect on the impact of COVID-19 on their work, and on those individuals whom they found most inspirational over the course of the past year. 

Our common monster has been the COVID pandemic, which has, in turn, provoked untold disarray locally and globally, in realms as diverse as international trade and personal mental health. While the pandemic inspires in turns terror, sadness, anger, and determination, it is less clear what motivates the civil society practitioner under such circumstances to continue to try to create a better world.

Some, like Dimitris Diamantis of the World Economic Forum’s Thessaloniki Global Shapers Hub, drew courage from the dedication of the cohort of young movers and shakers within their organization. Others, such as Anna Damaskou, President of the Board of Transparency International Greece, pointed to the selfless endeavor of the doctor in Wuhan who was castigated by the Chinese government for drawing public attention to the outbreak of the coronavirus, and later paid for his good deeds with his life after contracting COVID-19.

Nikos Zaharis, Director of the southeast European Research Centre at City College, found that the mandate of his organization was vindicated by the mainstream focus on science and evidence-based research to develop a vaccine against the virus.

The effects of the pandemic have not been universally deleterious in the world of civil society. As event organizers find new ways to reach an ever-broader audience to whom to share their message and mission, others, like Epaminondas Christofilopoulos, holder of the UNESCO Chair for Futures Research, and Dimitris Savvaidis, co-founder of AddArt, have actually seen their respective operations grow in the past 12 months.

The message of success in adversity was salutary for all involved. To cap off an evening of humble inspiration, Dukakis Center Director David Wisner hosted the virtual premiere of “Now More Than Ever,” the documentary film produced by Asterios Gousios and Dimitris Savvaidis of AddArt to commemorate the twentieth anniversary season of the Dukakis Center. The star of the premiere was none other than Michael Dukakis himself, whose words continue to resonate at the heart of the Center’s projects and activities.

“There is nothing you can do in this world more fulfilling and more satisfying than giving of yourself to others, and making a contribution to your community and your state or your nation and your fellow citizens…”
-- Michael Dukakis

The occasion: 

"Now More Than Ever: Post-crisis civil societies in action" 

Third Annual Thessaloniki Civil Society Forum

February 8, 2021

Co-hosted by Anna Damaskou, Transparency International Greece, and David Wisner, Dukakis Center

Program:

In 1995 the French journalist and scholar Jean Lacouture published a small book with a series of portraits of the figures who had “made” the world after World War II. Some were widely acknowledged to be monstrous for their misdeeds; others were the source of Lacouture’s personal inspiration.

In a similar vein, in early February 2021 the Dukakis Center hosted a select group of scholars and activists representing think tanks, ngos, and other civil society organizations based in Greece, to reflect on the impact of COVID-19 on their work, and on those individuals whom they found most inspirational over the course of the past year. 

Our common monster has been the COVID pandemic, which has in turn provoked untold disarray locally and globally, in realms as diverse as international trade and personal mental health. While the pandemic inspires in turns terror, sadness, anger, and determination, it is less clear what motivates the civil society practitioner under such circumstances to continue to try to create a better world.

Some, like Dimitris Diamantis of the World Economic Forum’s Thessaloniki Global Shapers Hub, drew courage from the dedication of the cohort of young movers and shakers within their organization. Others, such as Anna Damaskou, President of the Board of Transparency International Greece, pointed to the selfless endeavor of the doctor in Wuhan who was castigated by the Chinese government for drawing public attention to the outbreak of the coronavirus, and later paid for his good deeds with his life after contracting COVID-19.

Nikos Zaharis, Director of the South East European Research Centre at City College, found that the mandate of his organization was vindicated by the mainstream focus on science and evidence-based research to develop a vaccine against the virus.

The effects of the pandemic have not been universally deleterious in the world of civil society. As event organizers find new ways to reach an ever broader audience to whom to share their message and mission, others, like Epaminondas Christofilopoulos, holder of the UNESCO Chair for Futures Research, and Dimitris Savvaidis, co-founder of AddArt, have actually seen their respective operations grow in the past 12 months.

The message of success in adversity was salutary for all involved. To cap off an evening of humble inspiration, Dukakis Center Director David Wisner hosted the virtual premiere of “Now More Than Ever,” the documentary film produced by Asterios Gousios and Dimitris Savvaidis of AddArt to commemorate the twentieth anniversary season of the Dukakis Center. The star of the premiere was none other than Michael Dukakis himself, whose words continue to resonate at the heart of the Center’s projects and activities.

“There is nothing you can do in this world more fulfilling and more satisfying than giving of yourself to others, and making a contribution to your community and your state or your nation and your fellow citizens…”
-- Michael Dukakis

The occasion: 

"Now More Than Ever: Post-crisis civil societies in action" 

Third Annual Thessaloniki Civil Society Forum

February 8, 2021

Co-hosted by Anna Damaskou, Transparency International Greece, and David Wisner, Dukakis Center

Program:

Η τηλεργασία εισέβαλε στη ζωή μας λόγω την πανδημίας, έχει όμως επικρατήσει ως μια πιθανή εναλλακτική ευέλικτης απασχόλησης και στην μετά COVID-19 εποχή για πολλές επιχειρήσεις. Η τηλεργασία προσφέρει σημαντικά πλεονεκτήματα, θέτει όμως και σοβαρές προκλήσεις, απαιτώντας να αλλάξουμε τόσο τον τρόπο που σκεφτόμαστε όσο και τον τρόπο που λειτουργούμε στον χώρο των επιχειρήσεων. Μπορούν αλήθεια οι ομάδες που λειτουργούν εξ αποστάσεως να είναι το ίδιο αποτελεσματικές με τις δια ζώσης; Κι αν ναι, πώς; Το συγκεκριμένο πρόγραμμα επιδιώκει να βοηθήσει τους συμμετέχοντες να βελτιώσουν τον τρόπο που επικοινωνούν, να ενισχύσουν το επίπεδο της συνεργασίας τους και να ανακαλύψουν μεθόδους αύξησης τόσο της δικής τους την αποδοτικότητας όσο και των ατόμων της ομάδας τους σε συνθήκες απομακρυσμένης εργασίας.

Σκοπός του προγράμματος

Αξιοποιώντας βέλτιστες πρακτικές ελληνικών και ξένων επιχειρήσεων, σκοπός του προγράμματος είναι η ενίσχυση των κατάλληλων δεξιοτήτων, προκειμένου οι συμμετέχοντες να ανταποκριθούν όσο το δυνατόν πιο αποτελεσματικά στις απαιτήσεις της τηλεργασίας. Ειδικότερα, οι συμμετέχοντες θα εντρυφήσουν σε θέματα:

• αποτελεσματικής επικοινωνίας στο πλαίσιο της τηλεργασίας
• δημιουργίας αίσθησης του ανήκειν στην ομάδα και ενίσχυσης της σύνδεσης των μελών
• εδραίωσης της εταιρικής κουλτούρας και ενδυνάμωσης του ηθικού των εργαζομένων
• διαμόρφωσης και διατήρησης μιας ομάδας υψηλής απόδοσης

Σε ποιους απευθύνεται

Το σεμινάριο απευθύνεται σε στελέχη επιχειρήσεων και οργανισμών που αξιοποιούν την τηλεργασία ως μέθοδο εργασίας, επιθυμούν να βελτιώσουν την εξ αποστάσεως επικοινωνία με τους συνεργάτες τους και κατ’ επέκταση το εργασιακό κλίμα, αλλά και την απόδοση των μελών της ομάδας τους.

Οφέλη

Το συγκεκριμένο πρόγραμμα μέσα από μια σειρά συμμετοχικών συναντήσεων και βιωματικών εργαλείων διαμορφώνεται λαμβάνοντας υπόψη τις εμπειρίες και τους προβληματισμούς της ομάδας. Έτσι, προσφέρει στους συμμετέχοντες μια διαδραστική εμπειρία δίνοντας τους την ευκαιρία να υιοθετήσουν πρακτικές, που καλύπτουν τις δικές τους ανάγκες.

Αναλυτική Θεματολογία

Αφού διερευνηθούν τα πλεονεκτήματα της εργασίας από απόσταση για τους συμμετέχοντες, αλλά και οι κυριότερες προκλήσεις, που οι ίδιοι αντιμετωπίζουν, έμφαση θα δοθεί στις ακόλουθες θεματικές:

Αποτελεσματική Επικοινωνία

Η αποτελεσματική επικοινωνία ήταν ανέκαθεν κύριο συστατικό επιτυχούς λειτουργίας οποιασδήποτε ομάδας. Αναδεικνύεται όμως ως παράγοντας πρωταρχικής σημασίας για τις ομάδες τηλεργασίας. Βασικές αρχές και τεχνικές επικοινωνίας, καθώς και τρόποι αποφυγής κοινών εμποδίων επικοινωνίας στον εικονικό κόσμο θα αποτελέσουν αντικείμενο συζήτησης.

Δημιουργία αίσθησης του ανήκειν στην ομάδα και ενίσχυση της σύνδεσης των μελών

H σύνδεση μεταξύ των μελών της ομάδας συνεισφέρει σημαντικά στην ψυχική ευεξία, αλλά και στην παρακίνηση των ατόμων. Θα προταθεί η εφαρμογή συγκεκριμένων τακτικών και μεθόδων για τη βελτίωση της συνεργασίας. Παράλληλα, θα εξεταστούν τρόποι δημιουργίας αλλά και διατήρησης μιας κουλτούρας συνοχής για τους εργαζόμενους από απόσταση.

Εδραίωση της εταιρικής κουλτούρας και ενδυνάμωση του ηθικού των εργαζομένων

Θα αναλυθούν τεχνικές περιορισμού της αρνητικής επίδρασης της τηλεργασίας στην εταιρική κουλτούρα και στην καινοτομία. Θα αφιερωθεί χρόνος στους τρόπους αναγνώρισης και βελτίωσης του ηθικού της απομακρυσμένης ομάδας, αλλά και στις μεθόδους ενδυνάμωσης της αφοσίωσης των εργαζομένων εξ αποστάσεως.

Δημιουργία και διατήρηση μιας ομάδας υψηλής απόδοσης και αποδοτικότητας

Οι συνηθέστερες αιτίες χαμηλής απόδοσης των εργαζομένων εξ αποστάσεως και τα κύρια σημάδια, που προμηνύουν αντίστοιχα ζητήματα, θα αποτελέσουν αντικείμενο διερεύνησης. Ιδιαίτερη βαρύτητα θα δοθεί στους παράγοντες που επιδρούν θετικά στην αυξημένη παραγωγικότητα, όπως η ευθυγράμμιση των στόχων, η θέσπιση ορίων, η ενδυνάμωση της ατομικής ευθύνης, η ενίσχυση της αποτελεσματικότητας των διαδικτυακών συναντήσεων, κ.ά.

Περιγραφή του Προγράμματος

Εισηγητές

Σεμόιρα Ζούλα

Η Σεμόιρα Ζούλα είναι κάτοχος πτυχίου στην Ψυχολογία και Διοίκηση από το Anglia Ruskin University του Cambridge και μεταπτυχιακού τίτλου στην Εφαρμοσμένη Ψυχολογία από το Brunel University του Λονδίνου. Έχει ολοκληρώσει την εκπαίδευση της στη Συστημική-Διαλεκτική Ψυχοθεραπεία & Συμβουλευτική με εξειδίκευση στην Ομαδική Θεραπεία στο Αθηναϊκό Κέντρο Μελέτης του Ανθρώπου (Α.Κ.Μ.Α.). Διαθέτει 19 χρόνια εργασιακής εμπειρίας, εκ των οποίων πάνω από 6 έτη ως υψηλόβαθμο στέλεχος στη Διεύθυνση Ανθρώπινου Δυναμικού σε μεγάλες Πολυεθνικές και Ελληνικές επιχειρήσεις στους κλάδους παροχής υπηρεσιών και εμπορίου. Διαθέτει πολυετή εμπειρία στους τομείς της Επιλογής, Ανάπτυξης και Εκπαίδευσης εργαζομένων. Κατά τη διάρκεια της επαγγελματικής της πορείας στο χώρο των επιχειρήσεων έχει συμμετάσχει σε σημαντικά έργα Σχεδιασμού Συστημάτων Αξιολόγησης της Απόδοσης, Αναβίωσης Εταιρικών Αξιών και Βέλτιστων Πρακτικών, καθώς και σε έργα σχεδιασμού και διεξαγωγής Εκπαιδευτικών Προγραμμάτων Ενηλίκων.

Από το 2014 είναι μέλος του δικτύου Συνεργατών του Α.Κ.Μ.Α. ως Θεραπεύτρια σε ομάδες Προσωπικής Ανάπτυξης. Παράλληλα, συνεργάζεται με επιχειρήσεις, ως εξωτερικός συνεργάτης, παρέχοντας βιωματικά σεμινάρια σε ομάδες εργαζομένων, που αφορούν στην ενδυνάμωση του Επαγγελματικού Ρόλου, στην Ομαδικότητα, στην Ηγεσία και στην Καθοδήγηση Εργαζομένων σε περιόδους επαγγελματικής μετάβασης. Τέλος, εργάζεται ιδιωτικά ως Σύμβουλος Καριέρας και Ψυχοθεραπεύτρια.

Δρ. Μαριάνα Παπακωνσταντίνου

H Δρ. Μαριάνα Παπακωνσταντίνου είναι απόφοιτος του Τμήματος Εκπαιδευτικής και Κοινωνικής Πολιτικής του Πανεπιστημίου Μακεδονίας, με ειδίκευση στην Εκπαίδευση Ενηλίκων. Διαθέτει μεταπτυχιακό δίπλωμα στην Ανάπτυξη Ανθρώπινου Δυναμικού και τη Συμβουλευτική από το Πανεπιστήμιο του Lancaster του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου και διδακτορικό δίπλωμα στη Διοίκηση Ανθρώπινου Δυναμικού από το Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας. Εργάζεται τα τελευταία 13 χρόνια στον τομέα της Διοίκησης Ανθρώπινου Δυναμικού με ενεργό εμπλοκή σε έργα προσέλκυσης, επιλογής, εκπαίδευσης και ανάπτυξης εργαζομένων. Έχει επίσης ασχοληθεί ενεργά με την επιλογή Γενικών Διευθυντών στο Δημόσιο Τομέα. Στο πεδίο της Διοίκησης Ανθρώπινου Δυναμικού δραστηριοποιείται ερευνητικά μέχρι και σήμερα, δημοσιεύοντας άρθρα, συμμετέχοντας σε συνέδρια και αναλαμβάνοντας το ρόλο του κριτή σε ακαδημαϊκά επιστημονικά περιοδικά, ενώ διαθέτει σημαντική διδακτική εμπειρία στο συγκεκριμένο αντικείμενο σε ελληνικά και ξένα ιδρύματα τριτοβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης στην Αθήνα και τη Θεσσαλονίκη, καθώς και σε προγράμματα επαγγελματικής εκπαίδευσης και κατάρτισης, συνεργαζόμενη με διάφορους φορείς, ως πιστοποιημένη εκπαιδεύτρια ενηλίκων.

Συμμετοχή

Κόστος συμμετοχής: 263€ (special online price)

ΔΗΛΩΣΤΕ ΣΥΜΜΕΤΟΧΗ

Ειδική τιμή early bird για εγγραφές έως  20 Απριλίου 2021: 198€  

Μετά την αποστολή της αίτησης συμμετοχής, ένας εκπρόσωπος του Lifelong Learning Center του ACT θα επικοινωνήσει μαζί σας για τη διαδικασία της εγγραφής σας στο πρόγραμμα και την πληρωμή.

Μετά την ολοκλήρωση του προγράμματος, οι συμμετέχοντες θα λάβουν ένα πιστοποιητικό παρακολούθησης από το ACT.

Περισσότερες Πληροφορίες

Μπορείτε να επικοινωνείτε με το ACT Lifelong Learning Center στο τηλέφωνο 2310 398 430 ή μέσω email στο This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. με την ένδειξη "Αποδοτική Τηλεργασία".

We caught up with ACT student, Danjela Lura, Computer Science major, and founder of the “ACT Data Girls” club after she presented the “Landing a Tech Internship” webinar during International Education Week in fall 2020. Danjela was keen to talk about her experience and the ways that her liberal arts education helped her land the internship and successfully complete her role.

In her own words...

...about the Internship

During the summer of 2020, I was given the chance to be part of a quite prominent three-month internship program called Outreachy. This experience brought to my attention the importance of having a well-rounded education.

The work Outreachy interns do mainly revolves around contributing to Free and Open Source Software projects. The program is oriented towards diversifying the tech ecosystem, which is why underrepresented groups of people are encouraged to apply. However, being in an underrepresented group isn’t enough, you have to demonstrate your skills and display the potential to perform well technically as well as be an integral part of the open-source community you will work with.

The work I did during my Outreachy internship was related to Software Internationalization and the project I worked on was “Improving Internationalization Support for the Guix Data Service” which is aimed at providing people who don’t speak English with a feasible way to interact with Guix Data.

The Guix Data Service processes, stores and provides data about Guix over time. It provides a complementary interface to Guix itself by having a web interface and API to browse and access the data. In a high-level overview, the project was mainly concerned with extracting, storing, and displaying translations for several parts of the Guix Data Service.

...about the Liberal Arts Education + Tech Internship: Compatibility Points

So, let's dive right into the compatibility points between this internship and small liberal arts colleges. What I had the chance to observe during my internship was that I had to be an active part of the community and participate in discussions. There are times when no documentation exists about how to use a certain tool, so googling won't help you. The good thing about open source communities is that the creators or maintainers of the tools are really responsive and willing to help others with ideas or solutions.

This kind of climate is notable at our college, additionally, people are not blamed for not knowing something and this provided a really good buffer for me to go on and freely ask questions during my internship. So, interpersonal skills are extremely important as well.

I have taken many GER (General Education Requirement) courses, which I was initially a little bit skeptical about, but those courses proved to be very helpful in building writing and communication skills. These skills are important because you will be required to document your work experience through reports or blog posts and that can be really challenging if you don’t like writing or don’t have enough writing experience.

Respecting diversity and acknowledging differences while working on a project is important as well, and I believe liberal arts colleges stress this through the courses they deliver.

During my ACT orientation, there was a great emphasis given to the fact that no anti-social behavior would be accepted. This really remained in me because I had never before been part of an environment that supported these kinds of principles, so I tried to treat the divergent identities we have at our college with respect and appreciation. I saw this pattern occurring throughout my internship as well, but this time it was way more noticeable as the community was more diverse.

I am really glad I was given the opportunity to provide the tech community of my college with details related to my first internship experience. The “Landing a Tech Internship” webinar mainly focused on emphasizing how the soft skills I gained while attending ACT facilitated landing my internship and boosted my chances of performing well. My goal was to inspire others to take advantage of the classes outside of their major so that they can gain a competitive advantage and land their own tech internship.

• What is International Education Week?

The “Landing a Tech Internship” webinar was delivered as part of International Education Week at ACT. The week celebrates international educational opportunities, highlighting stories and lessons from those who have worked, studied or interned abroad or in an international setting. ACT encourages students, faculty, and staff to participate as attendees and as presenters. Shared experiences within the community can be the catalyst for others to take the next step in their career path.

Note from the Editor: the text of the following interview first appeared on the ACT website. Ilda Zhulalia attending Michael Dukakis' inaugural address at Anatolia College in September 1999, which marked the launch of what was then known as the Dukakis Chair in Public Policy and Service. She participated in the first season of Dukakis Center events, which featured such speakers as American Ambassadors Nicholas Burns, Mike Einik, Derek Shearer, US presidential advisors Eugene Skolnikoff and Richard Schifter, and senior Greek statesman and academicians Nikiforos Diamandouros, Mihalis Christidis, and Stelios Perrakis.

Ilda Zhulali graduated with Honors from ACT in 2001 with a B.A. Degree in History and International Relations, with concentration in Foreign Affairs. She notes that the academic and student experiences that ACT provided left an important impression on her life, encouraging her to pursue a career as a diplomat.

Since 2017, Ms. Zhulali has served as Advisor for European Integration for the President of the Republic of Albania, and has emerged as a strong advocate for democratic institutions, respect for individual rights, the rule of law and a more prosperous economy. In her alumni interview she recalls some of her childhood memories, student experiences, and personal beliefs that empowered her as a professional and as a woman to bring a positive change in her country.

How did you develop an interest in History, International Relations, Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs? What fueled your aspirations to follow a career in this field?

It really came to me as a natural choice, mostly by circumstances and curiosity.

During communism, my father sat almost every evening next to a small radio to secretly listen to “The Voice of America”. When old enough, my sister and I were also allowed to listen to the program in Albanian language, after promising not to tell a living soul. I was mesmerized by the whole “procession”. This was the sparkle which, with time, evolved into a magnetic attraction for politics and foreign affairs.

By the time I finished high school, my country, Albania, was in its early years of transition from the brutal isolationist dictatorship to a new democracy, building its pathway among the free nations. I was very young to genuinely understand what this drastic change really meant, but I was very curious to explore and find out what we had missed from the world. A major in IR would certainly satisfy this interest of mine.

Upon my return home, the Albanian diplomatic service was reforming itself seeking to employ young people with a new outlook on global affairs, free of past ideology and parochialism, who would contribute to boosting Albania’s perspective towards what was then called “western values”. In short, an opportunity not to be missed.

Looking back, I didn’t really know what experiences lied ahead of me, but I certainly made the right choice. Loving my experience first at ACT and later at the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led from one thing to another. I built a solid career, contributed to historical processes for my country as a policy maker, and became part of a great network of talented professionals and friends from different backgrounds and nationalities.

You graduated with Honors from ACT in 2001 majoring in “History and International Relations, with concentration in Foreign Affairs". How did your studies at ACT prepare you for your professional life?

ACT was a wonderful blend of talent, hard work and fun, with excellent mentors, lecturers and a great mix of student body, who all left an important impression in my life.

I am a big fan of the American system of education. I feel it is by far the best, with a perfect balance of developing a solid academic background, encouraging individual critical thinking and training for real life challenges through active engagement.

This equilibrium made my transition from ACT to work very easy to cope with.

The extra-curricular activities were an absolute asset as well. I still remember our meetings with then the US Ambassador to Greece Nicholas Burns, such an impressive speaker and personality. I cherish the experience in the Model United Nations simulations, including the one we first organized at ACT led by the ever enthusiastic Dr. Wisner. I was so inspired by our project with the Roma children and the relationship we all developed thereafter. And I could go on and on…

What do you remember fondly from the years at ACT and Thessaloniki and/or Greece?

I am still nostalgic of my time both at ACT and Thessaloniki, a city very dear to my heart. I always say that Thessaloniki is the best city for student life. It’s beautiful in every season, big enough not to ever be bored, and small enough not to feel lost.

But the best memory of all is the life friends I made. Kostas, Maria, Victoria, Thanasis, Alexandra, and so many others who made me feel at home.

Churchill once said that “the Balkans produce more history than they can consume”, and are loaded with prejudice and hard feelings against each-other. But my time at ACT and in Thessaloniki was a walk in the park, where I always felt most welcomed and fully integrated as an Albanian. I am very happy that more and more Albanian students have chosen ACT to pursue their studies since my time, when we were just a few.

How would you describe your priorities and challenges as advisor of European Integration to the President of Albania?

Being a policy advisor to the President of the Republic is a privilege that comes with a lot of responsibilities and challenges. I have to always be well-informed, sober in my analysis, creative in providing solutions, and effective in strategic relationships with stakeholders.

Albania is the most Euro-enthusiastic country in the region, and maybe even in Europe, with more than 98% of its people in favor of EU integration. This is the guiding star in my daily work.  

EU integration is a very challenging process which will transform my country fundamentally. I have lived through many of these changes, but more should be done to ensure fully functioning democratic institutions, respect for individual rights and freedoms, rule of law and a more prosperous economy. I am sure that once we commence accession negotiations, progress will be both faster and more sustainable.

In recent years we see more women in politics. Do women today have equal opportunities to advance in the fields of diplomacy and politics or do they still have many “glass ceilings” to break? What piece of advice would you give to a young girl who wishes to pursue a career in diplomacy?

When I joined the MFA there were very few women diplomats, of whom only two Ambassadors and none in other leading positions. In 20 years this ratio completely changed, once increasingly more women were recruited in the system.

For sure the classical Balkan man will not leave an empty seat for the woman to sit. But as a great champion of women’s right, Eleanor Roosevelt once wisely advised, “Above all, every woman in political life needs to develop a skin as tough as rhinoceros hide”.

Educated young women undoubtedly need to develop a less tough skin these days, but should be persistent in nurturing their talent and ambitions. I will use the captivating words of the very young poet Amanda Gorman as an advice to all women, “For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it”.

Ilda ZHULALI was appointed as Advisor for European Integration of the President of the Republic of Albania in September 2017.

Earlier she held the position of Political Advisor of the President of the Republic, during April 2014 – July 2017. Mrs. Zhulali has broad experience in foreign affairs, and her area of expertise includes European integration and the Western Balkans region. During her career, she has represented Albania in various high level meetings and conferences. Upon her return to Albania in 2001, she worked as a career diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs holding different positions as expert in regional affairs, Director and Director General for European Affairs, until October 2013.

Ilda Zhulali graduated with Honors from the American College of Thessaloniki in 2001, majoring in “History and International Relations, with concentration in Foreign Affairs”. She was the recipient of two academic awards and full scholarship for her years of study.

She was the recipient of 2003-2004 Chevening Albania Scholarship, and completed with merit her “Postgraduate Studies in Diplomacy” from the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.

Former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis has a long-standing interest in China and its standing in contemporary global affairs. He has been an advocate of talking with friends and foes alike, and of listening rather than dictating, and he has spoken at and animated numerous initiatives aimed at improving Sino-US understanding, including the Boston Global Forum. But he has also shown keen support for multilateral institutions and practices through which to discourage unchecked unilateral challenges to international standards, notably by large countries like Russia and China.

With this in mind, the Dukakis Center will initiate a new series of public events dedicated to a better understanding of China’s role in contemporary international, in tandem with an internship program for college undergraduates designed to encourage young people to examine media coverage of China and China’s interaction with the world.

The first event in the new series will be a webinar on March 10 featuring Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society in New York.

The webinar will be co-hosted by the Manchester China Institute at the University of Manchester in the UK.

The event will be moderated by David Wisner, Executive Director of the Dukakis Center, author or of a China Watch initiative at ACT from 2000-2005. Peter Gries, Director of the Manchester China Institute, will appear as respondent.

China and the World after COVID-19: A conversation & book launch

Register here for the Zoom Webinar

Featuring Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society
Respondent: Peter Gries, Professor of Chinese Politics, University of Manchester, and Lee Kai Hung Chair and Director, Manchester China Institute
Moderator: David Wisner, Executive Director, Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service

Wednesday, March 10, 7 PM

Guest speakers:

Orville Schell has written ten nonfiction books about China, and has written extensively about China for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Nation, Foreign Affairs, and The New York Review of Books. My Old Home: A Novel of Exile (2021) is his first work of fiction, exploring life in Cold War China through the story of a father and his son. This webinar will commence with a discussion of legacies of China’s Cold War past in Chinese domestic and foreign policies today, before exploring the prospects for China’s relations with the world after Covid-19. Audience members will be invited to ask questions.

Peter Hays Gries is the Lee Kai Hung Chair and founding Director of the Manchester China Institute at the University of Manchester, where he is also Professor of Chinese politics. He was previously founding director of the Institute for US-China Issues at the University of Oklahoma. He studies the causes and consequences of how Chinese feel and think about the world—and how the world feels and thinks about China, and is particularly interested in the dynamics of mis/perception and mis/trust.