The Anatolia School of Business at ACT, is proud to announce its new set of programs on Hospitality and Tourism. The set covers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in cooperation with international academic institutions and industry professionals. At the undergraduate level, ACT will offer three programs: a) a 2+1 program in cooperation with Cesar Ritz, Switzerland, b) a 2+1 program in cooperation with Hotel Institute Montreux, Switzerland, and c) a 2+2 program with St. Thomas University, USA. At the graduate level, ACT will offer an MS in Hospitality & Tourism, a 1-year program accredited by NEASC. All programs will be taught by distinguished academics and professionals and include internships both at an international and a domestic level. Registrations are open and all programs launch in September. Interested students as well as working professionals are invited to select the program that best suits their current needs and future career goals.

«The way an organization looks really matters.»

Lansie Sylvia is a rising star in the world of non-profit branding in the United States. She works as Director of engagement at the Philadelphia-based branding agency Here’s My Chance, and visited Thessaloniki recently under the auspices of the Dukakis Center at the American College of Thessaloniki.

Lansie spoke to a select audience of non-profit activists at the Municipal building in Panorama, about her career, about the problems she most frequently encounters in her work, and how one can judge success in this most difficult professional sector.

Lansie took degrees from Rutgers and the University of Pennsylvania, and resolved to put her training into practice in Philadelphia, where she worked for a traditional fund raising agency before taking up her current position at HMC.

She has worked on campaigns for municipalities, social causes, and select private companies, in Philadelphia and throughout the US. Her most recent project in Philadelphia was called «Next Stop Democracy,» which employed local street artists to produce a campaign to encourage resident to vote in municipal elections.

What did Lansie leave those who attended her workshop? Among the many jewels in her presentation two bits stood out.

How does one «sell» a brand to a non-profit organization? Sell value, rely on testimonials and case studies which show that people really appreciate your message and your cause. You can't sell something to someone who does not really want it.

What is the biggest problem one has to overcome in reworking their brand? The power of habit. Don’t let your ego get too big, if you are seeking advice. Understand how you are different from your competition, and let us help you.

«Who needs to change more, the citizen, the elected official, or the political system?»

So asked Professor Gerry Stoke, of the Universities of Southampton and Canberra, in the keynote lecture to the international conference «Civic Engagement and the Practices of Democracy,» held at the Met Hotel on April 18 under the auspices of the Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service of the American College of Thessaloniki (ACT), in collaboration with the Public Opinion Research Unit of the University of Macedonia Research Unit.

The conference featured twenty scholars, civil servants, and practitioners in the private sector and in civil society, for a wide-ranging and stimulating debate of problems in contemporary democratic governance – in Greece, in the United Kingdom, in the United States, and, indeed, around the world. The speakers included representatives of the municipalities of Athens and Thessaloniki, who discussed their efforts to increase citizen engagement in resolving urban problems.

Nikos Marantzidis and Georgios Siakas revealed the findings of a nation-wide poll the Dukakis Center commissioned to study the phenomenon of apohi in Greece in recent elections. Their findings echoed research conducted by several other speakers, such as Richard Fox of the Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, who has asked why young people do not consider seriously running for public office.

Why not get engage? It would appear that large segments of the population are motivated by fear and anger not to get involved, despite a near-universal sentiment throughout Europe and North America that the system does not work. The pessimism that pervaded many of the presentations at the conference could not mask the fact that efforts are being made in many sectors of society to inspire greater engagement – from specific departments and programs in municipal administrations, to educators in public and private educational institutions – including democratic schools right here in Greece, to the efforts of activists and practitioners in civil society.

The youngest participant at the conference, 24 year old Mayara Soares, a Brazilian national studying politics in Paris, gave a stirring pitch for the organization she represents, Voxe.org, which is actively involved in pro-democracy activities wherever there are democratic elections.

Where Gerry Stoker asked where we need to start to reform our political systems and revive our faith in democracy, Melinda Haring of the American think tank the Atlantic Council issued a note of caution. The United States and many European countries invest heavily in strengthening democratic practices and institutions in many former communist and authoritarian countries. Some, like Azerbaijan, would seem to be lost causes. Despite our hopes and claims, democracy might not be a universal value.

Haris Panidis art exhibition

On Wednesday, March 30, 2016 the opening of the art exhibition “Haris Panidis: Retrospective Memory Exhibition” took place at the Bissell Library of the American College of Thessaloniki at which many people attended.

          Haris Panidis was born in Thessaloniki on 1954. He graduated from Anatolia College in 1972. He studied Economics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and undertook his Master’s degree in England, an M.Sc. in Industrial Management.

          He was originally a successful businessman but the passion he felt for art finally took over and he eventually became dedicated to it. He participated in eight group exhibitions and also had twelve solo exhibitions of his work. His artwork may be found in many personal collections both in Greece and abroad. He painted with oil during all periods of his life, practising different techniques and creating new colors. 

Αναδρομική έκθεση έργων του Χάρη Πανίδη στην Bissell

Στη συμπλήρωση ενός έτους από το θάνατο του γνωστού εικαστικού καλλιτέχνη και αποφοίτου του Κολλεγίου Ανατόλια Χάρη Πανίδη, οι δικοί του άνθρωποι αποφάσισαν να ξεφύγουν από τα συνηθισμένα και να διοργανώσουν μία έκθεση έργων του για να τιμήσουν τη μνήμη του.   Η βιβλιοθήκη Bissell ήταν ο φιλόξενος χώρος της αναδρομικής έκθεσης που προσέλκυσε στα εγκαίνια της 500 άτομα – συγγενείς, φίλους, ομότεχνους, φιλότεχνοι, και πολλοί απόφοιτοι του Κολλεγίου Ανατόλια, που ταξίδεψαν από το εξωτερικό για να παρευρεθούν στην έκθεση.              

           Ο Χάρης Πανίδης γεννήθηκε στη Θεσσαλονίκη το 1954 και αποφοίτησε από το Κολλέγιο Ανατόλια το 1972. Σπούδασε Οικονομικά στο Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης και έκανε τις μεταπτυχιακές σπουδές του στην Αγγλία, στο M.Sc. Industrial Management. Υπήρξε επιτυχημένος επιχειρηματίας αλλά το πάθος που ένιωθε για την τέχνη τον κέρδισε ώσπου αφιερώθηκε ολοκληρωτικά σ' αυτήν.  Η δουλειά του έχει παρουσιαστεί σε οκτώ ομαδικές και δώδεκα ατομικές εκθέσεις. Τα έργα του βρίσκονται σε πολλές ιδιωτικές  συλλογές στην Ελλάδα και στο εξωτερικό. Ζωγράφιζε με λάδι σε όλες τις περιόδους της ζωής του, ακολουθώντας διαφορετικές τεχνικές και δημιουργώντας καινούρια χρώματα. 

Διαβάστε το αφιέρωμα της εφημερίδας ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΙΑ στην έκθεση του κου. Πανίδη εδώ.

Kostas Ifantis delivers Dukakis Lecture

The Dukakis Center hosted a public lecture by Professor Konstas Ifantis, of Panteion and Kadir Has Universities, with Sotiris Serbos (Democritus University) and Paroula Perraki (University of Macedonia) as discussants, while Dr. David Wisner (American College of Thessaloniki) moderated the discussion. The lecture took place on the premises of the NAvarino Network, who co-hosted the event along with the Kaliopi Koufa Foundation.

The lecture addressed a wide range of contemporary issues involving Greco-Turkish relationships during an era of political uncertainty. It was pointed out that in 1999 Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Workers Party in Kurdistan, was leaving the Greek Embassy when he was captured by Turkish agents. Three Greek Ministers had to resign in order to avoid Turkish aggression. However, since 1999 a new era has begun in the relationship between Greece and Turkey, an era of a controlled crisis through political consultations regarding Aegean Issues and confidence-building measures. Commercial and economic relations with Greece have also gained strength while developments have been made in bilateral political relations.

Professor Ifantis mentioned that Greece’s balance of trade with Turkey is positive, while it is negative to all other countries. Therefore, Greece enjoys a trade surplus only with Turkey, as it is exporting more than it is importing just with that one country. We realize that a healthy Turkish economy is only beneficial for Greece, as Greece is able to take advantage of it thanks to its proximity. Tourism is one of the promising fields of cooperation between two countries. As mentioned by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, every year, and almost one million tourists each from Turkey and Greece visit each other’s country. Additionally, the stock of direct Turkish investments in Greece amount to approximately 500 million USD. Turkish investors mostly focus on investing in marinas, ports and the overall tourism sector in Greece. Furthermore, a Turkish bank has branches in Athens and cities in the vicinity of Turkish borders.

In her commentary, Professor Perraki sparked the conversation with questions that were definitely on the minds of the audience; she remarked that Turkey continued to systematically disregard Greek national sovereign territory by violating air and sea borders. Indeed, Turkey contested ‘Greece’s legal right, on threat of war (casus belli), to extend its territorial sea to 12 nautical miles, as provided for by the Law of the Sea’, ‘disputed the extent of Greek national airspace, through constant violations by Turkish fighter aircraft’ and
‘contested Greek sovereignty over islands (theretofore unheard-of grey zones theory) and violation of that sovereignty even in cases of inhabited islands’.^[1] The Greek government boarded complaints with NATO, the EU and the UN over this crisis.

Professor Ifantis concluded with the remark that we can be optimistic about the future, despite the crisis in the Aegean. He mentions that although the Turkish government does not fully trust the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is greatly relied on secret services, it would be very doubtful that true gain would be found in a Greco-Turkish conflict, only cost.

The author of the text is Maria Kalogeroudi, IB 2011. ACT 2015.

Further reading

http://www.mfa.gov.tr/relations-between-turkey-and-greece.en.mfa

http://www.mfa.gr/el/issues-of-greek-turkish-relations/

As part of the ongoing series of the Bissell Library Events commemorate World Poetry Day (March 21, 2016) an introductory afternoon of poetry by Ms. Elsa Korneti was held in the library on March 23, 2016.

The public were able to listen to excerpts from Ms. Korneti’s personal collection and were given the opportunity to come closer to the writing process of poetry and its content.

She referred to a quote from Umberto Eco: "If God existed he should be a library. This is because a library is nothing more than a condensed concentration of the human mind, which over the centuries unceasingly creates literary works and art aiming at the conception of another life, a better world, a life no longer flat and prosaic but enchanting in invented so as far to only include corrections and no errors."

Finally, she added that the event had given to her and to the public that attended it the sense of a magical healing.

Elsa Korneti was born in Munich. She studied Economics at the University of Macedonia and the University of Trier, Germany. For a decade she worked as a journalist. She collaborates regularly with famous literary magazines; she publishes essays, book reviews, translations and other texts. She was twice nominated for the Greek State Prize for Poetry. Her poetry collection “Normal people with panache and a leopard tail" was awarded in 2013 with the George Carter prize by Porfyras magazine.

Her unpublished poetry collection "Hidden" was awarded in 2015 with the "Kouros Europos" prize of the Macedonian Artistic Company, Art. Her poems have been included in Greek and foreign anthologies and have been translated and published in 10 languages. Some of her poetry collections are available at the Anatolia College libraries.

During a ten-day period from April 11-20 the Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service at the American College of Thessaloniki will host its Second Festival of Civic and Urban Culture. The 2016 Festival will include, among others, a masterclass in stop-motion animation for young voters, the objective of which will be to have attendees produce short animated get-out-the vote campaigns; a masterclass in reporting and blogging; one or more public focus groups of non-voters (apohi); workshops on polling and in direct democracy; a graffiti paint-off; and a one-day conference, on April 18, on «Civic Engagement and the Practices of Democracy,» to co-hosted by the Public Opinion Research Unit, University Research Institute, University of Macedonia, who will conduct a national poll on voting behavior in Greece in 2015 at the behest of the Dukakis Center. The conference on will consist of a series of round table sessions featuring distinguished scholars and experienced practitioners to discuss problems and solutions in contemporary democratic governance, and to consider what is being done to encourage engagement, particularly among younger citizens, in municipalities, in schools, in civil society, and in the private sector.

The Dukakis Center organized its inaugural Festival of Civic and Urban Culture in the spring of 2014. First, the Center hosted an open debate, dubbed "Politics at the Coffeehouse,” on the May 2014 local and European elections. The debate, featuring prominent Greek journalists and bloggers, focused in large part on the incidence of unprecedented numbers of younger candidates in the elections, and was further animated by the presence of several local university students running for seats in the Municipal Council of Thessaloniki. The second event in the festival was an exhibition of photography by four Dukakis Center interns, who had attended a masterclass in environmental photography with renowned photographer Chryssa Nikoleri and were assigned to shadow candidates running in local and European elections. The exhibition took place at the Port Annex of the State Museum of Contemporary Art for three weeks during the month of June 2014. Finally, the Dukakis Center and Southeast European Studies at Oxford co-hosted the Fourth Dukakis International Symposium, with keynote speaker Dr. Erhard Busek and a group of distinguished panelists, who engaged in a public discussion on the theme of "The Future of Democracy in Europe and Beyond."

The Festival will become an annual feature on the events calendar of the Dukakis Center. For more information visit dukakis-center.act.edu or send us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The complete digital & social media diploma in Greece with a long track record as a catalyst for change is hosted in Athens and in Thessaloniki. Trusted by more than 450 executives in top agencies, brands and corporations. Designed by experienced professionals, and driven by the latest technology, case studies and online marketing tactics. Course's syllabus consists of exclusive topics and advanced knowledge.

Brought to you by KnowCrunch, powered by Deree - The American College of Greece, hosted by ACT - The American College of Thessaloniki.

Book your seat now! http://digitaldiploma.knowcrunch.com/thessaloniki/