Prospects and forecasts regarding the future development of European and Greek economy and possible scenarios on the future of the euro, as well as a practical response to uncertainty in the business environment were presented at the event "Preparing for the Unpredictable - How companies can embrace the economic uncertainty in Greece to their advantage ", which was held on April 2, 2012 at the Bissell Library of the American College of Thessaloniki (ACT). The event was co-organized by the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, Anatolia College and Deloitte.

During the event, reference was made to economic developments and prospects of the countries of the Black Sea Region as well as the potential expansion of Greek enterprises’ activities in the region with financial help from the Black Sea Trade & Development Bank.
 

Deloitte presented the "Scenario Planning" methodology in response to the growing uncertainty of the environment within which businesses operate today.
 

Opening remarks were made by Dr. Hans C. Giesecke, President of Anatolia College, Nikolaos Bakatselos, Vice President of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, and Vassilis Kafatos, Deloitte Partner.
 

Invited speakers were Rafal Antczak, Economist – Deloitte CE Europe, Panagiotis Gavras, BSTDB Head of Policy and Strategy, and Efthymis Konstantopoulos, Deloitte Greece Principal.

Politis: A Citizen’s Guide to Greece 2012  is the new blog of the Dukakis Center. The aim of the blog is both to encourage an open and dynamic exchange of ideas on what citizenship means in the Hellenic Republic in these unprecedented times, and to serve as a resource for innovative citizenship projects all over Greece. Its principal objective to interact with a broad and diverse audience, in part to generate self-sustaining discussion and citizen action, in part to share data and results from various research projects undertaken at the Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service.

A team of twenty faculty, staff, interns, and research associates are working on the blog and related research projects during the spring 2012 semester. Among the research projects is a comparative study of municipal governance in Thessaloniki and in select cities in the USA, being conducted by three study abroad and three Greek interns under the direction of ACT alumnus Dimitris Diamantis. The group will present their findings in a mini conference in late May.

For the spring 2012 semester, the Dukakis Center will host volunteer research associates Ian Kehoe, Maria Patsarika, and Despine Ventouri. The core group of the Dukakis Center team also includes Laura Strieth, Ruth Sutton, Stelios Kelaiditis, David Wisner, and students Stavroula Dolmatzi and Pandelis Rafail.

Politis welcomes posts, ideas, or merely feedback at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
 

On March 28, Meet the CEOs welcomed  Ms. Lia Barbatura, Project Manager, co-founder and Vice President of ASSETCOM S.A. Ms. Barbatura  explained the applications of smart devices in energy consumption management and the way ASSETCOM S.A designs its own platform of devices to enhance consumer value-added in the Greek market. The company’s niche strategy was discussed with reference to competition and networking arrangements with large and small companies in the industry. Finally, Ms Barbatura described the corporate leadership in small, flat corporations and discussed how she dealt with leadership and management-related gender issues.  The event was moderated by Giorgos Anastasiades, MBA Adjunct Professor.

On April 3, the Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service hosted a unique citizenship workshop for current ACT freshmen and Study abroad students.

Organizational psychologist and education consultant Ian Kehoe conducted the session, which consisted of students discussing what makes for a “good” and a “bad” citizen, and then designing mock training programs to help people become better citizens. Mr. Kehoe will analyze the findings of the session, compare them with findings from a similar session to be held with senior ACT students, and then publish the results.

Ian Kehoe has over a decade of consulting experience in the private and public sectors, having undertaken projects on behalf of the Department for Education in the UK, Cambridge University, University College Cork, the National College for School Leadership, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, and teaching at the University of Sheffield and the University of Macedonia.

Mr. Kehoe is completing a Ph.D. at the University of Sheffield and is currently a Research Associate at the Dukakis Center. He is based in Kavala.

A carefully selected team of 5 students in ACT’s MBA program has undertaken the development of a marketing plan for the town of Molyvos (Mithimna) and the surrounding area in the Northern Aegean island of Lesvos as part of an advanced topics course in the MBA program, led by ACT’s adjunct professor Mr. Mousiades.  The project was initiated by Dan and Helen Lindsay who are also the major sponsors of the ‘Molyvos project.’

Molyvos has in recent years experienced a substantial decline in tourism and the realization has brought together members of the community to form a Non-Profit Council to advance tourism in the area.  The ACT MBA team will endeavor to analyze and characterize the decline and understand its causes, identify and explore viable alternatives to either reverse or slow the decline and/or develop substitute feeder markets, including any changes that may be appropriate  to the area’s tourism “product”, its sales channels, its image and overall brand identity, and its promotional efforts.  The team will develop and conduct necessary market research as well as investigate various case studies to inform its efforts.  The project is expected to be completed in June with a presentation of the teams’ work and recommendations to the town’s council.

The American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, Anatolia College/ACT and Deloitte cordially invite you to a presentation on:

"Preparing for the Unpredictable" How companies in Greece can embrace economic uncertainty to their advantage

Monday, April 2, 2012, at 18:00, Bissell Library, 1st Floor, American College of Thessaloniki (ACT)

Please register online at www.anatolia.edu.gr/april2event by Thursday, March 29
 

For further information, please contact the Anatolia College Relations Office at 2310 398.220 or the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce at  2310 286.453.

Speakers

• Rafal Antczak, Economist - Deloitte CE Europe
  Macroeconomic Outlook in Eurozone & Greece
• Panayotis Gavras, BSTDB Head of Policy and Strategy
  Prospects and Opportunities in the Black Sea Region
• Efthymis Konstantopoulos, Deloitte Greece Principal
  Scenario Planning and Strategic Flexibility
  
   

Who said that no-one does anything for free?  Why shouldn’t senior citizens dance the tango?  Why can’t small groups of people change things?  By literally stopping traffic and bringing the city center to a standstill, ‘Thessaloniki Allios’ is proving that small groups of creative, positive people can and do change things for the better. In a similar way to ACT’s service learning, volunteerism spirit and numerous projects and groups, ‘Thessaloniki Allios’ seeks to change mentalities and realities from the bottom-up through creative, optimistic cooperation, rather than negative opposition.
 

On March 21^st, The American College of Thessaloniki was honoured to host Giorgos Toulas, creator and head of ‘Thessaloniki Allios’, as part of the InspirationXchange discussion series, under the auspices of the Dukakis Center for Humanitarian and Public Service; an event that simultaneously launched ‘Politis’, the Dukakis Center’s blog and carried a live-stream of the discussion. ‘Thessaloniki Allios’ was born in June 2010 with a series of events involving hundreds of volunteers and participants that infused life and culture into every part of the city, with the aim of entertaining, encouraging and inspiring people to get involved in cultural, social and environmental actions and to work together. For 2 days, Tsimiski became a pedestrian zone (a huge feat in itself) and the events left thousands awestruck by the incredible creative force of the city.
 

Mr Toulas, his team of co-workers oversaw a diverse array of events, including: The Naked Bike Ride-in which over 1000 cyclist flooded the city centre and formed a beautiful mosaic of body paints, hats and swimsuits, street theatre, free music and dance performances, playgrounds with storytelling and recycled play-equipment, poetry (written on hundreds of paper planes and flown from the balcony of the Elektra palace Hotel) and groups of musicians playing in hospitals and old people’s homes. The events were magical and exciting for all that walked through the streets of Thessaloniki and many were aimed at highlighting the forgotten beauty of areas of the city that have been abandoned.  After exhaustive cleaning operations, in a former Jewish neighbourhood,  vintage lamp shades, lights and chandeliers adorned the old wires hanging between rooftops, old houses became art galleries, swing dancers performed through the streets and theatrical shows were staged in the alley ways. The list of amusing and inspiring events goes on and what Thessalonians wanted most after this thrilling weekend was more! And so the group has grown and continues.
 

There have been countless events and initiatives since then, including ‘Limani Allios’, with free performances and an intruiging display about the people that have arrived and departed from Thessaloniki Port, that encouraged all visitors to write about their ‘immigration / emigration’ backgrounds and pin it to the display to create a ‘tapestry’.  In addition, there have been regular drives to collect food and medicine for organizations working with people in need, which have been swamped with donations. A recent action to hand out blankets to homeless people during the cold nights was supported by the Mayor’s office and contributed to the Municipality’s decision to open Municipal buildings for people to sleep in during the cold spells for free.
 

Listening to Giorgos Toulas recount the human stories behind the creation of ‘Thessaloniki Allios’and all they’ve managed to achieve was both moving and hope instilling. The discussion that followed after Mr. Toulas’ talk was very interactive and we should aim to involve ACT and Anatolia students, staff and facilities in the upcoming events of ‘Thessaloniki Allios’.

“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.