The ten-year anniversary of the Center for Hellenistic Studies, founded in 2008 and operating in the New Library of Alexandria at the initiative of the Vardinoyannis family, was celebrated with a magnificent and moving ceremony in the Library of Alexandria on Monday, 21 October 2019.
The event was organised by the Library of Alexandria in honour of this important project.
As a recognition of her great contribution and her long-term work for the Library of Alexandria, the director of the Library, Dr. Mostafa El Feki, awarded an honorary distinction to Ms. Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, who is the Founder and Honorary President of the Center for Hellenistic Studies, founding member of the Board of Directors of the Library or Alexandria and member of the Advisory Board. Ms. Vardinoyannis was surrounded by graduates of the Center for Hellenistic Studies, who offered her flowers and thanked her for her support during one of the most touching moments of the event.
As she received the award and congratulated the students, Ms. Vardinoyannis talked about how deeply moved she is for the special honour and the fact that she is in Alexandria, a city which feels “like a second homeland”, and assured everyone that she will always be there for the Library, offering the opportunity to many young men and women to study there (the speech of Ms. Vardinoyannis is attached).
During the Ceremony, Ms. Vardinoyannis gave a separate speech for the anniversary of the 2500 years since the Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Salamis, inviting the Library of Alexandria and the Center for Hellenistic Studies to participate in the events which will have both a cultural and artistic and an educational nature: “In 2020, Greece will have a unique opportunity to remind the entire planet how the ecumenical ideas of peace, freedom and democracy, became the banner for the heroic battles that changed our world. This is a year when the anniversary of the 2.500-year anniversary from the Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis will be celebrated. These were two epic moments for Greece, the Mediterranean and Europe and a milestone for the Western Civilisation. This past week, his Excellency, the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos and the Prime Minister, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced the inauguration of the celebrations and bestowed on me the honour and responsibility of their organisation. Since 2020 is going to be a year of important cultural and educational activities, I feel deeply touched to be sharing this with you, hoping that the Library of Alexandria and the Center for Hellenistic Studies will be our allies and will participate in the celebrations. This is an international anniversary and I invite you all to participate in this effort which will inspire the young generation to create a better world” (excerpt from the separate speech of Ms. Vardinoyannis in the Library of Alexandria for the anniversary of 2500 years from the Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis).
The Board of Directors of the Library accepted with particular pleasure the proposal of Ms. Vardinoyannis to participate in the celebrations for the 2500 years from the Battles of Salamis and Thermopylae.
The event was also addressed by his Beatitude, the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, Theodore II, who elaborated on the important work of the Center for Hellenistic Studies and the contribution of the Vardinoyannis family: “This unique institute offers the opportunity to young men and women from all over the world, from Egypt, Europe and the Middle East, to study the achievements of Hellenistic Alexandria, to acquire a degree and a post-graduate diploma, and to conduct research, generate new knowledge and acquire a doctorate diploma, thus securing their entry into the world of Academia and research. To become active members of the dialogue of civilisations, a focus of which is justifiably the Center of Alexandria. To be reborne as illuminated ambassadors of civilisation, by fertilising each human environment which they come in contact with after their graduation. Beyond the beacon of knowledge which the Center has been for the past ten years, its support has been reinforcing the relationships between Greece and Egypt and the deep historical and cultural synergies of our two people. The knowledge of the living history of the city of Alexandria, ancient Greece and ancient Egypt, the awareness of the continuity of this historical course up to our years, bears more fruit than what is merely visible to the naked eye. We owe particular gratitude to you, honourable chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Center for Hellenistic Studies of the Library of Alexandria, Ms. Marianna Vardinoyannis: without your continuous and productive support, this godly work which we are celebrating today, which has a bright and promising future awaiting ahead, would never have been realised (the entire speech is attached).
The Director of the Library of Alexandria, Dr. Mostafa El Feki referred to the contribution of the Vardinoyannis family in the creation and operation of the Center for Hellenistic Studies and thanked Mr. Vardis I. Vardinoyannis and Ms. Marianna V. Vardinoyannis. He talked about the close relations between Egypt and Greece, and the umbrella of their civilization which has enveloped the two countries through time regardless of the political and economic circumstances of each era. He spoke about the role of Ms. Vardinoyannis since the first day of the establishment of the Library and invited her to visit the Library every year, making particular note of her positive influence (the entire speech is attached).
Professor Emad Khalil, the Director of the Center, further presented the achievements of the Center of Hellenistic Studies over the past ten years.
A total of 135 students to date have studied and been awarded a Hellenistic Studies degree or attended postgraduate studies in fields such as History, Literature, Arts, Archaeology, Architecture and Science. The Center has published a number of books and has organised events, lectures, educational missions, international seminars and conferences, the most recent one being the international Seminar on “Education and Capacity Building in Museum Studies” that was held on the 8th of October 2019, in Alexandria, in collaboration with the European “Erasmus +” Programme. With the University of Alexandria as its main partner, the Center cooperates with a number of other universities and academic institutes like the University of Oxford, the University of Southampton, the University of Rome, the Ecole de Louvre, the University of Vienna, and many others, whereas in Greece it cooperates with the Democritus University of Thrace. During 2020, the partnership with the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens will be launched at the level of a Master’s in Euro-Mediterranean Studies, at the same time starting a new course at the Center at PhD level in Hellenistic Studies. There will also be programmes for children, to better acquaint them with the field of archaeology.
A lecture followed after that, by the Academic Professor Christos Zerefos, who is a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Hellenistic Studies, on the subject of “Measuring with Shadows and Water traces fro Antiquity to this day”.
This important event was attended by representatives of the local authorities, the Greek Ambassador in Egypt, Mr. Nikos Garilidis, Ms. Efi Zerefou, the President of the Greek Branch of the Friends of the Library of Alexandria, Mr. Andreas Zaimis, members and supporters of the “Friends of the Library”, such as Ms. Katerina Sofianou and Ms. Anastasia Milopoulou, members of the Board of the Center, such as the Deputy Director of the Library of Alexandria Dr Hoda El Mikati and professor Farrag Ashraf, professors and students of the Center for Hellenistic Studies, as well as many other representatives of the political, academic and intellectual world.
