Mrs. Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO and United Nations Nelson Mandela Award 2020 Laureate, attended the Opening of the 6th Delphi Economic Forum, which was held under the auspices of H.E.the President of the Hellenic Republic Mrs Katerina Sakellaropoulou. Mrs. Vardinoyannis participated in the discussion “Culture and Pandemic” together with the President of the European Cultural Center of Delphi, Rector Helene Ahrweiler, which was moderated by Mr. Antonis Sroiter, journalist.
Mrs. Marianna V. Vardinoyannis stressed that the pandemic was a powerful crash test and magnified inequalities that already existed, however people must build on the values and ideals that keep them united as a society and move forward collectively facing the challenges of the future. As Mrs. Vardinoyannis stated, Greece has been a leader in culture since the beginning of history and constitutes a legacy for global dialogue and cooperation.
Rector Helene Ahrweiler stressed that the pandemic deprived us of the basic ingredient of culture, collectivity, but gave us the necessary time to find the deepening of thought and things. We were able to understand that art is not just a superficial contact. The time we found was a time of self-knowledge, which makes us better. At the same time, Rector Ahrweiler added that the pandemic gave us another weapon, learning about technology, such as e-learning which is a new weapon of culture.