After a decision taken by the Central Archaeological Council (CAC) in Greece, the exhibition titled ‘The Greeks. From Agamemnon to Alexander the Great’ will travel to the following museums in the USA: Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, National Geographic Society Museum in Washington and two other American museums.

The exhibition organized under the auspices of the General Directorate of Antiquities & Cultural Heritage of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the National Geographic Society, will last from April 2013 through October 2014.

The exhibition will feature the king of Mycenae or Argos, Agamemnon, who commanded the united Greek armed forces in the ensuing Trojan War, and eminent people of ancient Greece such as Plato and Aristotle. The exhibition will also cover the Stone Age and the Hellenistic era.

Ancient Greek civilization will be introduced to Americans through artwork depicting people and presentation of burial sets. The objects to be shown are coming from archaeological museums and recent excavations in Greece.

Mina Papatheodorou‐Valyrakis is a prolific and exciting expressionist painter whose work has been shown at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

She is one of the first Greek artists represented in the collections of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Her art, which now spans three decades, shows a consistent vision dedicated to representing the rhythms and intensity of modern life.

Mina Papatheodorou-Valyrakis has also been awarded the title of Sport Artist of 2002, winning unanimously among many international entries by the United Sports Academy. Her painting – the skier, the ice hockey player, etc. – was the official poster of the winter Olympics at Salt Lake City.

Since 2007, she has been elected a member of the Board of Trustees at the United States Sports Academy – America’s Sports University.

On Sunday, the 22nd of January, Antonis Marmarinos, Counselor for Education of the Embassy of Greece in Washington D.C, gave the Greek
Language Certificates to the students. The attendees of the event included parents and relatives of the students, teachers and school headmasters, as well as colleagues of Antonis Marmarinos, who organized the event.

Also in attendance were the Greek Ambassador, Ioanna Kriempardi, and the chairman the ‘Hellenic Society Prometheas’, Elefterios Karmiris.

Moreover, songs were being presented during the event and the students talked about the significance of the Greek language for them. For them, Greek language acquisition contributes to their attempt to maintain their Hellenic identity.

This event is of great importance for the Greek community in the USA, because it promotes Greek identity and culture within the existing cultures in the USA.

The Education Office of the Greek Embassy in Washington congratulated the students and their parents for their accomplishments.

Alexandra Iosifidi, a Diaspora Greek who lives in Russia, as part of the Mariinsky Ballet tour, will be the principal in “The Firebird” ballet created by composer Igor Stravinsky, which was first presented in Paris, in 1910.

“This won’t be my first appearance at the stage of the Kennedy Center, it is however, the first time I will be appearing in a leading role there, at the Firebird”, told Alexandra Iosifidi to ANA – MPA, from St. Petersburg.

Establishing closer ties between the Greek Diaspora

“As a Russian ballet dancer of Greek origin I feel that I am continuing the tradition of my ancestors. As a Greek and as an artist, I can absolutely relate to the verses of Dionysios Solomos ‘Enclose Greece in your soul and you will feel all forms of grandeur’”, tells Alexandra.

“Undoubtedly our meeting will contribute to the preservation of Greece’s cultural identity, as well as the establishment of closer ties between Diaspora Greeks”, states Alexandra Iosifidi, inviting all Greeks in Washington to attend her performances at the Kennedy Center on January 19 and 21, 2012.

Alexandra was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) on June 30, 1977. At the age of 10, Alexandra enrolled at the internationally famous Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, graduated in 1995 and joined the Mariinsky Ballet Company.

Ballet is everything in Alexandra’s life, because as the artist states, it serves a communication tool, bringing her closer to fans of the genre around the world.

In her endless journey towards the path of professional fulfillment, she has danced as a soloist in various stages worldwide with the Mariinsky Ballet, among which “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”, “Sleeping Beauty”, the “Don Quixote”, and “The Nutcracker”, while she has performed next to great ballet dancers.

During the 45-minute meeting, the two ministers discussed the Cyprus problem, the upcoming Cyprus presidency of the EU in the second half of 2012 and its implications, and the Turkish threats concerning the exploratory drillings for hydrocarbons in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Marcoullis said that she stressed to Clinton the potential crucial strategic role of Cyprus in promoting peace and prosperity in the region through the exploitation of the island’s hydrocarbon reserves and subsequent cooperation with neighbouring countries.

“We thanked the US government for its position of principle in supporting the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus with regard to the exploration and exploitation of resources in its EEZ,” Marcoullis said.

The foreign affairs minister informed Clinton of the developments in the peace talks, highlighting Cyprus’ willingness for a solution and stressing the non-cooperative attitude of the Turkish side in backtracking from the agreed solution framework.

“While the negotiation procedure belongs to Cyprus, we called on the US to continue its support and to apply some pressure on Turkey and the Turkish side to remain within the agreed solution framework of a bi-zonal bi-communal federation,” said Marcoullis.

“Our countries have worked closely in the past and we continue to do so with regard to regional issues of the Middle East and North Africa,” Clinton said, who also reiterated her support for the peace talks.

According to a State Department official, Clinton “encouraged everyone to intensify their efforts, in the name of peace and progress”.

Marcoullis was also a guest speaker at the Woodrow Wilson Centre, at which she spoke of Cyprus’ role as a player in the Eastern Mediterranean region and the critical decisions the island will have to make in the future.

Erato Kozakou – Markoullis

Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou – Markoullis, in Washington on a three-day working visit, will hold talks Tuesday with her US counterpart Hillary Clinton.
On Monday, Markoullis held meetings with Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Howard Berman, who is the Ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

She also had a working lunch with leaders of the Greek American community, whom she briefed on the latest developments in the Cyprus issue. They also exchanged views on promoting the Cyprus issue at decision centres in Washington. Attending were Ambassador of Cyprus in Washington Pavlos Anastasiades, the chair persons of PSEKA and AHEPA, the Cyprus Federation, the Greek American Institute and other officials.

Markoullis visited the offices of the Greek American Institute and held a meeting with the leadership of the American Jewish lobby while in the evening she attended a dinner with members of Congress and their associates.
Later on Tuesday, Markoullis will address the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars think tank on «Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean: Strategic location, strategic opportunities.”

On Wednesday, Markoullis will address the European Institute to talk about «Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean: A Cypriot Perspective».
In the afternoon, she will brief journalists, at the National Press Club, on the latest developments in the Cyprus issue, Cyprus` presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2012, as well as on prospects as regards exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbon reserves in the Republic’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

The Cypriot Minister concludes her visit to the US on Wednesday. She returns to Cyprus on Thursday evening.
Cyprus, which has been divided since the Turkish invasion in 1974, will assume the six monthly rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in July 2012.

Turkey, whose troops occupy Cyprus’ northern part since they invaded in 1974, does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus. Following a decision by Nicosia to begin natural gas and oil exploration in its exclusive economic zone, Ankara has deployed warships in the Eastern Mediterranean and has signed an illegal agreement with the Turkish Cypriot regime in occupied Cyprus to delineate what it calls continental shelf.
Drilling has already begun and is being carried out by Houston-based “Noble Energy”, off Cyprus’ south-eastern coast.

The government of Cyprus has protested to the UN and the EU Turkey’s moves, saying it has a sovereign right to exploit its natural resources, pointing out that Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots will benefit from any benefits that may come from oil drilling.

Cyprus has signed an agreement to delineate the Exclusive Economic Zone with Egypt and Israel with a view to exploit any possible natural gas and oil reserves in its EEZ. A similar agreement has been signed with Lebanon but the Lebanese Parliament has not yet ratified it.
(source: cna)

Can you sense the sarcasm in my voice? Don’t get me wrong I have lived the whole “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” story with my father working at four different Greek diners and my mother telling me every day of my life to find “a nice Greek boy to marry.” But I don’t think, I can say that every Greek-American reading this believes the same thing, that this is not the way to promote Greece. The person responsible for this brilliant idea is the deputy minister of tourism and culture Mr. George Nikitiadis. His idea goes as follows, to grab a bunch of Greek artists put their work on these placemats, which as well know that these very same placemats get crumbled, doodle and wipe off everybody’s spills and leftover food daily. The sad part is not just the idea but that commercial sponsors from Greece, like ΟΠΑΠ and the restaurant association are giving money for this idea to blossom and come alive.

About 6 million euro’s are being given for 7 million throwaway placemats to be printed and distributed to diners across America. It doesn’t end here also plastic throwaway cups are going to be given to the customers of these diners as well. What happened to posters, art exhibits with various Greek or Greek-American artists, concerts and dance festivals to raise money to promote Greece? You can just shoot a commercial in Astoria, Queens in New York City and you have your promotion right there.

I might be the only one angry and annoyed about this “awesome”, “brilliant”, “extraordinary”, and “wonderful” tourism idea but I believe Greece deserves better than throwaway placemats and plastic cups, especially in the times that we are in now.

Greek Ambassador  Vassilis Kaskarelis emphasized the significance of promoting cultural, religious and tourism aspects of Hellenism through books and important publications.

The event’s attendees included eminent journalists and authors such as Michalis Ignatiou and Ioustini Fragouli, who presented their multidimensional work. The book festival also included books of the following: Yiota Strati, Gavriil Panagiosoulis, Vana Kontomerkou, Evagelos Diakoyannis, Makis Tzilianos, Stella Zampourou-Folender, Dimitris Moustakis and Dimitris Trigonis.

The book festival provided biographies, books for children, diaries and cookbooks from Greek publishing houses and also books concerning stories and experiences from the Greek immigration.

The US Congress was formally notified on November 4 of the planned sale of three Bell AH–1W Super Cobra Attack helicopters to Turkey, for an estimated cost of $111 million, transferring them from US Marine Corps’ existing inventory. Turkey and the US have indicated that these helicopters would replace those lost in Turkey’s long fight against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Over the past few months, Turkey has directly threatened Cyprus over offshore drilling in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone, and Israel over the Gaza flotilla.

According to one of the CEH leaders, the Greek-American side asked for concessions from Turkey through this deal, along with absolute guarantees that these helicopters will not be used against Cyprus or Israel.

Members of the US Congress have also expressed their opposition and concerns over this sale in a letter to President Obama.

The importance of the Oxi Day anniversary was underlined by many prominent official figures, such as the Archbishop of America Demetrios. According to His Eminence, the 28th of October is one of the biggest national days for the Greek people all over the world. “It equals to the 25th of March. It was a day of liberation and victory against a Goliath power. The Greeks have done their best to contribute to the Axis Powers final defeat”

One of the persons honored at this year’s celebrations was Senator Bob Dole, who has not only joined the army against the Axis Powers but has also suffered severe injuries during one fight. Additionally, 97-year-old Panayiotis Sakellaris was also awarded for his contribution and personal sacrifice for the ideal of freedom during the 1940s war. Mr. Sakellaris travelled from Athens to Washington especially for the Oxi Day celebrations and his award.