"Big Changes Start with Small Solutions"

An Ideas Workshop for International Women's Day

Wednesday, 6 March 2013

17:00 – 19:30 pm

Bissell Library, ACT

The Dukakis Center welcomed former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Spyros Kouvelis for the inaugural Dukakis Lecture of the Spring 2013 semester on Monday, February 18, for a talk on Development Perspectives, Reform, and Outward Opening of Greek Entrepreneurship.

Mr Kouvelis, who sat in the Greek Parliament from 2009 till 2012, discussed the different scenarios necessary for success in entrepreneurship in crisis-wracked Greece. In a concise overview he noted what Greece needs and lacks, pointing out in particular the lack of credibility of successive Greek governments. He noted that to change the mentality that has prevailed in Greece for decades requires of ordinary citizens that they take small steps by themselves, without seeking subsidies and other sorts of handout. He also asserted that as long as governments break their own laws, there can be no basis for real reform.

Mr Kouvelis shared the approach that an NGO he and some associates formed last year, "Greeks Can," takes in seeking to surmount the effects of the crisis. The group share success stories where Greek entrepreneurs succeed without recourse to the corrupt practice of rousfeti.

A group of 45 students and alumni, faculty, and guests engaged in a lively discussion session after Mr Kouvelis' formal remarks.

On Friday December 21^st the Christmas Charity Drive that had been running for a number of weeks was concluded. Boxes of canned and dry food, cleaning products, toiletries, office supplies and stationary which had been gathered in bins on campus and in the study abroad student apartments overflowed. Products donated by Anatolia High-School and ACT students and staff were moved on that day by student volunteers with the Anatolia maintenance truck, to the offices of Desmos on Lagada Street.

Desmos, is a recently established branch in Thessaloniki, of the Non-profit Organization founded in Athens about a year ago, by a team of young and dynamic individuals who decided to address the social and humanitarian crisis in Greece by collaborating and involving the private sector. Desmos works as the 'middle man' connecting those that have a surplus with those that need specific products, thus making it easy for everyone to contribute something, without waste, cost or loss.

Anatolia and all it's schools have a long tradition of donating to charity throughout the year. The institution responded to Desmos' call for help this Christmas after two of its volunteer staff, who are graduates of Anatolia, approached their Alma Matter and introduced the concept and vision behind their work. At the moment the dry foods and cleaning goods have been transferred to "Evangelistis Markos - To Spiti tis Marias", which hosts unwed mothers and their children in Thermi. Students, parents and staff on a volunteer basis, are sifting through the remaining goods and creating an inventory of the donated products in order to prepare their transfer to institutions such as the Down Syndrome Center, Praxis and pensioner homes in need. Such direct and organized charity actions make giving easy and secure. One can follow the results of the drive and have access to photos of the gathering of the goods on Desmos' website: www.desmos.org. Many thanks to all who so kindly contributed to this effort!

In late June, ACT graduates celebrated another rite-of-passage, as the 2012 commencement ceremonies took place in the warm company of instructors, staff, administrators, family and friends. Keynote remarks were delivered by Brand-Strategist Peter Economides

His words to graduates acknowledged the chaotic and disruptive nature of the world they face, whilst encouraging them to embrace the challenges and opportunities such conditions provide. With confidence and optimism, Mr. Economides paid tribute to the sacrifices made by earlier generations, the wisdom they had gained from adversity, and the need for this generation of young people to recapture that integrity and use it for positive change. Saying “you need to connect with who you really are, you need to believe in what you can achieve, you need to work hard to achieve it… but most of all you need to love what you do. This boat wants to be rocked – rock it! Make a dent on the universe – we want you too.”

During the event, students were awarded for academic excellence, and active participation in sports and extracurricular activities. The “Philip & Marjorie Ireland Humanitarian Award” was presented to Mrs. Danai Papdatos, President of the NGO "Welfare" to honor her outstanding contribution to humanitarian and social service work.

2012 class valedictorian Emilya Georgieva, an International Relations major from Bulgaria, encouraged her classmates to seek excellence in their own lives through service and growth, and reflected on the ACT experience. 2011-2012 MBA class valedictorian Elisabeth Tsavdaridis Veenendaal spoke of the need to put learning into practice, and how ACT taught her to blend theory into practice from the program’s first days.

We look forward to this generation’s accomplishments and are proud of ACT’s role in widening the world and moving it forward.

More than 130 students, faculty, and professionals from public and private universities throughout Northern and Central Greece came together at ACT for a student-oriented workshop on Startup Business Idea-generation & Pitching. 

Dr. Vasilis Nikolopoulos, Founder of  Intelen, and one of Greece’s most experienced and active Entrepreneurs, started the event  with “Pitch Me Baby” – an overview of what, how, and why to pitch a Startup Idea to investors or judges of Entrepreneurial contests. Directly after the presentation, students broke into teams and, with the help of coaches, worked to generate an idea and model for a new Business enterprise.

After 2 hours of discussion, cooperation, and hard work, each team pitched their idea to the audience, and received feedback from the judges on how they might improve it, and even realize it as an actual business in the marketplace.

The Dukakis Center and the Anatolia Business School co-hosted the inaugural Business & Politics Forum on Wednesday, December 5, at the Elektra Palace Hotel in downtown Thessaloniki.

Well over 200 people came to hear invited panelists Stephen Grey (Reuters), Dennis Martinis (McKinsey), Efi Stefopoulou (General Secretariat of the Government), and Elena Panariti (social entrepreneur) speak on different dimensions of the perennial relationship between business and politics. The event was live-streamed over four sites, including Politis and Protagon, by the digital media company Live Media (clips have been posted with choice of language on the ACT You Tube channel).

The Dukakis Center hosted two events on cross-cultural understanding featuring Livingston Merchant, Jr., former President of Robert College, who has spent much of the last two years in predominantly Kurdish areas of northern Iraq (December 10, Niarchos Teleconference Center) and Hercules Millas, an expert on Greek-Turkish relations (November 14, Bissell Library). Earlier in the term, the Center hosted Dr. Devin Naar, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, for a lecture titled “The Rise and Fall of the Jews of Salonica, 1492-1943,”(October 15).
 

On December 11, the Dukakis Center teamed up with representatives of the Athens-based civil society initiative Repo[we]rGreece. Alexandros Costopoulos and retired US diplomat Alec Mally met with several dozen ACT and study abroad students to discuss the mission of their initiative, launched in the fall of 2011.

Repo(we)rGreece is a grassroots public diplomacy campaign that seeks to restore our country’s credibility and challenge the international misconceptions of Greece and her people. The campaign showcases and elevates stories, thoughts and opinions which stand out and inspire from the country’s sectors of strategic interest. Repo(we)rGreece endeavors to confront the negative stereotypes that arise from the failures and interests of the few by showcasing the strengths, talents, and achievements of the many.

Starting in the spring 2013 semester ACT students will be able to undertake formal internships with Repo[we]rGreece locally and in Athens. Interested parties may contact Adriane Thrash at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

Dr. Livingtson Merchant was the featured participant in a round table discussion on the theme «Good students, bad students» on December 17, in the Bissell Library. Dr. Merchant was joined by a group of ACT faculty and a small cohort of Maria Patsarika's freshman honors students.

Livingston Merchant was educated at Harvard University in Slavic studies as an undergraduate and completed the PhD in international affairs. He later attended Brown University and completed a PhD in Asian history. For thirty years he worked in international education as a school administrator and history teacher, including four years as head of Robert College in Istanbul. He taught at Tamkang University in Taiwan, the graduate school of education at Bilkent University, and Raparin University in northern Iraq. Most recently he is in Maastricht in the Netherlands where he is writing a book introducing the Sorani dialect of Kurdish to foreign speakers. 

For the last several years Dr. Merchant has been interested in multiple religious, social, and national identities in Turks and Kurds over the last hundred years.