Academic Events
Culture Past, Culture Future: European Youth Competition
The Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation and EUNIC Greece (European Union National Institutes of Culture), represented by the British Council in Greece, have organized and brought to a successful conclusion a European Youth Competition under the title ‘Culture past, culture future’ within the framework of the international Athens Dialogues conference.
The aim of the competition was to invite the involvement of the younger generation of European students, scientists, researchers, journalists, writers, artists and aspirant academics, between 21 and 30 years old, in the dialogue on the contribution of the legacy of Greek culture to the solution of the problems and challenges facing the twenty-first century that lies at the centre of the questions addressed by The Athens Dialogues conference.
The competition was successfully completed on 15 June 2010. The young participants who sent in their work came from the following eighteen countries: Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia, Austria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
In the nineteen works that received awards, the young people addressed a broad spectrum of themes relating to the six thematic headings of the conference, i.e. Identity and Difference, Stories and Histories, Logos and Art, Democracy and Politeia, Science and Ethics, Quality of Life. Among other things, the young people set down their thoughts on European identity in relation to the Greek tradition, examined important works by ancient authors, such as the Medea and Antigone, in the light of contemporary debates, explored historical and historiographical themes and sought solutions offered by ancient Greek literature for the improvement of the quality of life for people today.
The competition was widely advertised through EUNIC, through the institutes participating in this project (the British Council, the Goethe-Institut, the Danish Institute, the Instituto Cervantes, the House of Cyprus, the Swedish Institute and the Hellenic Cultural Foundation) and also through the co-organizers of The Athens Dialogues conference.
The young prize-winners were invited to attend the Conference and participate actively in its organization. Their essays are published in the electronic journal of The Athens Dialogues, the AD e-journal.
Find out the winners of the competition. [pdf]
