9th General Assembly of the DIAZOMA Association 20 September 2016

On Sunday 18 September 2016 the work of the 9th General Assembly of the “DIAZOMA” Association was successfully completed. This year’s assembly, holding the topic of “The Monuments at the Center of Life”, took place in Argolida, specifically in Argos, Epidavrus and Nafplio, and honored Mr. Vassilis Lambrinoudakis, Emeritus Professor of Archeology, General Secretary of the Association and Director Of Excavations in Epidaurus.

On Friday, September 16, we visited the archaeological site of the Argos Theater, where we were toured by Mrs. Alkistis Papadimitriou, Head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Argolida, whom we thank very warmly. Then, the member of the “DIAZOMA” Association, Mrs. Margarita – Economou – Molter read in Greek and French an extract from the text of “Expedition scientifique de Moree” for the 4th National Assembly which was held in the ancient theater of Argos.

The greetings of the Mayor of Argos, Mr. Dimitris Camposou and the members of parliament of Argolida, Mr. Ioannis Maniatis and Ioannis Giola followed. Following, the Mayor of Larissa, Mr. Apostolos Kalogiannis, the president of “DIAZOMA”, Mr. Stavros Benos and the Head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Larissa, Mrs. Sthrolia Stavroula, presented to the public the synergy of the three institutions with the aim of completing the restoration of the ancient theater of Larissa.

Thereupon, executives of Georgetown University in Washington and the Harvard Department of Hellenic Studies, as well as the World Bank, spoke about the transmission of the message of the “DIAZOMA” Association to the United States.

Also, it was announced that the next General Assembly will be held in Komotini and the baton was given to the Mayor of Komotini, Mr. George Petridis. The evening closed with a beautiful theatrical performance, directed by the regular member of the “DIAZOMA” Association, Mr. Nikola Taratori, based on Sophocles’ ELECTRA, which was presented by “Politistiki Argologiki Protasi”. The translation was by Mrs. Angeliki Kossiva, archaeologist and the music, by the musician and composer, Nikos Xanthoulis.

Work on Saturday morning began with the members visiting the Asklepieon in Epidavrus, where they had the chance to be toured by Mr. Vassilis Lambrinoudakis and his colleagues. Following was the visit to the exhibition “HEALTH” at the “XENIA” in Epidaurus by Mrs. Iris Kritikou, exclusively for the General Assembly of “DIAZOMA”.

The proceedings of the meeting peaked in the afternoon of the same day at the small theater of Epidaurus. In addition to the procedural part of the Convention (Accreditation of Quorum – Bureau Election), the “Integrated Environmental Promotion Program of the larger Area of the Asklepieon of Epidaurus in the framework of the interventions on nature and culture” was presented, which is currently being planned by all relevant divisions.

The aim of  Asklepieion’s environmental program is to restore the authenticity of the monumental complex and to offer visitors a unique experience: to know and experience what was and how the  Asklepieion functioned during Ancient times but also how religious worship was combined with the discovery of medical science. Finally, through the program, the monuments of  Asklepieion will be linked to the sustainable development and productive forces of the region.

The studies of the above program were presented:
A) “Study of the formation and redevelopment of tour paths in the natural environment of the  Asklepieion of Epidavrus and its surrounding area” which is funded by INTERAMERICAN, a member of the “DIAZOMA” Association.
B) “Garden study of endemic and healing plants in the NW area of the sanctuary of  Asklepieios” which is funded by APIVITA, a member of the “DIAZOMA” Association.
C) “Final road construction study for the road connection of the  Asklepieion with the Sanctuary of Apollo Maleata”, which was developed pro bono by DROMOS LTD.
The round of presentations ended with the presentation of the philosophy and the first conclusions of the Digital Strategy for Culture, which was funded by the COSMOTE member of the “DIAZOMA” Association.

Finally, the highlight of the evening was the announcement of the official launch of the Crowd funding program for the ancient theater of Cassope, which is being implemented by “DIAZOMA” as part of the ” «ACT FOR GREECE»” program of the National Bank of Greece, Corporate Member of the Association

The evening closed with a musical epilogue with songs by Manos Hatzidakis. The songs were accompanied by the voice of Mrs Palaiologou Katerina and guitar by Mr. Koufadakis Antonis. The curator of the program was Mr. Stathis Giftakis, artistic director of the Municipal Conservatory of Kalamata.

The proceedings of the Convention were completed on Sunday 18 September at the Hotel “AMALIA” in Nafplion. There was a review of the outgoing board’s action and the planning of new actions for the following year. The main topic of the review was the presentation of new programs and actions, such as Cultural Routes in ancient theaters and Archaeological Parks, so that the monuments, once preserved, are put at the center of real life.
Finally, the elections for the new Board of Directors and the Audit Committee of the Association were held on Sunday.

We all shared great experiences and got stimulated with the relation of the monuments to sustainability and sustainable development. We are very grateful to all those who contributed to the successful organization of this year’s general assembly, but mainly to our corporate and regular members for their collective participation.