‘UP Greek Tourism’ Campaign for Promotion of Greek Tourism

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The ‘UP Greek Tourism’ campaign aims to promote Greek tourism abroad in two ways: directly, through the outdoor advertising campaign, and indirectly, through the word of mouth created through traditional and social media who will re-produce the campaign.
Additionally it hopes to inspire Greeks to think of innovative personal initiatives to help the Greek economy, and also wants to demonstrate to the world that Greek people remain an innovative, resilient and hospitable nation.
The initiators of the campaign are planning to raise a minimum of US $15,000 and a maximum of $40,000. The first amount will be enough to fund a small billboard in New York City.
There are two ways to make the payment:
By credit card and through a platform specialized for donations called WePay.com
By an existing PayPal account or creating a new PayPal account
Money will never reach the project organizers themselves. All funds will be collected via Loudsauce.com and then directly used to pay the media. All contributions remain a mere pledge until the campaign becomes fully funded.

Fat Thursday at the Acropolis Museum

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(Original Story in Greek By Ingka Athanasiadou)
A tour of the Acropolis is the perfect experience, with which someone can simultaneously experience the sightseeing and the musical meetings offered these days at the Acropolis Museum.
The Acropolis Museum, within the framework of its’ ongoing program “One day at the Acropolis Museum” continues its’ musical afternoons in cooperation with the Technopolis of the Athens Municipality, and presents a series of “Musical Meetings with Manos Hadzidakis” which take place on February 2, 9, 16 and 23, 2012 at 5p.m. on the second floor balcony which has a view to the Room of Archaic Statues.
On the Thursday, February 16, the Acropolis Museum presented “Manos Hadzidakis meets Astor Piazzolla”. It is about a concert performed by the Trio Tangarto.
On Thursday February 23, the concert “Manos Hadzidakis meets the sounds of Smyrna” will be held, performed by Christos Tsiamoulis (vocals, and lute) and Socrates Sinopoulos (Byzantine Lyre).

Free Meat at Varvakios Agora in Athens During Fat Thursday

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Even if rain falls and the chilly weather makes you shiver, the smell of grilled meat can lure you to an open market. This holds even more true when the meat is offered free of charge.
Hundreds of Athenians queued up from early in the morning at the meat market, Varvakios Agora, to taste delicious bits of spicy sausage, lamb chops and chicken. A glass of wine would add to the festive mood of the day.
The meat sellers of Varvakios offered 1,000 kilos of meat and 200 liters of wine.
It is a Fat Thursday custom that meat sellers offer free BBQ at the Varvakios market in downtown Athens. Many people go there to enjoy BBQ grilled by meat masters.
But this year, the dramatic economic crisis has forced many residents of Athens to exclude meat and poultry from the weekly menu.
In the meat market of Piraeus, vendors will offer 750 servings of meat with rice.
(Source:http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com)

Poll Shows Greece's Two-Party System Is Over

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The two-party system in Greece is over. The latest opinion poll carried out by Vprc on behalf of the weekly magazine “Epikaira” issued today, confirms the already adamant decline of the two-party system in Greece.
According to the outcomes of this research, the two main parties, Pasok (Socialist Party) and Nea Dimokratia (centre-right), having ruled the country for 35 years, collectively account for a scarce 38% of the electors’ preferences. This data confirms the radical changes occurring in Greek society due to the financial crisis, which was mainly triggered by policies implemented by these two parties in the past years. According to the opinion poll, Nea Dimokratia still ranks first, accounting for 27.5% of preferences.
The Democratic Left ranks second (16%), the Communist Party third (14%) and the other left-wing party, Syriza, ranks fourth with 13.5% of preferences.
Pasok ranks only fifth, with 11% of preferences, while Laos, the extreme-right party, drops to 4.5%. Floating potential electors total 31.8%.
This data (like other data from opinion polls carried out in Greece lately) prove not only that changes are occurring in Greek society, but also that the country’s political instability is steadily and progressively increasing.
Such instability causes international creditors not to really trust Greece and makes the agreement for the second bail-out plan for Greece decided on October 26th, 2011, more difficult to reach.
In other words, Greece’s creditors are concerned that, according to these last months’ polls, after elections in April the country might prove impossible to rule, because the two main parties, Pasok and Nea Dimokratia, do not collectively reach 40% of preferences.
(source: ANSA)

Luxembourg: "Greece Must Choose Reforms Or Euro Exit"

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Greece must choose between reforming its economy or leaving the euro, Luxembourg’s finance minister said Thursday, stressing that Athens faces tighter surveillance from the European Union.
Frieden warned that while the eurozone cannot kick a member out, Greece must reform in order to fulfill conditions to stay in the 17-nation eurozone.
“We all have an interest in keeping the eurozone intact, but we are not in a dictatorial monetary union.”
“A state is free to choose to leave,” he said.
“If a member state says, ‘we prefer not to take money from other states and return to a national currency without making structural reforms,’ then that state has chosen to exclude itself,” Frieden said.
“It is therefore the responsibility of the Greek people to choose whether they want to stay in the eurozone.”
(Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com)

Former German EU Commissioner Says "Greece Should Not Be Treated As If It Consists of Criminals"

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The former European Commissioner, Guenter Verheugen, stated that the Greek nation should not be treated ‘as if it consists of criminals.’
Speaking to SWR public radio in the German city of Baden-Baden, Guenter Verheugen, who served as a European Commissioner from 1999 to 2010, urged his fellow Germans to tone down their criticism of Greece for failing to meet demands set by eurozone finance ministers.
“My instinct tells me you cannot treat a nation as if it consists of criminals, and that this is not about punishing Greece,” he said.
“I am appalled at the tone with which Greece and the Greek package is being discussed at the moment. I have the feeling the fire brigade is slipping into the role of fire encourager.”
‘We have to alter something in our minds, that we imagine we can head off on a punitive expedition,” against the Greeks, he said in reference to rising German, Dutch and Finnish impatience with Athens’ slow pace of reforms.
(Source:http://news.monstersandcritics.com)

CBCNews Reports: “Cuts Hurt Montreal’s Greek Consulate”

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Montreal’s Greek consulate has already felt the impact of the Greek government’s austerity measures, but many in the city’s 80 thousand-strong Greek community are more angry at the rioters in their homeland than they are about the cuts, CBCNews reports.

“We have had cuts, yes,” confirmed the Greek consul-general for Montreal, Thanos Kafopoulos. “But we still try to maintain service, and we are also trying to increase revenues”, CBCNews writes.

Kafopoulos said many Greek expatriates living in Montreal own property and have investments in their native country – and they are divided over the solution.

“There is concern. There is sadness, and there is worry about the process that Greece is going through,” he concluded.

Police Publish Names, Photos of Five Alleged Rioters

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Greek police have published the names and photos of five men allegedly involved in rioting in Athens on Feb. 12, the first time they have identified people involved in violence at public protests.
The men, aged 18 to 39, include one born in Germany and another from the Palestinian Territories. They are being questioned on charges including attempted bodily harm against police officers and disturbing the peace, according to a statement on the police’s website.
A police spokesman, who declined to be identified, said it was the first time they had identified rioters.
Rioters set fire to as many as 45 buildings during street protests in Athens against government austerity measures, according to Greek police.
(source: Bloomberg)

"Kazantzakis and the Arab World" Exhibition at Egyptian Cultural Centre of Athens

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“Kazantzakis and the Arab World” is the title of the pending exhibition to be hosted at the Egyptian Cultural Centre of Athens from February 28 to March 3, within the framework of international celebrations of the 55th anniversary of the author’s death, organized by the International Society of Nikos Kazantzakis’ Friends.
In the inauguration of the exhibition on February 28, the president of the International Society of Nikos Kazantzakis’ Friends will hold a lecture on the same theme.
Further exhibitions in memory of the Greek author will be held in other capital cities, including Madrid in April (“Kazantzakis and Crete”), Beijing in May (“On Kazantzakis and author Lu Xun”) and Harare in November, where local artists will present their artwork inspired by Kazantzakis’ work.
The International Society of Nikos Kazantzakis’ Friends was founded in 1988 in Geneva by Eleni Kazantzaki, George Stassinakis, and George Anemogiannis. To date, the society includes over 5.000 registered members from more than 105 countries around the world.

Greek Carnival Celebrations Across Greece

The Triodion is open… as they say in Greece, and along with it comes joy, fun and lots of kefi in each town of Greece. The Carnival is considered to be a hyper national celebration, since it has become an attraction for more and more people despite their financial status or age over the years.
The celebrations of music, masquerade, dance and colors mark a unique three-week-long period in Greece that dates back to antiquity and the worship of the god Bacchus, or Dionysus, god of wine and celebration in the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Today, there are many different carnival parades going on all over Greece. Hundreds of groups take part in those parades, and anyone who wishes to participate can just join a group.
Patras Carnival
The biggest festival has taken place in the city of Patras for the past 180 years, and the regular attendance of young people in the great parade is approximately 40,000. That’s why this festival is considered to be one of the greatest in Europe and is a meeting point for all carnival enthusiasts around Greece.
Just like in Rio de Janeiro, people in Patras spend the whole year preparing for the coming Carnival celebrations.
Bearing the strong influences of the Italian traditions, the carnival of Patras has already begun. With the “Treasure Hunt”, the restless dancing, the music bands strolling the city, the famous chocolate war in the city centre and the night parades, the Carnival will reach its peak on February 26 at 3pm, with the biggest chariots parade and the burning of King Carnival at night.
Xanthi Carnival
Xanthi’s Carnival is the biggest festival of Northern Greece, and has been taking place yearly since 1926. Approximately 20,000 visitors go there every year to get a taste of fun, imagination, creativity and music.
Among other common Carnival celebrations and games, Xanthi’s carnival participants burn the King of the Carnival on the Kosinthos river waters, while children have to grab a piece of the kris pudding pie with their mouths (their hands are tied behind their backs) before joining the celebrations.
Moreover, there is the famous Baldafun, which is actually a disco club just for kids, who eagerly wait for it all year.
Naousa Carnival
In Naousa, Northern Greece, Apokries are a time of enthusiasm, spontaneity and warm welcomes to all visitors with unorganized satiric carnival celebrations.
The custom of Giannitsaros and Boula is the most renowned happening in Naousa, which is only performed by young men. One of them plays the part of Giannitsaros and another man the female part of Boula, while the parade is accompanied by the music of traditional instruments.
During the custom a lot of famous Naousa wine flows in the cups of the participants and on the last Sunday a big feast is held at the Alonia Square.
Corfu Carnival
The famous Carnival of Corfu is 450 years old and has its roots in the Middle Ages, when the Venetian conquerors of the island brought this custom back from their homeland. Today, the Carnival of Corfu closely resembles the Carnival of Venice and includes many fun happenings.
The most famous happening of the Carnival is the Great Parade that takes place in Liston and Spianada square. People dressed in strange customs join groups and spread to the entire island a spirit of festivity. The parade is accompanied by local music and dancing.
At the end of the parade, there follows the burning of King Carnival, which is said to carry the sins of the locals. The King Carnival is burnt in a bonfire among great partying and dancing. An interesting custom associated with the Carnival is the enactment of the Corfu Petegoletsia, which means “the Gossip”. This is a form of a street theater, where actors sit in windows overlooking the alley of the Old Town and exchange gossip, in local dialect. This gossip might refer to political authorities or local scandals.
Rethymno Carnival
During the Carnival of Rethymno, Crete, the city gets in a festive mood with its young people dancing in the streets from dusk to dawn. The Carnival dates back to 1914 and reminds the residents of a former era, when the island used to welcome “the King”.
The King Carnival, however, is also surrendered to the flames on the last Sunday of the Apokries.
The Carnival of Rethymno includes the Treasure Hunt, night parades, chariots and dance groups joining the big parade on February 26.
On the following morning of Kathara Deftera, Greeks tend to go fly their kites in hills and beaches across Greece, while they enjoy the delicacies of taramas, lagana and beans.