The 1st Kavala International Summer School was successfully held from September 5 to 10, 2022, following a relevant initiative from the Institute of International Affairs (FAINST) and the collaboration of ACT- American College of Thessaloniki, the department of undergraduate and graduate studies of Anatolia College, and the Jena Center for Reconciliation Studies (JCRS) of the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena. MOHA Research Center and Balkan Strategies International Synergies (BSIS) also participated in the event.
A total of 18 participants took part in the works, most of them from the Muslim minority of Thrace, but also ACT students, participants from Egypt, and diplomatic employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The training program combined academic theory and diplomatic practice to analyze policies and behaviors that encourage reconciliation, tolerance, social cohesion, and good neighborliness at local, national, and international realms.
The works started with the introductory speech by Dr. Stamos Karamouzis, rector of ACT and the first keynote speech was by Konstantinos Fragogiannis, deputy minister of Economic Diplomacy and External Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Keynote speakers were also: Dr. Martin Leiner, professor at the Friedrich-Schiller University of Jena, Dr. Stamos Karamouzis, rector of ACT, Dr. Iyad Muhsen AlDajani, expert in Internet technologies for Reconciliation, Yannis Charalambakis, professor of Economics and general manager of Black Summit Financial Group, and Elpida Vogli, associate professor of Modern and Modern Greek History at the Democritus University of Thrace.
The panelists included: Charalambos Karpouchtzis, PhD candidate at the Reconciliation Center at the University of Jena, Loukas Katsonis, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Institute (FAINST) and publisher of the Foreign Affairs The Hellenic Edition magazine, Dr. Theodoros Theodorou, ambassador e. t. and General Director of the MOHA Research Center, Dr. Aikaterini Boura, ambassador emeritus, Christina Papageorgopoulou, assistant professor of Physical Anthropology at the Dept. of History & Ethnology at the ACT, Dr. Maria Kyriakidou, professor and head of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at ACT, Dr. Nikolaos Dimitriadis, professor of Religion at ACT, Koralia Kontou, project officer at the European Commission (DG Home & Migration), and Rachel Poole Muster, Director of Operations at Black Summit Financial Group.
Finally, participants took part in a simulation of the UN General Assembly and Committees under the guidance of professors, researchers, and diplomats. The works of the workshops were evaluated and an award followed.
The 2nd Kavala International Summer School, will take place in the summer of 2023 in Thessaloniki, and will deal with the importance of water for human existence, the environment, cultures, and religions, as well as the possibilities of communication and development of the peoples who for centuries use waterways in continental communication (lakes, rivers), but also in the international search for communication, trade, cultural exchanges, and development possibilities. Ports are important starting, connecting, and ending points: they facilitate all actions and their evolution in the technologically shaped modern society multiplies their added value.
Finally, it is important to underline that the first international summer school on reconciliation and social cohesion in Kavala took place thanks to the support of International Port Investments Kavala, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, the ACT Dukakis Center, the Kuwaiti Independent Foundation, and the Center for Social Innovation, all of which the Institute of Foreign Affairs warmly thanks.