The Pedagogical Department of Public Education, within the framework of the Memorandum of Collaboration it has signed with the Greek schools of Imbros, welcomed 15 High School students, their teachers and His Eminence Metropolitan Kyrillos of Imbros and Tenedos, to the University of Crete.
As of last May, during the hosting of members of the department in Imbros by the Greek school community of the island and Metropolitan Kyrillos, the great effort made became known by educators and expatriates on the island to strengthen the student population. This knowledge strengthened the will for further assistance and the commitment to strengthen the bridges of cooperation between the Pedagogical Department of Education of the University of Crete and the Greek schools of Imbros.
Thus, on Thursday, 14 November 2024, the student welcoming ceremony took place at the Rethymno Campus, where the Award for the best student poster competition, on the theme “Building Bridges between Crete and Imbros”, was also awarded.
On the same day, the students participated in a educational workshop, entitled “Exploring ourselves through the myth of the Minotaur” and the topic was strategies for dealing with adverse situations and social support. They also visited the department’s class rooms in the city of Rethymno, the Museum of Education and the Science in the City Laboratory. At the same time, the school’s teachers met with the members of the department and discussed the next steps of the collaboration.
On Friday, 15 November 2024, students participated in the celebration of the anniversary of the Polytechnic University at the 2nd High School of Heraklion, where they implemented activities to get to know each other within the framework of the “Bridges of Crete – Imbros” program, with the main axes being the history and culture of the two islands. In fact, His Eminence Metropolitan Kyrillos addressed the attendees and described in his own unique way his participation as a young child in the Polytechnic University uprising, emphasising that it was a resistance of the entire Greek people against oppression. Afterwards, the students visited the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, where they participated in experiential activities, based on the educational program “Traveling in the Mediterranean”.
The pillar that is being added to this bridge is the Directorate of Secondary Education of Heraklion, which is expected to create joint programs and actions with the University of Crete. “With your wishes and the support of the Metropolis of Imbros and all those who believe in this excellent initiative for the Hellenism of Imbros, we will continue to build the educational project that began to unite our two islands at the edges of the Aegean,” said Mr Yiannis Gigourtsis, who has served as an education coordinator in the Greek diaspora schools in Turkey.
Mr. Gigourtsis also added that everyone involved deserves congratulations for this initiative, which “is expected to have a bright future and positive results for the students of the Greek schools of Imbros, but also for many students from Crete who will come into contact with them along the way.”
At the welcoming event held at the French University Campus in Rethymno, the authorised advisor Eleni Maraki-Beladaki, representing the Region of Crete, noted that “the meeting of the students of Imbros with the students of Crete is a living example of solidarity and our common cultural identity, which transcends geographical borders and strengthens the sense of “togetherness””.
