Our Institute is best known for its facilitation of archaeological research by Canadian university-based scholars in Greece. While this is our primary mission it is not our only one. We are also interested in the study of Greece and its culture in the broadest sense through the present using a variety of research methodologies. Related to this goal is fostering the understanding of the nature and extent of relationships between Greece and Canada. This fall we will host three lectures that examine aspects of the recent history of Greece and of Greek immigration to Canada. Central to each of these historical studies is the use of archival sources here in Greece, in Canada and elsewhere. You can find details of our programme (and much more!) on our website: www.cig-icg.gr.
The Canadian documentary film that I promised we would show in the winter is finally available to us this fall. This is “Our Man in Tehran” which reveals the actual events in 1979 involving the Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor which were creatively dramatized in the Hollywood feature film “Argo”. Stay tuned for further announcements with more details!
The Role of Greece in the Origins of the Cold War
To start our program off, on Wednesday evening, October 22nd at 7:30 PM, James Horncastle, a PhD Candidate at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies in the Department of History at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, will give a lecture. The title is “Temperature Falling: The Greek Civil War and the Origins of the Cold War”.
Horncastle’s research into the events in Greece in the 1940s has revealed many facets that are not part of the historical analysis of this seminal period for the shaping of both contemporary Greece and international relations. Traditional examinations of the Cold War usually encompass any political development in the immediate post-Second World War period until the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, the linkages between the Greek Civil War and the Cold War have often been obscured, or portrayed in binary terms, which detracts from the analytical process. Upon critical examination of the available source material, however, it becomes clear that the Greek Civil War was not only the first proxy war during the Cold War, but also the arena where what would become the two opposing blocs defined their own identities. In so doing, the Greek Civil War helped to shape many of the major dynamics of what would become the Cold War.
International Meeting on the integrated management of the landscapes of Natura2000 sites
Last Friday and Saturday the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation organized a two-day International Meeting in Athens and in Stymphalia (Peloponnesos) entitled “Cultural Landscapes in Natura2000 Sites: towards a new policy for integrated management of cultural and natural heritage”. At the request of Gerry Schaus, the President of the Institute’s Board of Directors, I represented CIG at this impressive event. We were invited to participate most likely as the Cultural Foundation has its Museum of the Environment at Stymphalia, overlooking the archaeological site of ancient Stymphalos, which was excavated in the 1990s by a team from the University of British Columbia and Wilfrid Laurier University, and the Cistercian Monastery at Zaraka, investigated by a team from the University of Toronto.
Thirty-eight individuals gave welcoming speeches, chaired sessions and gave presentations in Athens at the Akropolis Museum and at Stymphalia at the Museum. They came from Greece, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Morocco. The Hellenic Ministries of the Environment, Energy and Climate Change, of Culture and Sports, and of Tourism, a number of Greek universities, the European Commission, European Environmental Agency, Council of Europe, various departments of UNESCO, UNEP, ICOMOS/IFLA, IFLA Europe, ICCROM, ICOM, AECRC, ICMCL, WWF-Greece, Europa Nostra, ECOVAST, MEDWET, EBRD, ECSP, the British Parliament, and the Republic of Cyprus. It is a truly alphabet soup of acronyms. The Piraeus Bank and its Cultural Foundation (www.piop.gr) were well represented, of course.
The subtitle of the Meeting was in essence the conclusions of the Meeting in relation to Natura2000 sites. That is that in Europe, at least, there really is not much difference from natural landscapes/heritage and cultural landscapes/heritage especially when the Natura2000 network is taken into consideration. Since this is the case then there should be a comprehensive management plan for these sites that integrates these two intertwined landscapes. Such plans should be sustainable, implementable and enforced while addressing the concerns and aspirations of all of the stakeholders. A tall order, eh!
There was a steady stream of repetition of the central themes and concepts (such as mixed landscapes, ecosystems, biodiversity, linkages, identity, synergies, values, stakeholder engagement, public/private partnerships, communication, education, and training) as well as frequent cross-referrals in the presentations. A number clearly had political agendas behind them. The most notable intervention, both for the enthusiasm of its delivery and the novelty of its message in this context, was given by Barry Gardiner, MP from Brent-North in the UK and the Shadow Minister of the Environment for the opposition Labour Party. His most important point was that the concept of “Natural Capital” as an asset was absence from the financial calculations in determining economic value and importance in the discussion of the environment and what should be done. He argued that Natural Capital belongs to all people and that individual interest does not have priority over its uses or its development. For the environment and the natural landscapes we are the stewards of the present and the guardians for future generations. Gardiner was the odd man out in the subtext that Natura2000 sites should be open for a wide variety of development and not allowed to be “museums”. I believe that the concept of “Natural Capital” can be matched logically by the concept of “Cultural Capital/Heritage” which is a non-renewable resource that should belong to everyone and be protected accordingly for the present and for future generations.
In retrospect, what stood out most on Saturday were the comments of the Hellenic Minister of Tourism, Ms. Olga Kefalogianni, on “Cultural Tourism”. These were made in the context of the integrated management of the landscape, where a network of regional nodes focused on these extraordinary (Natura2000 sites) and the ordinary (the remainder of Greece) landscapes would foster cultural/archaeological tourism, eco-tourism, gastro-tourism, oino-tourism as well as such activities as birding, trekking and rock climbing throughout the country. This would be a multi-faceted network of nodes to encourage visitors to Greece to venture beyond the few well-known areas of the country. Earlier this week I happened to see on the internet a brief article reporting a conference in Athens on the “business of luxury hospitality” in the Mediterranean. Ms. Kefalogianni gave a keynote speech where she said that her ministry was preparing to table a “national zoning plan for tourism” to facilitate the development of high-end resorts featuring state of the art golf courses and marinas and villas along with the luxury hotels. As any golfer knows it is very boring to have just one golf course to play on when you are staying in an area. These proposed gated complexes for the super wealthy of China, Russia, the Gulf states and other regions (along with the “celebrities”, of course) would naturally be in those coastal areas of Greece which have escaped development so far. It is not clear how the stewardship of these natural and cultural landscapes and their protection for the future under the concepts of “Natural Capital” and “Cultural Capital/Heritage” would be integrated into such large scale interventions in the landscape. Henk van der Kamp, the President of the European Council of Spatial Planners, would argue that planning would square this circle.
The meeting was well-organized, there were some stimulating presentations and the attendees were very well looked after. I met many individuals working in Greek, European and international organizations operating on a broader, policy-oriented level relating to the environment per se than that of most archaeological research endeavors here. Given this, however, the interest in the cultural landscape and its formation/transformation over time by many archaeologists working in Greece is much more relevant to its preservation and appreciation today than the numerous “conventions”, “protocols”, “directives” and “treaties” created on a regular basis by technocrats and politicians in comfortable surroundings in pleasant destinations around the world.
Underneath the hype of the ongoing excavation at Amphipolis and the growing prospect of early national elections in the wake of the need to elect early next year a new President of the Hellenic Republic, there are many things happening that have and will affect the future of archaeology in Greece as well as the country’s cultural landscapes and heritage.
Cordially,
David Rupp
Director
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