Thessaloniki’s original intercollegiate Model United Nations simulation is back! That’s right, it’s time for ACTMUN 2013. Specially designed for students, friends, and alumni… That’s right, ACT alumni can play too! Stay tuned to this page for more details, and for information about the 15th anniversary celebrations of ACT’s BA in International Relations.  

Say you are an eager entrepreneur seeking to launch you own business. In the past, says Alexis Papahelas of Kathimerini, you might have faced “tailor-made amendments, biased legal and standards committees, and odd circulars were all mobilized in an effort to erect obstacles in the path of people outside the loop who wanted to enter […]

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras (ND) Administrative Reform and E-Governance Minister Antonis Manitakis (technocrat, Professor of Constitutional Law) Deputy Manoussos Voloudakis (ND) Agricultural Development and Food Minister Athanasios Tsaftaris (technocrat, Professor of Genetics and Plant Breeding) Deputy Maximos Harakopoulos (ND) Defence Minister Panos Panagiotopoulos (ND) Deputy Panagiotis Karambelas (former Lieutenant General – Hellenic Army) Deputy Dimitrios Elefsiniotis (former Vice Admiral – Hellenic Navy, former Chief of […]

By Alyssa Olivo As a New Yorker and visitor of Greece, my view on the crisis differs from natives. Our newspapers tell stories about riots in the streets and articles talk about austerity endlessly but the main question and concern is what’s going to happen to the euro. It’s rare I do not hear or […]

By Krysta So a boy of African descent living in Greece has sought and been granted asylum in Belgium. I don’t think that there is anything new in this article that we have not yet discussed a million times regarding Greece’s very frustrating and problematic status on questions of human rights, discrimination, and as part […]

By Nikos Konstandaras Groups of left-wing protesters have been fighting to obstruct university reforms which, among other things, will put an end to their lengthy dominance. At the same time, groups of far-right thugs have stepped out of the shadows and can now be heard bragging that the time of their own dominion is coming. […]

Politis have selected the following series of previously published articles, covering a variety of topics, for your summer reading. Compiled by Politis summer staff intern Miriam Kamil. 1. This cheat sheet is excellent to have on hand while reading other entries in Politis’ live blog coverage of parliamentary elections in Greece. 2. We love Politis […]

The right to vote for and stand as candidate in legislative and municipal elections for women was secured on 28 May, 1952, through law 2159, which gave women equal rights to men. Women did not vote in the elections of November of that year, however, because the electoral rolls had not been yet been brought […]

By Franesca Kareivis I recently attended a debate in the Thessaloniki Municipal Council chamber organized by the British Embassy in Athens. It was an interesting debate, demonstrating that young people have power and should be active members of society. After the four featured speakers debated, the mayor of Thessaloniki spoke a bit about some problems […]

By Helena Smith, The Guardian, Athens A few months before submarines became the talk of Athens, Yiannis Panagopoulos, who heads the Greek trade union confederation (GSEE), found himself sitting opposite Angela Merkel at a private meeting the German chancellor had called of European trade unionists in Berlin. When it came to his turn to address […]

This weekly feature offers a glimpse of what is happening in and around Thessaloniki. Compiled by Laura Strieth. Fri 29th March- Hugo Race- A prolific and visionary performer, Hugo Race, will be performing music from his latest album, Fatalists. Drawing inspiration from all his travels, he has created a mix of rock ‘n’ roll, soul, […]

By David Wisner Lecture given at Hamilton College, New York, September 2012 The title of my talk is: «The Crisis of the EU and the Future of Greece». It might well have been the inverse: «The Crisis in Greece and the Future of the EU».  Semantics aside, the core problem I will address is whether […]

By Nikos Chrysoloras It is now official: Cyprus will pay a heavy toll for turning its economy into an offshore financial haven and allowing its banking sector to hyperinflate. But if the purpose of the dramatic eurozone all-nighters was not just to punish and make an example of the island, but to solve the issue, […]

By Maria Patsarika Beware Boris with your Barclays bikes; beware Copenhagen and Amsterdam: Thessbike is here! This was missing from our city, no doubt. A bike-renting service is now available in Thessaloniki at various hotspots downtown. For Thessabike to partake some of its predecessors’ success, however, cyclists need accessibility, safety and peaceful co-existence with pedestrians […]

A public service announcement from our friends at Greek Reporter. “Insured workers who have worked in Germany will be able to contact the Goethe-Institut of Thessaloniki from April 16 to 19 to find answers to questions concerning them about their pensions. The information will be be given by the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, the German Pension Insurance […]

By David Wisner The Globe and Mail ran a story yesterday about “would-be Canadian citizens” who are up in arms about the oath of allegiance they must swear to the British monarch prior to earning full rights as citizens of Canada. The Citizenship Act requires applicants for citizenship to swear or affirm they will be […]

Below the text of a petition to save the public toilets of the British city of Bath. One woman has pledged to occupy one of the toilets all day as a means of protest. Nearly 100 people have signed. …/… Dear Councillor Dixon, Please do not close our public toilets in Bath.  Many people rely […]

By Politis David Graeber offers an insightful excerpt from his book The Democracy Project in today’s Salon on media coverage of the Occupy Wall Street. Why, he asks, did the US mainstream media “eventually began treating the occupation as a major news story.” His answer has both a peculiarly US and also a potentially profound […]

From today’s NPR. “Three years of spiraling economic crisis in Greece have devastated every sector of the economy. The Greek media are among the hardest hit. Many newspapers and TV outlets have closed or are on the verge, and some 4,000 journalists have lost their jobs. Many people believe the country’s news media have failed […]

The title of a recent analysis in Politico – “The disappearing independent” – struck this reader as personal. I looked down at my hands, at my feet; checked in the mirror to see that my nose, ears, and eyebrows were still there; I even dug out my blood pressure gizmo to make sure my heart […]