A Citizen’s Guide to Greece 2015
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What to do about getting the story out and getting the people organized
Posted April 10, 2013 by Politis
By Maria Kalogeroudi Two speakers with a common concern: acting against racial prejudice. The one, a journalist, the other, a community organizer. Meet Damian Mac Con Uladh. Damian is an activist journalist who used to work for Athens News. He explained what an activist journalist is: a journalist for whom the boundaries between personal and […]
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Saying of the day: 6/2/13
Posted June 2, 2013 by Politis
“At least he [Erdogan] is leaving us some crumbs. The previous bastards never gave us everything.” — Turkish supporter of the AKP
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Journalists in jail
Posted March 22, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Kostas Vaxevanis Journalism is often either invested with magic powers or blamed for all that is wrong in the world. Both positions are wrong. Journalism is the way, lonely most of the times, of truth. Often colleagues discuss journalistic objectivity as a mausoleum where we kneel down. There is no objectivity. What matters is […]
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Saying of the day: 4/17/13
Posted April 17, 2013 by Politis
“When the civilian bystanders to the attack ran toward the first blast to give aid to the victims, without a second thought for their own safety, the primary desire of the terrorists — to paralyze a populace with fear — was already thwarted. ” — Dennis Lehane
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Brazil, protestor’s flavor of the month?
Posted June 26, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Marty Kaplan I have outrage envy. For nearly two weeks, more than a million citizens across Brazil have taken to the streets to protest political corruption, economic injustice, poor health care, inadequate schools, lousy mass transit, a crumbling infrastructure and — yes, in the land of Pelé — billions blown on sports. “Brazil, wake up, any […]
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Of technical competence
Posted February 27, 2013 by Politis
What do politicians do when they are not politicians? Or better yet, what did they do before they became politicians? Two scholars, Mark Hallerberg and Joachim Wehner, asked more or less these questions. They were particularly interested in the circumstances when an electorate would choose technocrats to lead a government. Their findings? “Our analysis of data […]
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Saying of the day: 1/28/13
Posted January 27, 2013 by Politis
“Every man of action has a strong dose of egoism, pride, hardness, and cunning. But all those things will be regarded as high qualities if he can make them the means to achieve great ends.” — Giorgos Seferis
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Europe – Crisis without End?
Posted April 20, 2013 by Politis
By Politis This past week the Municipality of Thessaloniki has hosted a unique Franco-German initiative, in collaboration with the Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe, a Dutch-registered NGO based in Thessaloniki with outreach throughout the Balkans. Academics, journalists, practitioners, and above all university students have gathered in Thessaloniki to continue their ongoing series […]
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From Delacroix to Dorian Grey
Posted February 10, 2013 by DW
By David Wisner If I were a photographer, I would take portraits of individual sitters. I would try to capture one’s eternal youthfulness, and yet simultaneously project the whole of one’s temporal experience. As I write these lines, I find myself thinking also that I might be able to discern the countenance of their personal […]
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Alex is back, lazier and more hard-working then ever
Posted May 8, 2013 by Politis
Alex is back, thanks to Damian Mac Con Uladh of EnetEnglish. “Alex, the popular animation character that seeks to demolish the negative, crisis-fuelled stereotypes about Greece in his own little way, has returned to YouTube, this time to challenge the “fact” that Greeks are lazy… Part two features Alex, a metaphor for the Greek people, […]
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Suddenly, elections that haven’t much mattered may have a real impact
Posted May 31, 2013 by Politis
Catchy title in today’s euronews: “Could youth vote stir up next European elections?” Excerpts from Anders Melin’s article below. “A survey released by the European Commission last week showed 65 percent of eligible voters below the age of 30 plan to vote next year, with a particular rise among first-time voters. That represents a sharp […]
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Saying of the day: 5/27/13
Posted May 27, 2013 by Politis
“There’s a lot more optimism in the air . . . but we’re not yet through the crisis. It’s still a tough balancing act for [small and medium-sized] companies like ours. — Fotis Sousalis, Export Manager, Terra Creta
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Saying of the day: 3/19/13
Posted March 19, 2013 by Politis
“If we cannot come up the €5.8bn in a few days then I think we will go to the Cyprus pound. That will be the end of Cyprus in the Eurozone.” — Marios Mavrides
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Gender biography and citizenship
Posted April 9, 2012 by pdcadmin
By Maria Kyriakidou On March 5, 2012 the Dukakis Center co-hosted a workshop on women’s biographies, life stories and autobiographies. The workshop consisted of panels regarding the research methodology on gender and biography, specific historical examples from a European and South-East European context as well as presentations on local history, with a brief historical account […]
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Dukakis Lecture 2/18/13
Posted February 16, 2013 by Politis
The Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service Cordially invites you to attend The first Dukakis Lecture of the Spring 2013 Semester Featuring Hon Spyros Kouvelis Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs “Development perspectives, reform, and outward opening of Greek entrepreneurship” Monday, February 18 5-6:30 PM ACT New […]
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Crisis, what crisis?
Posted October 23, 2013 by DW
By David Wisner Some years ago, when I first settled permanently in Thessaloniki, I met another ex-patriot who had been here for decades already. How long? I asked her. “Long enough to think the Greek way of doing things is the normal way,” she replied. Won’t happen to me, I thought, naively. And continued to […]
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Wanted: A new narrative for the nation
Posted February 5, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Alexis Papachelas What Greece really needs right now is a fully-fledged plan to regenerate the nation. People are in despair. Some over the extra taxes they are forced to pay at the end of each month, and others because they simply cannot afford to pay the emergency property tax on their house. The conservative-led […]
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The ultimate American decline story?
Posted May 22, 2013 by Politis
Mattea Kramer and Jo Comerford posted this article on the Moyers and Complany blog. It depicts one of the most extreme visions of 21st-century American decline in print. Politis reposts excerpts of the article below. “The streets are so much darker now, since money for streetlights is rarely available to municipal governments. The national parks […]
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Of games and empathy: virtual public service?
Posted October 13, 2013 by M P
By Maria Patsarika The world of video-gaming is usually discussed in these controversial terms: does it promote violence or is it simple entertainment, in the same way that films are? I discussed this issue in depth recently with a group of college students, over a series of presentations that they had prepared on the subject. […]
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Surprise -This is a Great Time for Public Service!
Posted November 18, 2016 by Politis
By Michael S. Dukakis September 13, 1999 Editor’s note. We present here Michael Dukakis’ inaugural address at the Michael S. Dukakis Chair for Public Policy and Service to close out this phase in the life of Politis. We will be back soon with a new look, a new name, and new material, all in the […]