The interview was presented yesterday in a local channel of Bulgaria and was shot last November during the shooting of a new documentary film from Theo Angelopoulos about the ongoing crisis in Greece.

In the interview Angelopoulos told Bulgarian writer Ivan Kulekov: “While my movies were being presented in Sofia, the cinemas were packed with people. Bulgarian people wanted to explore humanity through realistic films”.

Moreover, Angelopoulos stated that the times are a reflection of us and believed that the difficult times in Greece will worsen, because there is not only the economic crisis that hit Greece, there is also a political crisis and a crisis of values in Greece.

After a question posed by Ivan Kulekov concerning the coherence of Germany as a nation compared to Greece, Theo made it clear: “Germans’ coherence and their actions’ planning differs from the analogous conditions in Greece. Germans’ temperament is not similar to Greeks’ one. I admire the self-discipline that Germans demonstrate in their life. Nevertheless, I prefer the Balkan craziness that exists in Greece”.

Bulgarian TV said the last goodbye to Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos through the presentation of this interview and praised the work of the Greek filmmaker that will surely influence further generations in the Balkan region.

Ilias Missyris

American novelist and painter Henry Valentine Miller was once quoted as saying  “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” Here in an exclusive interview, Ilias Missyris, originally from Xylokastro, Peloponnese, shares his thoughts and first-hand experiences on moving to Finland as a young man and how he adjusted to a new way of life and a fascinating culture.

We were really lucky to be brought up by such good parents, so the first seven years of my childhood were just brilliant.  I still recall many great moments that we shared with our friends and relatives during our family get-togethers, and I can still hear the “clop-clop” of the taxi (a horse-drawn carriage) passing our street. Back then this was the transport for taking people to the nearby railway station, which was also our playground.

Xylokastro was at its best then, with a lot of tourists from around the world, as well as actors, politicians and people from the movie business, as the town and area were often used as a shooting location for movie productions.

In the villages up on the nearby mountains, the situation was very different. When we visited my father’s hometown in the mountains there was not even electricity there yet, so we had to go to bed early listening to old war related stories of our ancestors under the dim light of the oil-lamp…unforgettable pictures from a more simple and happy lifestyle.

However, our blissful life was about to end in April 1967, when the military government came to power in Greece and we were forced to go to live in the mountain plateau of Tripolis, the Arcadian town in the centre of Peloponnesus. We spent seven years of hardship during that time, enduring the second war and eventually moving to Halandri, a suburb of Athens, when it was all over. In 1978, soon after I graduated from school, my father retired and we moved back to Xylokastro after being away for ten years. It was a period when Greek rock & roll culture was at its best and I met up again with old school friends who had formed a rock group, “The Moles Band”, and became their lead singer.

After that, I studied electronics at Piraeus Polytechnic (TEI), which meant moving back to Athens to attend classes and study there. I also found myself a job at the fruit-exporting factory of Xylokastro which was exporting 30.000 tons of lemons each year to the Soviet Union. That way, I could earn some money while studying, and also during the weekends in Xylokastro, get together with my friends to rehearse songs. It was during those years when people were content with the simpler things in life.

So, when and what was it, that made you decide to leave your family and friends to go to Finland, a country so different to Greece?

By the middle 80’s, I was still a student and traveling was considered cool and easy those days, due to the fact that we could make many new friends vacationing in Xylokastro during their summer holidays. We would exchange hospitality, so we were able to spend Christmas holidays in Europe. Inter-rail was very much in fashion then, as well as the legendary Magic-Bus leaving Greece through ex-Yugoslavia.

On one of those journeys to Europe in 1984, I met my Finnish wife, Tina, as we were both traveling on the same train, the legendary Hellas-Istanbul Express from Munich to Greece. From then on, Finland was included in my traveling plans and became my second homeland. As for my family and friends in Greece, I guess they eventually got used to my lifestyle as I was traveling to and fro, living for a while in Greece to serve in the Greek army in Rhodes and managing hotels on Crete with Tina, before finally moving to Finland to start a family when we were both 33 years old.

You say that in the early years you were traveling frequently backwards and forwards between the two countries. What was that like and how did you feel when you set off each time?

Before setting out on a five and a half day trip from Greece to Finland, you should clearly have in your mind a fully detailed travel plan of how to combine various destinations including the final one. I have never traveled just to escape to nowhere. If you do that, I think you risk losing your roots or suddenly you end up in the middle of nowhere without hope and money. If you know where, when, and how you plan to go, traveling is a getaway to freedom, the best way to discover people and yourself, a mobile school of life I could say. Traveling sometimes puts you to the test and can be the roulette of your own destiny.

Were the immigration laws as tough as in other countries?

Yes, I could say that it was tough to get to Finland in the middle 80’s. In order to allow you in to the country, you had to prove that you had enough money and a return-ticket. I know some cases where people were turned back…It was the last years of the cold war which made Helsinki a tricky place to visit. Personally, I preferred to use the ferry connections from Sweden to Finland which felt like a great gift of comfort after 5 days on the road… In 1995, Finland joined the European Union and immigration laws changed, allowing more foreigners and later war refugees from Somalia, Kosovo, Iraq, Afganistan and other countries to start a new life in Finland, so I think the country became more accessible and more international after joining the EU in 1995.

How did you find the cultural changes and of course the climate?

Certainly, there are many cultural differences between the two countries which I think strongly relate to the climate and the environment in general. In countries like Finland, the climate and the weather forecast makes the rules for your every day life and in everything you do, you must always have a “plan B.”

The concept of timing is also a good example of how cultures differentiate from each other. In Finland, being punctual is a sign of how trustworthy you are.

Finnish people have a special relationship with nature, especially the forest, and they are very connected with it no matter how busy they might be…It’s very similar to the Greeks who have a passion for the sea and fishing.

As for the cold, I think cold weather is eventually good for people because it makes them more energetic and more pragmatic in their lives. Finland also offers two additional gifts to its inhabitants, “space” and “silence”. They both contribute to people having a civilized conversation where “the listeners” and “the silence” play a major role in keeping things peaceful.  Another great gift relating to the climate is that over here in the north, we can still enjoy the four seasons. The colors of the Finnish autumn make it, to me, one of the most inspiring and creative times of the year.

Tell me about your work and how you are kept busy.

At first, I was involved in project management which involved implementing an idea (project) and following it through to reality (management).

I worked on various projects relating to Education, Youth Training and Culture (including art and music). Most of them included mobilization of groups and that’s where tourism came in. My five years experience at the beginning of the 90’s, my teams of co-workers and the valuable contacts I had in Crete helped me a great deal to successfully mobilize all these school groups and set up a good network.  In 1998, I started with school exchange programs between Finland and Greece funded by the EU-Sokrates program. Meanwhile, we continued with some student placements on Crete under the EU- Leonaro program, and then at the Culture Department of Vaasa city with another artistic workshop project for young artists from 8 north European countries. It’s been a great intercultural experience for all these school kids who took part in the projects.

Finally, after successful implementation of all the above projects, I ended up in 2003 at the Ostrobothnian museum, which is one of Finland’s oldest museums, with 3 exhibition departments of Culture History, Arts and Natural Science including Terranova, and our audio-visual Nature Centre with several stunning exhibitions. There is also a department for the Wildlife Vaasa Festival or the International Nature Film Festival, which we organize every second year in Vaasa.

During the last 10 years the festival has grown in stature, hosting the best and newest nature documentaries from all around the world. Last time we received 214 films from 46 countries with hundreds of visitors and delegates attending from all over the world. I am kept busy arranging various media events, implementing film projects at schools and much more. The last 2 months leading up to the festival becomes a race against time, but every second year it’s very exciting to hear the announcement of the results of the winners of the two film competitions.

Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish, the latter of which is spoken by only a small percentage of the population. Have you learnt both languages? Are there any Greek people living in your neighborhood who you can speak Greek to? What about your wife and children, have you taught them any Greek?

In Vaasa, there are only four or five Greek-Finnish families and a few students at Vaasa University. However, the Greek language is very popular here and it’s taught by various adult education centers like the one here in Vaasa. I have been teaching Greek courses as a part time job for a couple of years with a surprisingly high level of participation. I also gave Greek lessons to the high school pupils we worked with during a Sokrates-Lingua project, so I have gained a little experience in teaching Greek to different groups of people.

My wife and daughters also speak good Greek as they have learnt it from me in the early days, by reading books, singing songs and of course talking. They also use Greek with their relatives and family in Greece.

As far as the Finnish language is concerned, it is very unique and quite difficult to learn, you need many years of patience and to study hard when you learn it “from scratch”.

Have you traveled around Finland or crossed the border? After all, St. Petersburg is only a six-hour train trip away from Helsinki.

Through my work and my music concerts I have traveled quite a lot around Finland as well as the rest of Scandinavia and the Baltic Countries like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They are very interesting countries with a lot of folklore, unknown old culture and traditions. The people are indeed very friendly too. Surprisingly, I have yet to visit St. Petersburg and Russia.

How do the Finnish people treat you generally, do you still feel like an outsider?

Most Finnish people love Greeks because they love the Greek culture, and also Greeks living in Finland remind them of their vacations in Greece, so I have always been very welcome in Finland and in a very Greek way.  After living in Finland for so many years, I can definitely say that Finnish people are very hospitable and helpful to foreigners.

How did your singing career come about and how did you get involved in the ‘Souvlaki’ orchestra ?

Well, I started playing music on a “melodica” back in Tripolis when I was 10. Then, later in Xylokastro more than 20 years ago with the Moles Band, and then another 16 years with the Souvlaki orchestra.

I can play a number of instruments, including the guitar, the lute, the bouzouki, the baglama, the charango and lately a Chinese banjo which I play the Greek “Calanda” on.

As for the Souvlaki orchestra, that was formed back in 1995, out of the need for a Greek folk dancing performance at the Kaustinen folk music festival.  We have been performing for 15 years now and have plenty of memories of Greek nights with Greek food, drinks, music and dancing. The most important thing is that Greek culture is still alive today as our concert calendar is full throughout the year. Actually, we have played many times in Greece as well, last year in Kosov, and next year we are invited to Pärnu, the summer capital of neighboring Estonia, to perform with an Estonian-Greek music orchestra. We are also planning to be in Greece again by the end of June, this time in Kalamata with Meltemia dancers.

Are you a member of any Finnish-Greek associations? Tell me about them.

There are a total of 27 Finnish-Greek associations operating all over Finland.  Their members are mostly Finnish people who simply love the Greek culture with all its treasures, music, dancing, language, and of course fine food and drinks. They have also founded The Federation of Greek culture associations in Finland. These people are a living advertisement for Greece and they have achieved many times in the past what Greek politicians and ambassadors will never achieve; to truly connect people from different nations simply through respect and a love for cultural differences.

Now, let’s discuss the documentary film ”Between Two Homelands” directed by Christos Karakasis. It depicts your life and gives an insight into how you adjusted to the Finnish way of living. How did you hook up with Christos and what was it like making the short movie? What made you decide to do it?

I have been co-operating with Christos Karakasis for over 5 years after he participated in the Wildlife Vaasa Festival back in 2006. He’s a tireless worker, an asset in the area of ​​culture and arts in Greece, a remarkable director, filmmaker ,and a very succesful organizer of major events. Above all, he’s a good person and somebody who can be trusted to put his every effort into a project.

As for “Between two homelands,” it all began in October 2010, when Christos asked me to give him an interview for his website. Six months later, in April 2011, we  met up in Athens to shoot a television episode from his Blow-up TV series, along with the lovely and multi-talented artist and writer Vassiliki Kappa, who wrote the fantastic narrative texts of the film. We agreed to cooperate on a festival level during the 1^st Digital Short Film Festival that they organized in July 2011 in Athens, and after we finished with that, Christos suggested we make a long documentary film about the two homelands. I sent him audiovisual material from Finland and Greece and pushed forward to meet the deadline for the submission to the Docfest in Chalkis.

Christos managed to deliver the film on time, and it was selected and premiered successfully in Halchida after screenings at the Finnish Institute in Athens.

The main reason that I didn’t hesitate to tell my story through his film was the fact that it had good potential to reflect other similar stories of people like myself, all ”children of diaspora” living around the world, between two homelands. Furthermore, I thought that the messages and the emotions that come out of this film could touch the Greek souls of the audiences.

How do you feel about the present situation Greece finds itself in? Would you encourage people here to immigrate to Finland?

Unfortunately, we became ship-wrecked in our own sea. I have a lot of mixed feelings  because I have been following closely the events from April of last year, when I was asked to help a Finnish television crew. They visited Greece for the filming of one of the 8 episodes about the global economic crisis.

I have noticed though that the bad economic situation has now reflected negatively on Greek society and the image of our country abroad, which was a lot different in 2004. The crisis in Europe has allowed many European politicians and the media from other countries to voice their opinions in an angry but humorous way against Greeks, our history, and our culture, and that’s very bad for our global image.

One way to make a difference is to use our right to vote wisely to become once again enchanted by new elected leaders and also by people who think positive in such times, preserving the right to fight for a better future for the next generation. Then, we have to start to identify the comparative advantages of our country and get the best out of it. Greeks also can invent things easily. We all have to contribute to re-branding our country as soon as possible.

What would you say to the Finnish-Greek youth today to encourage them to succeed in life?

Even though I think that young people should also advise older people sometimes, my general advice is: No matter what, try to live your dreams considering not what you will be doing for work in your life but how many different goals you can manage to achieve while living, and what kind of skills you must have to accomplish your goals. Live those dreams, remembering always to be interested in politics and to be very careful for whom you vote for next time. If the world nowadays has excluded young people from the working life, it is because they stay out of politics. Especially in Greece, the country needs more than ever leaders and not puppets…

Do you have any final comment you would like to make to our readers?

I want to thank you Lorraine, and the Greek Reporter, for your kind invitation and for your great work on this news portal. You bring together all these fantastic stories from the Greeks of the diaspora and I think that their stories and their amazing life experiences are the best guidebook for those who will finally leave Greece to emigrate.

The film “Between two Homelands” can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xr9rtgg82Y&feature=share and both Ilias Missyris and Christos Karakasis have Facebook profiles.

Dan Whitehead

I was a huge fan of computer games as a kid, and used to love reading the various games magazines in the UK. There was one in particular – ‘Your Sinclair’ – that I was obsessed with, because it was so funny. I decided I’d really like to write about games for a living, and when I told the careers advisor in school about this ambition they looked at me as if I was insane. A few years later, just as I was finishing my A Levels, there was an advertisement in the local newspaper for someone to work as a Games Editor for a publishing company. I didn’t get the job, as I’d never edited anything in my life, but they took me on as a staff writer and that was it. My career has diversified a lot since then, but it was games that got me started and they still pay the bills today!

Jason and the Argonauts is my seventh published book. I’ve also written unofficial biographies of George Clooney and Hugh Grant, plus two official Star Wars books. In 2007, I edited ‘Nevermore’, a graphic novel compilation of Edgar Allen Poe stories, and wrote the script for ‘Fall of the House of Usher’. I’ve also been a specialist consultant to the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition, compiling sections on adventure games, shooting games and superhero games. Last year, I self-published a book for the first time, a 500-page movie trivia book called ‘What’s A Nice Actor Like You Doing In A Movie Like This?’ That was very satisfying and I definitely plan to self publish more in the future.

I have had day jobs from time to time. From 2009 to 2010, I worked in a local high school, for example. But for the most part I write full-time. I’m an early bird so I tend to get most of my writing done while everyone else is still in bed. I’ll go to sleep with a piece swirling around in my head, then I’ll get up at 5am, get on the PC and it all comes out! Then mid-afternoon, I’ll wind down, catch up on emails and play any games or watch any movies that I need to review.

In this interview he said that people are meant to live all together. Borders are defined by mathematicians and landscape painters, not by God.

In addition, he said that the Aegean Sea does not belong neither to  Turks nor to Greeks but in reality, it belongs to the fish!

Concerning Cyprus, the famous singer said that there are problems raised by Turkey, Greece and Britain, because soldiers want to leave the island and people want to be united and live together.

Stefanos, agreed to come under the spotlight in a rare interview with the GreekReporter to talk about his writing, the cultural differences between the UK and Greece, plus the current situation in his homeland.

Stefanos, can you tell our readers a little about yourself?

Well, I consider myself to be a Jack of all trades, but master of none. I have studied Psychology and Mass media. I love writing of course and I enjoy photography, cooking and the winter season. At the moment, besides researching for my next novel, I’m working with people with learning disabilities, for a NHS Trust. I also work on a personal bilingual website, focused on the upcoming publication of the English version of my book ‘A Life In A Moment.’ I may start some tennis lessons this month too.

What is the book ‘A life In A Moment’ about?

It’s a book about life’s strange games, the unexpected turnovers, tricky coincidences and people’s journey to a destination that becomes very different to the one initially set. “No matter how long this narration may take, in reality it only lasts for a moment..” This is how Vassilis, the main character in the book begins reminiscing about his life by the sea with the breeze carrying away his thoughts. “Never look back; you may only find what you left or what let you go,” he was told sometime in the past, but now it’s different. He has only one moment to recall as many memories as he can: his childhood in Greece, the dark family secret, a long train journey, a life-changing betrayal, a ravishing love affair, a child’s  birth and his life in London… A life in a moment, is it enough?

Are the experiences described in the book based on someone you know or events in your own life?

It is inevitable, to not be influenced by extraordinary things that happen to me or to people I know, so in the end I may alter some of them up to the point where nobody can tell the similarities, and use them in my stories. However, it may sound strange, but the characters an author creates when writing, develop their own personalities, so they undergo these experiences in their very own way.

How old were you when you started writing?

I started to write at the age of 16. I saw it as an interesting and challenging way to spend my time, but in the end, I came up with the the idea for ’A Life In A Moment’ and the story came to life in a much different way to what I had expected. The book was completed (or so I thought) in 2006, and since then it has undergone so much editing, that it has actually turned out quite different.  The reason is, you don’t write in the same way when you’re 16 as you do when you are 22.  Neither do you edit in the same way when you’re 24 as you do when you are 27.  So, the last editing finished minutes before the Greek version was uploaded on my blog.  But even now, if I read it again, I’m sure that I wouldn’t be able to help myself and edit it once more.

What is the hardest part of writing a book?

It’s always the first paragraph, because it has to be the best you can come up with, since it’s going to create the first impression. However, now that I’m carrying out historical research for my next book, I realize how difficult and tricky it is, trying to organize thousands of notes regarding details, clues and historical facts that you have to combine with your fictional story.

You seem to be a very busy man. What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?

I don’t actually have a work schedule because I’m afraid that it would make me feel like an employee who has to adjust to specific timetables.  I prefer to write when I’m in the mood and feel like creating.  I may not wait anymore, as I used to do, for a divine inspiration to make me open the draft document, but this doesn’t mean that I would ever force myself to sit and start writing.

 
Which is your favorite book from those that you have written?

It has to be the one that I’m writing now, which I have called “Violet’s Treasure”. It’s a historical novel with a fictional story set on Zakynthos, the island where I grew up. The story takes place during the Second World War.  I’ve only written the introduction, which is about 50 pages, so I guess it’s going to be huge, meaning a lot of thoughtful work.

 
Tell me about film@rt?

Film@rt is the section of my blog where visitors can see the two short films I created when I was a lot younger. “Nostos” is quite personal, but the other film, “Anonimo”, was screened at the 2nd Athens Video Art Festival in 2006. It was a great honour for me and a huge satisfaction to see that people enjoyed the film and that it received good reviews. It was a period of my life when I wanted to become a director, because I loved, and I still do, to narrate stories with images. Instead of that, I became an author who is also an amateur photographer.

Do you get feedback regarding your books from readers?

Thankfully, yes. My first book came out this April and the second in June, and I still, receive messages on my blog with people’s comments almost everyday . I always send a reply too, as I feel really grateful to the people who are spending time not only on reading my books, but also on sending me their feedback. So far, I’ve received quite positive reactions, so I’m focusing on becoming an even better writer for my fans. I consider it a challenge, and I love it!

What book(s) / author(s) have influenced your life and writing?

It has to be Enid Blyton’s books when I was a child and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s as I was growing up.  Of course, there are also many others, but I wouldn’t like to single them out.

What about your life in Britain?  Do you notice the cultural differences between the UK and Greece ?

Of course. Although I can find many similarities since we live in a globalized world, what has impressed me the most is the respect I see here among people in their everyday life, something that seems to have disappeared in Greece . When most British people get off the bus, they thank the driver, while in Greece, this is totally unheard of. Beyond that, I like the way they treat their environment, clean up their cities, hang onto their culture and safeguard their monuments. However, on saying that, I wish that the British Government would respect the origin and the nature of the Parthenon Marbles and let them return to their home, which is not Greece , but the Acropolis itself.

What is your opinion regarding the present crisis in Greece ?

Although it’s a very complicated matter, there is a simple truth: if everyone abided by the laws and respected each other’s rights, we wouldn’t be in the turmoil we are today. Greece could be one of the richest countries in the world, if the leaders of the country now did their best to exploit the energy resources (sun, wind, oil, natural gas etc) and the tourism.  On the contrary though, they did their worst and became the butlers of the wealthy people who pull the strings of large international organisations, like IMF.

To finish off our interview. Do you have any advice for young, aspiring writers like yourself and is there anything you would like to say to your readers?

I would like to say to all young people who love to write, to be patient, methodical and never give up. I thank all my readers for their support and I really appreciate receiving their comments on my blog and communicating with them.

For more information on Stefanos Livos, his books and his blog, visit: http://stefivos2.wordpress.com/contact/ or find him on Facebook and Twitter.

The Minister says he remembers that the Greek-Turkish relationships got better after the event of earthquakes in both countries. He mentioned that such a bad incident helped people come together.

Citizens of both countries felt compassionate towards each other after hardships. The Minister stressed that culture and tourism is another common path that both countries could walk through. P. Geroulanos thinks that foreign countries are afraid to each other if they are not familiar with each other. A new move has been made by the Turkish government broadcasting news regarding Greece every week. According to the Minister this is a very positive movement.

He added that tourism is a helpful in improving the relationships of the nations. The Minister of Tourism pointed out that obtaining a visa is an obstacle for both countries, because if people could travel to the Greek islands and to the Turkish Coasts without further bureaucratic processes then the touristic product will be in a much higher rank and could flourish in both sides. P. Geroulanos noted that Greece has always been an ally of Turkey regarding the annulment of needing a visa n travel to and from Turkey.

“Over the last 80 years, by the time Ireland became independent, bus system in Dublin keeps turning into a complex beast. The network enlarged between 1920-1930 and instead of being adjusted in the new conditions, more and more lines were added ending to the city center…There is a spot in the center where the 120 out of the overall 170 bus lines end, while-at the same time-Berlin has only 120 most of which move towards the same direction” he said.

Venetikidis has tried to overcome this confusing Celtic puzzle by proposing the new transportation map of Dublin as his studies work. His professors thought that this would lead to an dead end so he changed his mind. However, after a while he changed his opinion again. “In the beginning of my Postgraduate studies I came up with a simple list with all the things going wrong in the network. I also discovered that the last 15 years exist a huge number of very good designers’ proposals concerning the improvement of the public transportation by proposing a radical redesign of services. Most of these studies where gathering dust in the drawers of the Irish government” Venetikidis stated, referring to our similar familiar situation.

His friendship with the transportation designer James Leachy played a significant role on his work’s progres.  He had just finished his postgraduate studies concerning the exact same thing- Dublin’s dreams for an advanced transportation system. “Since last year we began to gather in my apartment trying to virtualized a 200-page study by James. We sat at a map and mapped all of these ideas in a contemporary color network” he explained.

After eight years in the Irish capital, the 32 year old designer and photographer left Dublin and currently lives with his Lithuanian girlfriend in Vienna. “The economic crisis accelerated my decision to leave Dublin. Most of the rest foreigners living here did the same. Even the Greek community has shrunk by 90%! In my work field we saw the second largest office going bankrupted. In Dublin, the crisis is the daily discussion and people getting fired are not only amongst people we barely know but also amongst our closest friends-or even us” Venetikidis claims.

“Instead, here in Vienna things are better. As far as Greece is concerned, there is the impression that lots of people chose the easy way of making money and that many have abused benefits and subsidies. Indeed, when people listen to my last name they get confused because they don’t know if I belong to the lenders of borrowers of the Greek debt” Venetikidis says in humor.

Biography:

Aris Venetikidis was born in 1978 in Germany from a Greek father and a German mother. He grew up in the Ruhr area between Stuttgart and Essen. He studied graphic design in Germany and Ireland and worked in advertising and at the university. He owes his Greek origin to Rose Serres which he visits regularly. He has also spent a half year in Kenya working as a volunteer in development projects in Germany. More information can be found at:  www.aris.ie.

National Hero

The presentation received widespread publicity granting Aris Venetikidis national hero status. In Dublin, 70% of pubilc transportation is busses. “I suggested changing all the transportation system because the current one cannot even be in a map. Transportations are a very serious aspect of the economy and if correct they can help in the economical and environmental protection” Venetikidis states. In few weeks Venetikidis will be honored in Dublin with a special prize of the Irish institute “Design” which has recognized the importance of his work.

By London Underground Model

“I put my best utilizing all the skills and knowledge to build my maps, which are modern and understandable and appropriate for public use. This is because the graphics are not enough to get a simple map and to pass over the lines because the result would not be right ” claimedVenetikidis. The model that he followed was by the popular map of the Tube or London’s underground metro system.  The system was designed by Harry Beck in 1931.

“At last, I designed a map which includes all the improvements necessary which the studies proposed and one more for the city center .Designing last one was the most difficult part of my job. Likely, I discovered that a good map is also possible!” Venetikidis recounts.

When it was time for the maps presentation, people from the transportation departments and other stakeholders were invited.  The representatives firmly shook the hand of the Greek-German designer.  “Some of them said “The result is fantastic!’  This is the best thing I saw in my life ‘”he says.

Photo: Mr. Aris Venekitis photographed next to his masterpiece, the transportation map of Dublin.

Referred to as ‘His All Holiness’, Vartholomeos spoke with “60 Minutes” from his office in Turkey. During the interview Vartholomeos said his office is called Phanar and it has been the headquarters of the church since 1599. At the interview he was asked:“I think a lot of people would want to know, your all holiness, why the leader of so many millions of Orthodox Christians in the world lives in a country that is 99% Muslim?” He replied: “Because we are here before this country becomes a Muslim country, much earlier. Since ever. Since the very beginning.”