08/05/2006

This year marks the 50th year of the Eugenides Foundation's educational contribution to Greece. Developing a number of different activities, the Foundation contributes significantly to the dissemination of scientific knowledge by welcoming thousands of visitors to its offices, and simultaneously supporting technical and professional training. In this context, the Foundation is developing diverse publishing activities, provides scholarships, organises exhibitions, and hosts conferences, giving technological knowledge a modern and welcoming look.

All of the Foundation's activities, as well as many other interesting events that will take place during 2006 to celebrate the Foundation's 50 years, were recently presented during a press conference at the New Digital Planetarium.

As underlined by Mr. Leonidas Dimitriadis-Eugenidis, President of the Foundation, the role that the Foundation is being called upon to fulfil in the future has, at its core, the effort to map the scientific situation of modern-day Greece and the promotion of dialogue between technology and the latest generation. He added significantly: "We search, we analyse, we suggest, but most of all we see ahead, as active members of a modern society that is continuously developing and inviting us to participate productively in that development".

The anniversary of the Foundation's 50 years of contribution coincides with the completion of the new educational infrastructures, and more specifically that of the permanent interactive scientific and technological exhibition. The new exhibition area covers three floors and takes up 1,800 square metre. The exhibition, which will open to the public in the autumn of 2006, will be covering three subjects: Matter-Material, Communication-Telecommunications, and Biotechnology. The purpose of the exhibition is to present the fundamental laws and principles of science, to recreate natural phenomena and facets of the world that surround us using inductive reasoning and to create an understanding of technology with a modern perception on the propagation of knowledge.

New screenings, publications, conferences for the dissemination of science and technology

The celebration program for the Foundation's 50 years in existence includes events from the entire spectrum of its activities, which will highlight the Foundation's history, its modern character, as well as its orientation for the future.

A special celebration series of six collector-item DVDs with digital presentations of the New Digital Planetarium in English and Greek will be available in June 2006. Each DVD title comes with a 40-minute film "Greece through Greek Poetry" and with another on the latest discoveries made in Space (a gift from the European Space Agency). Also expected, is the publication of a popular book on laser beams (in cooperation with the Laser Laboratory of the Technical University of Crete) and the dictionary "Nautical Terms" (in cooperation with the Ministry of Mercantile Marine).

An especially interesting exhibition of stamp collecting material entitled "Space and stars" will take place in September 2006 sponsored by the Eugenides Foundation and Hellenic Post. The exhibition, which will last one month, will present one of the most important collections of its kind on a global scale. More specifically, the exhibition will include part of the philatelic material on Space from 330 countries, collected from 1957 to 2000 by philatelist and collector Kleon Dionisatos.

For the "50 years of the Eugenides Foundation" anniversary exposition, which will take place in October 2006, interesting exhibits from the Foundation's historical archives will be presented, while selected stamps and an anniversary series of phone cards by the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization will be issued.

For the period from October to December 2006, people of all ages will have the chance to attend four new screenings at the Digital Planetarium: the digital presentation "Black Holes in Space", the dome film "Wondrous Caves", the digital presentation "The Planetary Dance" (where the music of the Greek composer Mimis Plessas harmoniously ties science with art), and the digital presentation "The Christmas Star" (where the type of star that led the shepherds to the Holy Child of Bethlehem is examined).

The start of the Foundation's science and technology exhibition events will be marked by the two-day conference "Discovering science and technology through an interactive exhibition" (November 2006). During this conference, scientists and educators will present issues related to the cognitive development of the individual, successful educational practices applied in scientific centres as well as personal experiences.

Foundation Profile

The Eugenides Foundation, a public welfare institution, with a registered office in Athens, was created in 1954 as a legal entity under private law through the implementation of the will of national benefactor Eugenios Eugenides. The Foundation's mission, according to the founding act, is to contribute to the scientific and technical education of Greece's youth. The Foundation is run by a three-member committee, including, at all times, the Dean of the National Technical University of Athens. The Eugenides Foundation was honoured in December 1965 with a Gold Medal from the Academy of Athens for its multi-dimensional contribution to Greek society.

Source: Eugenides Foundation