Athens Polytechnic In commemoration of the 44th year anniversary “Freedom behind bars”

    On Friday, November 17, 2017, the Orthodox Academy of Crete celebrated the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising with an event entitled: ‘Polytechnic 1973-2017 (44 years) - A Tribute to Freedom and Democracy’, with the participation of the Gymnasium Junior High School and the General Lyceum High School of Kolympari.

     Speeches were given by Mr Stylianos Papadakis, Principal of the Kolympari Junior High School, and Mr Dimitris Nikolakopoulos, Principal of Kolympari High School, who thanked the OAC for organising the event, and encouraged students to pay attention and thereby discover the true message of the Polytechnic.

     Dr Konstantinos Zorbas, General Director of the OAC, welcomed the participants, speaking on the theme "What is the meaning of the Polytechnic?". In a moving speech, he recalled his personal experiences from that turbulent period of history and stressed that "...the Polytechnic uprising, for a moment, redeemed Greek society, precisely because it expressed its suppressed desires and demands. It expressed what society could not or was afraid to express”, but it also “saved the honour of a people who, during all the years of the dictatorship, had bowed their heads and were silent, despite whatever tales may be told to the contrary”. In closing, Dr Zorbas expressed his hopes that younger generations would live in a climate of peace and democracy.