Agoni Grammi Gonimi: Bridging cultural gaps in remote regions
Acrobatics, puppet theater, ethnic music, concerts and poetry will make their presence felt in the lives of both children and grownups on 14 remote islands as well as in three villages in the isolated Pindus mountains of northern Greece. Young participants of the «Agoni Grammi Gonimi» (Fertile Remote Areas) program, run by Diadrassis, a non-profit organization developing cultural events, will travel to Greece’s most out-of-the-way regions for the second year running, proving that art, culture and communication have no boundaries. Program coordinator Stefanos Nollas recently pointed out the importance of this tour in the wintertime. «These people don’t need us in the summer season. The landscape’s natural beauty and tourism cover their communication and participation needs. In the winter though, when they might spend even entire weeks isolated, such visits mean a lot to them.» The team consists of young artists willing to travel for up to two months and provide children and grownups with the opportunity to create and learn new things. «Greece is not only Athens,» said Giorgos Tsaprounis, the corporate communication executive director of Wind Hellas, the project’s principal sponsor, referring to a familiar, 20-year-old motto. In order to cover the cultural gap in remote areas, the program includes workshops that will take place at island schools, screenings of new Greek films, a theater performance featuring Rinio Kyriazi, and poetry evenings with Michalis Ganas, Nassos Vagenas and Dimitris Cosmopoulos. The program kicks off today, starting on the island of Nisyros. Tilos, Symi, Kasos, Karpathos and Astypalaia are up next. The Cyclades, the Sporades and Kythera will follow. The events are organized under the aegis of the European Commission and the European Parliament.
