The forcible removal of the Parthenon Marbles from the Acropolis, and the petition to return the Marbles to Greece, inspired hundreds of professional and amateur writers from all over the world, who entered the international literary competition titled “The Parthenon Marbles: The history of a looting or the looting of history?” with their poems.
The competition was organized by the Hellenic Cultural Association “Nostos” in Argentina, for the third consecutive year, under the auspices of the Embassy of Greece in Argentina and in collaboration with the Association of Greek Writers and Authors of the Five Continents and the University of Chile’s “Fotios Mallieros Center for Hellenic and Byzantine Studies”. ANA – MPA was the communications sponsor of the competition.
The award and distinctions ceremony for the Greek literary works was held on Friday evening at the Acropolis Museum auditorium, preceded by an award ceremony in the Parliament of Argentina, for the Argentinean entries in November.
The first prize was presented to Vaya Kapnia with her poem “Caryatid”.
Over 350 writers from Greece, Argentina, Spain, Chile, Uruguay, Cyprus, Italy, Poland, France, Malaysia, Peru, Egypt, Mexico and the United States, entered the competition with short stories and poems in Greek, Spanish and English.
The award ceremony was attended by a delegation of Senators from Argentina. Over the event, Argentine Senator Emilio Rached and Chairman of the Argentina – Greece Friendship Group highlighted that the objective of the Argentine Senate is to respond to the call of nations around the world, who have fallen victims to the theft of their history and antiquity, and offer support in this critical time for Greece.
The awards were presented, among others, by Senators of Argentina Emilio Rached, Blanca Monllau, and Roberto Basualdo, Greek Deputy Parliament Speaker Grigoris Niotis, Secretary General of the Hellenic Parliament Athanasios Papaioannou, PASOK MPs Christos Protopapas and Pemi Zouni, ND MP Costas Hadjidakis, and LAOS MP Ourania Papadaki – Papandreou, the Ambassador of Argentina to Greece Jorge Alejandro Mastropietro and the Chairman of the Acropolis Museum Administrative Board Demetris Pantermalis.
“Nostos” was established in Argentina in 2006 for the promotion, dissemination and preservation of the Hellenic culture and education in Argentina and Latin America. “In Argentina we are a few Greeks, keeping the flame of Hellenism alive. “Nostos” is our own return to the homeland”, stressed the President of the Organization, Christina Tsardikos.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
