ICCR Alumni Celebration in Greece

On April 9, 2022 the Embassy of India in Athens organized at its premises a special event to celebrate the 72nd ICCR Foundation Day as Alumni Day.

H.E. the Ambassador of India to Greece Mr. Amrit Lugun welcomed the ICCR Alumni in Greece and other Indologists and spoke on the importance of the work carried out by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) that was founded in 1950 and today offers more than 6,000 scholarships to international students each year.

Prof. Dimitrios Vassiliadis spoke about the long history that connects Greece and India and the role that leading Greek Indologists, like Megasthenes and Dimitrios Galanos, played in  making Indian culture known to the entire world. He also emphasized that in our times, when the world peace is at stake, the voice of India should be heard more loudly, since its culture and foreign policy are based on the principles of ahimsa (non-violence) and shanti (peace).  

Distinguished painter and sculptor Ntina Anastasiadou and sitar player Iasonas Psarakis shared their study experiences in India and spoke about the continuation of their work in Greece and around the world.

Prof. Pavlos Kavouras said that the Greek-Indian relations are now at a very good level and it is essencial to establish a chair of Indian studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Greek actress and dance teacher Ms. Lida Santala spoke about her studies in Chennai and the work she continues to do through her cultural institute in Athens that promotes the study of Bharat Natyam, Yoga and other Indian subjects.

Ms. Satya Kassimi spoke about the work of musician Konstantinos Kalaitzis, who is now on a humanitarian mission with the Heart Doctors in Ukraine.

The recorded speech of Honorable Minister of State for External Affairs Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, was shown to the participants in which she  announced the  launching of the ICCR Alumni Portal that  aims to connect ICCR alumni and Indologists worldwide.

The program closed with a Hindi love song from Bollywood performed by the first secretary Mr. Rajendran Jamykannu. The program was organized and presented by the cultural attache Ms. Anita Nagpal, while the event was attended by many high-ranking officials of the Indian Embassy in Athens.

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was founded on 9 April 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister of independent India, with an aim to foster and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding & to promote cultural exchanges with other countries and people.

Cover photo (from left): H.E. the Ambassador of India to Greece Mr. Amrit Lugun presents an album of India to ICCR alumni Dr. Dimitrios Vassiliadis, Ms. Ntina Anastasiadou and Mr. Iasonas Psarakis.