“From Ionia to the Ionian” | Anagnostiki Society | 15 November

“From Ionia to the Ionian” Bilingual Anniversary Edition Presentation | November 15

On Friday, November 15, at 20:00, the presentation of the bilingual anniversary edition “From Ionia to the Ionian: Refugees in Corfu After the Asia Minor Catastrophe” will take place.

Speakers:

• Thanasos Makris, President of the Corfu Reading Society
• Angeliki Bouki, Head of Corporate Responsibility Unit at Piraeus Bank

Guest Speakers:

• Manolis Drakakis, Associate Professor, Department of Archives, Library Science, and Museology, Ionian University
• Eleni Gousti-Stambogli, Historian, President of the Friends of the Kapodistrias Museum Association
• Stathis Pouliasis, Ph.D. in History, Scientific Coordinator of the publication

The event will be streamed live on the Corfu Reading Society’s YouTube channel: YouTube link

Details: The Corfu Reading Society and Piraeus Bank are excited to announce the presentation of the anniversary album based on the research project “From Ionia to the Ionian: Refugees in Corfu After the Asia Minor Catastrophe.”

With the kind support of Piraeus Bank, the second part of the research project by the Corfu Reading Society has been completed, along with the publication of the bilingual album, which is part of the Bank’s anniversary program “Days of Memory of Hellenism, 1922-1924.” This program commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe and the signing of the Lausanne Treaty, which facilitated the population exchange (1923).

For Piraeus Bank, the continuous support of scientific and cultural institutions, research programs, and high-quality scientific projects is an important responsibility to Greek society and an integral part of its Corporate Social Responsibility strategy, which actively contributes to the social, intellectual, and cultural life of Greece.

The Corfu Reading Society, the oldest intellectual institution in Greece with continuous operation since 1836, boasts an ever-expanding, specialized library and unique archival collections. It has developed significant research and educational activities. In 2022, the first part of the research project “From Ionia to the Ionian: Refugees in Corfu After the Asia Minor Catastrophe” was carried out, leading to the creation of the digital anniversary exhibition: Digital Exhibition, which has since received over 100,000 visits and has been utilized in scientific studies and educational activities.

The main focus of the research project was the study of the settlement of refugees from Asia Minor, Pontus, and Eastern Thrace in Corfu, as well as the perception of this settlement by the refugees themselves and their descendants. The dozens of testimonies shed light on unknown aspects of the events and trace the historical trauma to the present day.

The bilingual anniversary album, under the scientific supervision of Dr. Stathis Pouliasis, includes valuable archival material and testimonies, some of which are from the digital exhibition, as well as new documentation. The texts in the album were written by Stathis Pouliasis, Spyros Goutsis, Maya Charalampopoulou, and Georgia Lazaridou. The English translation of the work was done by Kelly Kazantini, and the editing of the Greek texts was managed by Despoina Zilfidou, with Andrew Watson overseeing the English texts. The graphic design was handled by Evi Kalogeropoulou, and the overall coordination of the publication was managed by Eleni Gousti-Stambogli and Dimitris Zymaris.

(Cover image: Private archive of Spyros Goutsis)