On October 2016 the Cultural Society of Entrepreneurs of Northern Greece, in association with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Navarino Network, hosted the 5th International Symposium in Thessaloniki in World Affairs, with further support from ACT – The American College of Thessaloniki and City College. The International Symposium first began in 2012 and has become an important event with a great appeal especially to young audiences in the city.
Over 55 IB and ACT students attended the conference. Six ACT students registered as volunteers for the Symposium and contributed greatly to the success of the event. They were led by ACT (and IB) alumna Maria Kalogeroudi (ACT Class of 2015), who was especially active among the student volunteers, overseeing the check in procedure, distributing certificates, and facilitating audience participation.
This year, the symposium focused on the future of Europe in the times of crisis and “The World in 2017 and Beyond: In search of stability.” Featured speakers included Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Yiannis Boutaris, Mayor of Thessaloniki, Anatolia alumnus Gikas Hardouvelis, former Finance Minister of Greece, Gerald Knaus, chairman of the European Stability Initiative, and Dimitris Papademetriou from the Migration Policy Institute.
The event focused primarily on the economic position of Europe in terms of the crisis in Greece and the European Union countries. Moreover, the instability in Ukraine, Turkey and the Middle East regarding the refugee crisis were the topics dominating the presentations of the speakers and the subsequent discussions.
Professor David Wisner, Director of the Dukakis Center, moderated the final panel that discussed the threats to democracy in Turkey and the US. Featured speakers were Karabekir Akkoyunlu, of the University of Graz, and former US diplomat John Brady Kiesling.
ACT and IB students and their chaperons attended the event thanks to the generous donation and support of Anatolia College Trustee and alumnus, Jack J. Florentin.
