Opening of the exhibition “IDEA” and Digital Presentation of Manuscript 05 of the Hellenic Institute of Venice at Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt.

On Tuesday, November 20^th, an event was held under high representation at the Library of Alexandria, under the auspices of the General Secretariat of Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and on the initiative of the Secretary General, Mr. Ioannis Chrysoulakis. The curtain of the event was pulled over with the opening of the Exhibition “IDEA: Ancient Greek Science and Technology” of the Center for Dissemination of Science and the Museum of Technology Noesis by the Egyptian Minister of Diaspora and Immigration Policy, Nabila Makram. The event was greeted by the Secretary General of Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ioannis Chrysoulakis, the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodore II, the Director of the Library of Alexandria Mr Mostafa El Feki, the governor of Alessandria Mr Mohamed El Sherif, the President of the University of Alexandria, Mr. Aziz Konsowa, the President of Noesis Mr. Michael Sigalas, as well as Vassilios Koukousas, President of the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice.

The second part of the event concerned the famous Manuscript 05 of the illustrated Romance of Alexander the Great kept at the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies. The Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the Hellenic Institute, Professor of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Mr. Christos Arambatzis, as the keynote speaker of the whole event, gave a lecture on “The legend of Alexander the Great: The testimony of a Byzantine manuscript”. The lecture referred to the special features of the illustrated manuscript 05 of the Hellenic Institute that make it unique in the world, as it narrates the life and deeds of the great Greek warrior as received and understood by his descendants, the Byzantine emperors in the 14th century. The event ended with a video edited by the Hellenic Institute of Venice, related to the Digital Exhibition of the Romance.

On Monday, November 8, there were repeated meetings of the President of the Hellenic Institute Mr. Vassilios Koukousas, the Chairman of the Supervisory Committee Mr. Christos Arambatzis and the Director of the private office of the General Secretary, Mrs. Antigoni Makrigianni with the Head of International Relations of the Library of Alexandria Dr. Sherif Riad and D. Kavouras, Head of International Relations in the office of the Director Dr Moustafa El Feki, regarding the hosting of the Exhibition at the premises of Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in the Spring of 2022.

The General Secretariat of Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs has developed close cooperation with the Ministry of Diaspora and Immigration Policy of Egypt This collaboration was sealed with the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Diaspora Issues among Greece, Egypt and Cyprus in the context of the Tripartite Summit in Athens on 19.10.2021 – in the presence of the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiadis and the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. For the signing of the Memorandum, the Greek side was represented by the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs for Diaspora Greeks, Mr. Andreas Katsaniotis, the Cypriot side by the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Greeks Abroad, Mr. Fotis Fotiou and the Egyptian by the Minister of Diaspora and Immigrating Policy Mrs. Nabila Makram.