The Christmas Factory opened its doors on November 26th and, once again, welcoming all, young and old, to a fairytale-like experience packed with joy, celebration, games, laughter, tickling smells, and, for the first time this year, theatrical performances!

 

This year, Santa has decided to reveal all his secrets! This will be achieved through 7 + 1 special workshops - from a spooky maze to creative confectionery activities, face painting, and fun choreographies - a dance floor, an ice rink, an elf band, and much more.

 

And, since there’s no Christmas without food, you can enjoy plenty of dinner options, from skewers and burgers to pizza and pasta! Not to mention the Christmasy hot beverages and drinks!

 

Christmas also means giving gifts to loved ones, so the market has everything you could possibly be looking for, including ornaments, toys, and inspirational gifts.
 

This year, the program of festivities includes the theatrical performance "Elafontaine, Aesop in Another Way," directed by Giorgos Suleimans, with text by Sofia Kapsouros and original music by Themis Karamouratides. An excellent occasion for children to get to know the myths of Aesop through the eyes of the French poet and mythmaker Jean de La Fontaine.

 

For more information in greek, please visit: athens-technopolis.gr

Athens will usher in the Christmas season on Thursday, December 1, with a brilliant tree lighting ceremony on central Syntagma Square at 7:15pm launching this year’s 38-day program of holiday events.

Concerts, performances, parties, shows, workshops, and happenings will kick off on December 1 and run through January 7 in 129 neighborhoods and 35 squares across the city. Ten Christmas villages, including Omonia Christmas Market and the Kypseli Municipal Market, complete with Santa and elves, stilt walkers, jugglers and puppets will welcome young and old and set the mood for the holiday season.

“The year’s Christmas festivities take place in the city’s 129 neighborhoods. We will decorate the streets and squares with bright lights and ornaments, sending a message of joy and optimism to all Athenians,” said Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis.

Athens’ main 21-meter-tall Christmas tree comes from Karpenisi, the mayor’s hometown, and will be lit with 40,000 lights and hundreds of ornaments during the special tree lighting ceremony on December 1 with the virtual participation of mayors from across the globe sending a message of peace, unity, and solidarity.

Greek pop singer Tamta will be performing live in concert together with the Athens Big Band. Petros Kourtis and The Tin Soldiers Marching Band will be opening the evening. Other popular performers such as Rena Morfi and Nikos Portokaloglou, Stavento, Ivi Adamou, Enorasis, Evridiki and Myronas Stratis, and Dimitris Starovas will be taking the stage at Syntagma Square from December 20 onwards.

To read this article in full, please visits: news.gtp.gr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Translated by: Codico Lab

Greece is quickly evolving into a remote work destination with authorities taking actions to facilitate the move, according to the conclusions of the 1st Work from Greece Summit organized by Marketing Greece.

Government officials, company executives, and digital nomads attended the event and exchanged ideas on ways to develop the country into a remote work destination as well as on the added value it will provide the Greek tourism sector.

Opening the event, Marketing Greece CEO Ioanna Dretta referred to the workfromgreece.gr site which aims to answer all questions regarding remote work options in Greece and offer guidance.

In efforts to simplify procedures, Digital Governance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis announced that individuals will be able to soon establish self-owned businesses (sole proprietorship) through Gov.gr whose services are currently being translated into English.

On his part, Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias said Greece was an ideal destination for remote work thanks to its climate and hospitality. “Executives of large international tourism companies have told me that Greece’s fine climate boosts employee moods and as a result their performance also.”

As part of government efforts to simplify procedures and attract more remote workers, Deputy Foreign Minister Militiadis Varvitsiotis noted that Greece was one of the first countries to regulate remote work adding that in view of global competition, “it may be the time to make our approach more flexible”. Varvitsiotis also referred ministry initiatives, including the creation a special visa for digital nomads.

To read this article in full, please visit: news.gtp.gr

Once again this year, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) will be festooned with thousands of festive lights, transforming it into a magical Christmas World, through an exclusive grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)!

It all starts with a big celebration on Thursday, December 1 at 19:00. The Ice Rink returns to the SNFCC Canal—this time made of synthetic ice, which offers skaters the experience they love with zero energy consumption—light installations transform the Stavros Niarchos Park into a dreamscape, illuminated fir trees suffuse the Agora with their glow, and the festive light and music reach every corner. The Greek National Opera’s Children’s Chorus will sing festive melodies in the Agora.

Then, American conductor, composer, and director of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City Francisco J. Núñez, along with Chórεs by Marina Satti and vocalists and musicians, invite all visitors to sing along to favorite Greek and international songs—Christmas carols and non-Christmas songs too—creating one big festive choir. This special sing-along concert will be held in collaboration with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, as part of the SNF-LC Agora Initiative, an effort to reimagine public space which includes the creation of “Twin Agoras” between the SNFCC and the Lincoln Center.

Admission for the public is free.

Festivities continue throughout December, with lots of music, popular Christmas tales at the SNFCC Lighthouse, workshops for kids, games for the whole family, dancing with LED hula hoops, an improvised percussion orchestra, Christmas wishes written on crepes with chocolate (!!!), a treasure hunt on the Great Lawn and, of course, photos with Santa Claus, and much more.

The end of December will also mark the opening of a permanent new feature at the SNFCC, a 9-meter Climbing Wall for climbing enthusiasts and beginners alike.

The holiday events will culminate on New Year’s Eve, when the SNFCC will welcome the new year with a spectacular fireworks show, a huge party at the Agora, and the traditional SNF RUN: 2023 FIRST RUN, organized by SNF in collaboration with the nonprofit Regeneration & Progress under the supervision of the 1st Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Athens University Medical School (Sports Excellence).

To explore SNFCC's full program of Christmas Events, please visit: snfcc.org

Main Image: Nikos Karanikolas & Pelagia Karanikola

The Acropolis of Athens has become accessible to the visually impaired through a route inaugurated on Thursday, November 24, that combines models of monuments, haptic feedback points, and signs in Greek and English Braille.

During the inauguration, Culture & Sports Minister Lina Mendoni noted that “equal access to cultural goods is a goal, an objective and a bet for the ministry and its services.”

The haptic course features 12 stops and 4 information points, with signs in Greek and English Braille and a tactile 3D model of the archaeological site of the Acropolis, also with Braille notation in Greek and English.

Accompanying the visit are guides in large print and in Braille in six languages, among several more types of aid, while guards on the site have been trained to assist visually impaired people with the available tools.

In addition, an app for Android and IOS cellphones is also available through the Ephorate of the City of Athens.

The special route for the blind was implemented in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Athens and the Lighthouse for the Blind of Greece organization, with the support and sponsorship of the Onassis Foundation.

To read this article in full, please visit: greekreporter.com

Interested in your Greek roots and family history? Greek Ancestry is the first digital platform created to primarily meet the specific needs of people of Greek descent.

Founded in January 2020 by historian Gregory Kontos, an expert in Greek migration history, Greek Ancestry offers high-quality research tools as well as archive material in English.

“People of Greek descent in third or fourth generation in USA, Canada, Australia, often do not speak Greek,” Kontos told state broadcaster ERT.

The platform offers tips for the correct search of the Greek roots as well as lovely stories in the category “Yiayia & Me.”

According to Greek Ancestry founders:

Interest in genealogy and family history is growing internationally. Despite the immense interest, prior to 2020 access to online records and resources from Greece was non-existent. Greek Ancestry is the first digital platform created to meet the specific research needs of people of Greek descent and those interested in Greek archival records. Through our searchable databases, users are able to access an immense number and a remarkable variety of records from all over Greece and the Greek Diaspora. At the same time, our educational initiatives provide the background necessary for high-quality research.

Greek Ancestry’s databases are the product of the systematic work of an entire team of indexers in Greece and abroad. However last but not least, the invaluable help and support of good friends, like Carol Kostakos Petranek, a pioneer of Greek genealogy, is undoubtedly a key element behind Greek Ancestry. It is our to continue our records preservation and digitization initiatives, expand our online records collections, and assist people with their research needs.

To read this article in full, please visit: keeptalkinggreece.com

How do I set a new goal?

Of course, you’ve heard that it is necessary to have goals. The goal is a buzzword, practically what drives us to go further. It can be small and immediate or grandiose and long-term. It can be magical and fulfill your deepest dreams, it can also be something simpler and possible. In any case, it is useful and if we set it correctly, it drives us, creates a way forward, and fuels our dreams. A goal is a vision for the future that we desire.

Of course, you will have set goals in the past, but there is a high chance that you did not achieve them. What do we do wrong and most importantly, how can we correct it?

Here are some ways to get it right, using all the functions of the brain, conscious and unconscious, to achieve what you want from now on.

For maximum achievability, your goal must be:

• Well-formed. Proper goal setting achieves the upgrade of our quality of life to multiple levels. A not-so-successful goal slows us down, reduces our self-confidence, disorients us, and at worst fills us with doubts and procrastination.
• Inspirational and alluring, and motivational to you. How do you imagine your life a month, a semester, or a year from now? If you had all the tools and power, what would you want to achieve?
• Challenging, stretching us a little. Our brain wants the challenge, we need to get out of our comfort zone, dare new things, and see what we can achieve. If the goal is very easy, the subconscious mind achieves it immediately and then does not deal with it anymore. If a goal is not realistic, there is no hope, but if it’s not challenging, there is no motivation.
• Toward a positive direction. If you are thinking: “I want to leave this job”, then all your attention is where you want to leave from. But if your goal is stated positively: “I have a job I’m in the flow, I feel passionate about, a job that motivates me”, your brain looks at your goal.
• SMART – including various “technical characteristics to succeed”.
• Starting from and ending with you. If you are responsible for the success of the goal and only you (e.g. to run in the next marathon), then you have a much better chance of achieving it. If your goal depends on others (e.g. World Peace), then you are more likely to not be able to control the outcome. This does not mean that you will not do your best to achieve all the goals, just don’t be disappointed if you do not achieve what you want immediately.
• Ecological. To help/promote our “ecology”: our family, our work, our environment, and society in general. A goal that works in line with the needs and wants of others is much more readily achievable.
• Certifiable. How will you know that you succeeded? What will you see, feel, hear, and say to yourself when you achieve it? What is your own evidence procedure? The subconscious brain moves on until it receives this confirmation, and when it receives it, it moves on to the next goal you set for it.

For example, if your goal is a trip that you really want, you write it as follows: “It is August 5th. I am on a beach in South Crete, I feel calm, relaxed, and happy. I hear the wave and feel the heat on my face. I put on my swimsuit and read my favorite book. Life is beautiful!”

Last but not least, your goal that is specific, that is well-formed, that meets all the specifications, should be installed in your subconscious brain. There are two brains, the conscious brain works intelligently, logically, and linearly and gives us commands. We use this brain in deciding what goal to set (goal-setter). There is also the unconscious or subconscious brain, which has stored all the knowledge, all the tools, and all our psyche and is constantly at work. So, we install the goal in the subconscious mind to collect the data that are suitable for this purpose, that help us to go in the correct direction. The subconscious brain is the one that manages to achieve the goal (goal-getter). There are various ways and techniques to install the target in the subconscious brain and activate it to achieve our goal much more easily and directly.

Finally, on the way to achieving the goal, we need to calmly and realistically change course if necessary. We take in all the information, asses it, and if necessary, adjust accordingly.

The help of an expert can help in this process at all stages, from concretization to targeting, overcoming obstacles and limiting beliefs/behaviors, and of course implementation.

Do not forget, we are talking about your life. Insert passion, and imagination and kick-start your dreams!

Originally published on: christinadrakopoulou.com

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I help outstanding individuals get unstuck from personal fears and limitations and fast-track to the life of their dreams. I specialize in the problems of modern life in urban environments: a job we do not love, dead-end relationships, lethargy, burnout, inability to live in stereotypes, excessive stress, a general feeling of “blockage”, “helplessness” and “entrapment”. For more information about me and my work visit my website.

Greece has the highest share of innovative enterprises in the European Union, a new survey from Eurostat showed on Friday.

In its latest Community Innovation Survey (CIS) survey, Eurostat said that 73% of all enterprises in Greece reported some form of innovation activity in 2018-2020.

Greece was followed by Belgium (71%), Germany and Finland (both 69%), and Cyprus (66%). In contrast, the lowest innovation activity was observed in Romania (11%), Latvia (32%), Hungary and Spain (both 33%), and Poland (35%).

Business innovation relates to the wide range of activities that enterprises undertake to implement innovation processes, develop new goods or services, and bring them to market.

Originally published on: ekathimerini.com