Cultural Centre GALAXIAS of Nea Smirni - "The Exchange of Population Greek and Turkey 1922"

14 May 2012

The Cultural Center of Nea Smyrni GALAXIAS was packed with people. The keynote speaker was the political scientist from Pontus, Mr. Savvas Kalenteridis. In his very interesting speech, he made a historical overview from 1453 to 1922 to remind us the causes that led to the compulsory exchange of population in 1922. Miss Eleni Letoni, Managing Director of ID.IS.ME. made a brief presentation of the Foundation's work.. Eleni Letoni talked about the projects ID.IS.ME. completed in 2011 and about those that are to be completed later this year, such as the historical documentaries on Imbros and Tenedos. Finally, the General Secretary of ID.IS.ME. Dr. Irini Sarioglou talked about the young people that share ID.IS.ME.'s vision . Also she reported the hard experience that many refugees had, that of being "twice a stranger'' - and the experiences of her own parents.The evening ended with the screening of a historical documentary about the compulsory population exchange.