The opening of the exhibition “Geneva and Greece. A friendship in the service of independence” was the major event of the festivities.

The Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni attended -as an official guest of the Swiss State and the Hardt Foundation– the festivities organized in Geneva on October 13-15 by the city authorities and the Hardt Foundation for the Study of Classical Antiquity in honor of Ioannis Kapodistrias, in the framework of cultural events celebrating the 200^th anniversary since the Revolution of 1821.

Responding to the invitation of the Association of Greek Women of Geneva, the oldest organization of expatriates in Switzerland, the Minister attended the official world premiere of the documentary directed by Giannis Smaragdis “Reference to Ioannis Kapodistrias“, in the hall of the historic Palais de l’Athénée.

The opening of the exhibition “Geneva and Greece. A Friendship in the Service of Independence “, organized by the Hardt Foundation in collaboration with the Museum of Art and History of Geneva, was the major event of the festivities. An exhibition with important exhibits from the Collections of the Museum of Geneva and other Swiss museums and institutions, supplemented by objects from Greece, the National Historical Museum, the Philhellenism Museum, the Kapodistrias Museum, as well as private collections. At the same time, the Collection of Antiquities of Anna and Jean-Gabriel Eynard was exhibited, for the first time, in order to make absolutely clear the relationship of the philhellenic movement with Greece as a direct descendent of classical antiquity.

The exhibition opening was honored by the presence of the Director of the Federal Office of Culture of the Swiss Confederation Isabelle Chassot, the member of the Conseil d’État of the Republic and the Canton of Geneva Thierry Apothèloz, the City Councilor and Mayor of Geneva Sami Kanaan, the President of the Hardt Foundation and former President of the Swiss Confederation Paschal Couchepin, the director of the Hardt Foundation Professor Pierre Ducrey, and the Metropolitan of Switzerland Maximos.

In a similar theme and with an emphasis on the phenomenon of Philhellenism, a one-day conference took place at the auditorium of the Museum of Art and History of Geneva by the Museum and the Hardt Foundation, with the participation of many distinguished lecturers, and was addressed by the Minister of Culture and Sports.

During her visit to Geneva, Lina Mendoni visited the Orthodox Center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambésy. In the following discussion with Metropolitan Maximos, plans for enriching the Museum of Christian Art of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with periodic exhibitions in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Sports were examined, along with matters such as the provision of know-how concerning the preservation and documentation of exhibits.