The presentation of the University’s activities for the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Ionian Academy took place on Tuesday, March 19, at the Library and Information Centre of the Ionian University. The presentation was made by the Vice Rector and Chairman of the Committee for the celebration, Professor Elias Yarenis.

Here is a detailed program:

1. Exhibition on Lord Guilford and the foundation of the Ionian Academy

The exhibition “On the desired university. Lord Guilford and the Ionian Academy” is organized in the context of the double anniversary – the foundation of the Ionian Academy in 1824 and the Ionian University in 1984.

The exhibition aims to present a sketch of the vision, the foundation and the operation of the Ionian Academy through numerous documents, such as official administrative documents, private correspondence, press clippings of the time, educational manuals, portraits and architectural drawings, from public and private archives, museums and private collections from Greece and abroad. In addition, it will highlight the connection with the Ionian University, its undoubted “offspring”.

2. Exhibition of works and documents entitled: “Painting in the Ionian Sea, 18th – 19th century”

The Ionian University, in collaboration with the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum and the Institute of Mediterranean Studies of the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, and in partnership with the Gallery of the Municipality of Central Corfu & the Ionian Islands and other institutions, is planning an exhibition of paintings and related archival documents on artistic production in the Ionian area from the mid-18th century to the first decades after the Union.

The design of the exhibition includes about 100 paintings (tempera, oil paintings, drawings, prints) and about 70 documents (official documents, letters, manuscripts, schoolbooks, contracts, publications, etc.).

Coordinated by Elena Hamalidi, Associate Professor of Art History, Ionian University

Scientific supervisor: Panagiotis Ioannou, Associate Professor of Art History, University of Crete

Scientific curator & exhibition curator: Mirka Palioura, Assistant Professor of Art History, Ionian University, Marina Papasotiriou, Curator/Head of the Branch of the National Gallery in Corfu

3. Organisation of the International Scientific Conference

An international scientific conference is planned to be held in the first 10 days of November 2024, on the theme “Education in the Ionian Islands in the 19th century“. The conference will be attended by speakers from the wider academic community of the Ionian University, as well as from other universities in Greece and abroad.

Coordinated by Associate Professors Manolis Drakakis and Dionysis Tzakis, members of the Committee.

4. Publication of an anniversary volume

An Anniversary Volume on the Ionian Academy and Lord Guilford is expected to be published in 2024 with contributions from renowned academics and scholars.

Coordinated by Professor Elias Yarenis, Professor Emeritus of the Department of History Eleni Angelomatis-Tsougarakis, and Professor Emeritus of the Department of History Nikos Karapidakis.

5. Publication of a book on the History of Higher Education in the Ionian Region

The planned actions include the publication of a bilingual anniversary book dedicated to the history of the Ionian University.

The publication, which will include material from the archival collections of the University and other institutions, is being prepared by a team of historians and archivists under the scientific guidance of Mr.Kostas Angelakos, Professor of the Department of History, and Mr.Manolis Drakakis, Associate Professor of the Department of Archaeonomy, Library and Museology. The team also includes the members of the Special Teaching Staff, Mrs Alexandra Kavvadia and Mr Charalambos Kourgiantakis, as well as the Foundation’s PhDs Evi Leontiadou and Stathis Pouliasis.

6. Online Lecture Series on the Ionian Academy and its era

The Circle will be open to all via an electronic link. Lectures will be offered monthly in the context of the 2024 anniversary year, starting on Friday 22 March. The lectures will be offered and broadcast live on Fridays, 7.00 to 8.30 pm.

With the Participation of:

Katerina Breyannis, Director of Research of the Academy of Athens on “The foundation of the Ionian Academy. The context of European political classes and intellectual events of the early 19th century”, Friday 22 March 2024.

Costas Thymis, PhD Candidate, Ionian University on “The initiatives and efforts of Metropolitan Methodios Kontostanos of Corfu and Paxos (1942-1967) for the reconstitution of the Ionian Academy”, Friday 26 April 2024.

Panagiota Tzivara, Associate Professor, Democritus University of Thrace on “The history of a Corfu family library and its sale “per usodelleScuoledell’ Università”, Friday 24 May 2024.

Elias Yarenis, Professor, Ionian University on “The Celebration of the Three Hierarchs at the Ionian Academy”, Friday 21 June 2024.

Alexandros Katsigiannis, Assistant Professor, University of Crete on “Christoforos Filittas as a historian of Modern Greek Literature and Literature”, Friday 27 September 2024.

Angela Gioti, Associate Professor, Deputy Director of the University of Cyprus. Professor, University of Crete on “German Schools of Literature and Philosophy: A pole of attraction and repulsion for the courses of K. Asopios and A. Kalvos”, Friday 25 October 2024.

The action is coordinated by Mrs. Sophia Laiou, Rev. Professor of the Department of History, and Elias Yarenis, Professor of the Department of History of the Ionian University.