U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt announced in an interview with the Greek national broadcaster ERT the launch of U.S. Mission Greece’s year-long campaign to commemorate Greece’s Bicentennial entitled “ USA & Greece: Celebrating 200 Years of Friendship.” The campaign will include educational and cultural events across Greece that will highlight our two countries’ historic relationship and the ties that bind us: democracy, partnership, and shared values.
Ambassador Pyatt’s announcement followed the launch of the “ Greece 2021” Committee’s campaign on January 1 to commemorate this landmark anniversary of 200 years since the Greek Revolution of 1821, with programs to celebrate Greece’s history, honor its people, highlight its achievements, and envision its future. The “ USA & Greece: Celebrating 200 Years of Friendship” campaign will support this effort through programs designed to convey U.S respect for ancient Greek ideals of democracy that were an inspiration at the founding of our country and highlight the role American Philhellenes played in Greece’s fight to establish their country. It will also celebrate the strong people-to-people ties between the U.S. and Greece over the last 200 years, and our commitment to our present-day strategic partnership.
Speaking about the campaign, Ambassador Pyatt said, “ U.S.-Greek relations are the best they’ve been in modern history. Our friendship began during Greece’s war for independence and Greece’s 2021 bicentennial is an opportunity to celebrate this history and the values of liberty and democracy our peoples have defended for over 200 years.”
The U.S. Mission will fund several programs throughout 2021, partnering with Greek and American civil society, educational, and arts institutions. Program dates and further details about specific programs will be provided on the U.S. Embassy website throughout the year at gr.usembassy.gov.
See below the list of “ USA & Greece: Celebrating 200 Years of Friendship” programs:
- Virtual Entrepreneurship Project “ Connect the Dots”: a virtual entrepreneurship mentoring program conducted in partnership with The Hellenic Initiative (THI), this program will provide online mentorship by U.S. business leaders to Greek entrepreneurs. This program is placed under the auspices of the “ Greece 2021” Committee.
- Athens Science Festival 2021 – 200 Years of Innovation: an experiential space will be created, comprising multiple exhibits that refer to the historical anniversary and the evolution of the Greek state, highlighting areas of shared scientific excellence with the U.S. and featuring prominent American speakers. This program is placed under the auspices of the “ Greece 2021” Committee.
- Greek National Opera, Stavros Niarchos Hall: the Greek National Opera will present two special musical performances of works reflecting the shared values of the U.S. and Greece.
- The “ American Philhellenism” Exhibition at the Museum of Philhellenism: a special exhibition entitled “ The American Philhellenism” at the Museum of Philhellenism in Athens, featuring unique artifacts and historical documents capturing the birth and evolution of Philhellenism, U.S. support for the Greek Revolution, and the impact of Greek culture on the values, institutions, artistic and architectural expressions in the U.S.
- Exhibition “ The Free and the Brave: American Philhellenes and the Glorious Struggle of the Greeks (1776-1866):” at the Gennadius Library, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, this will be an exhibition exploring the movement of Philhellenism that flourished in the U.S. in the 19th Century, influenced by Greek classical thought and democratic ideals.
- American Studies: scholarships towards the establishment of an American Studies curriculum at a Greek university.
- “Greek Fire:” a seminar at the Delphi Economic Forum and online report on the lasting impact that the Greek Revolution has had on American culture and politics.
- City of Sparta: Sparta will host a conference on American Philhellenes and conduct a range of programs throughout 2021 to commemorate the bicentennial.
- U.S. Consulate General Thessaloniki: the creation of an exhibit that chronicles the history of the Consulate General and the U.S. presence in Thessaloniki.
