Greece celebrated 200 years of its War of Independence this year. The uprising against the Ottomans, which marked the beginning of the Greek nation, took place on 25 March 1821. The day is a bank holiday in Greece. In Munich, a well-known building, the Propylaea on Königsplatz, commemorates this Greek revolution and the friendship between Greece and Bavaria. The European School Munich is very pleased that Greek pupils of the Secondary School were able to make a successful contribution to the anniversary celebrations in Munich.
On the last Saturday in July, these took place in the Greek Orthodox Salvator Church. The title of the event, which was also attended by Greek Consul General Vassilios Gouloussis (pictured left) and ESM Primary School Principal Alexia Giannakopoulou (2nd from right), was "The Contribution of Greek Settlements to the Greek Liberation Struggle". The teacher Panagiota Papakosta (right) had worked intensively on the topic with the pupils from different classes for over two years. In her speech at the beginning of the event, she spoke about the Greek diaspora as an important prerequisite for the path to Greek independence. This also inspired the Greek ESM pupils, who themselves grow up far from Greece and could thus identify well with the story.
The pupils had prepared presentations on various topics with interest and commitment. These were about the Greek communities in Venice, Trieste, Vienna, Budapest, Odessa and Bucharest. They also dealt with the time of the Enlightenment and important personalities from Greek history. Traditional Greek music provided further variety between the short presentations. The event was also supported by Greek parents of the ESM.
The European School Munich would like to thank all those involved in the project for making this interesting and entertaining evening possible and thus also supporting the students in their learning.
