The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens launched ‘NKUA in the City’, a programme of educational, cultural, and artistic activities conceived by the author, on 21 March 2024. Since February 2025, the initiative has been jointly organised with the Municipality of Athens under a Memorandum of Understanding between the University and the Municipality.
Since its launch, ‘NKUA in the City’ has brought together the University community and the wider public through dozens of educational, cultural, and artistic events held across Athens, attracting consistently strong participation (See also: NKUA in the City – NKUA Hub).
1. Anniversary Celebrations
–World Poetry Day
21 March 2024 – Poetry Marathon I
21 March 2025 – Poetry Marathon II
20 March 2026 – Poetry Marathon III
–National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Student Poetry Competition
1st Student Poetry Competition
20 September 2024 – 20 January 2025
Awards and commendations were presented on 21 March 2025 during Poetry Marathon II
2nd Student Poetry Competition
1 October 2025 – 20 February 2026
Awards and commendations were presented on 20 March 2026 during Poetry Marathon III
–World Music Day
21 June 2024 – Concert by Music Odyssey at the Propylaea
–World Environment Day
5 June 2025 – The Natural Environment Meets Our Folk Tradition
5 June 2026 – Plants and Animals in Homeric Poetry: Tracing the Origins of Greece’s Enduring Biodiversity
–World Philosophy Day
28 May 2025 – 1st Festival of Philosophy: ‘Philosophy: Reason and Passion’
17 June 2025 – Lecture by Denis Robichaud at Plato’s Academy
20 November 2025 – The University’s inaugural celebration of World Philosophy Day, jointly organised by the Departments of Philosophy and History and Philosophy of Science. Invited speaker: Professor Michael Sandel (Harvard University), ‘In Search of the Common Good’
20 May 2026 – 2nd Festival of Philosophy: ‘Philosophy and Existence’
–Easter Programme
22 April 2024 – ‘Today Smells Like Springtime’: Easter with Alexandros Papadiamantis
9 April 2025 – Easter Concert
–Christmas Programme
20 December 2024 – NKUA and the City of Athens Carolling at Christmas
2. Featured Series
Poetry and Literature
–‘Poetry: The Negative of Silence’ (curated by Tzina Kalogirou)
11 June 2024 – Titos Patrikios
13 December 2024 – Tasos Germenis
28 April 2025 – Svetlana Kalezić-Radonjić – Echoes of Her: Resonances of the Female Voice. From Silence to Expression
24 February 2025 – Kyriakos Charalambides
26 January 2026 – ‘Poetry, Sport and Well-being’ and 26 February 2026 – ‘Heart and Poetry’
–‘Word and Knowledge in the City of the 21st Century’ (curated by Kirki Kefalea)
18 June 2024 – Christos Yannaras
17 January 2025 – Stelios Ramfos
2 June 2025 – Paschalis Kitromilides
5 November 2025 – Nikos Christodoulakis
20 January 2026 – Roderick Beaton
19 May 2026 – Victoria Hislop
3. Lectures
–Maria Efthymiou
6 November 2024 – ‘Food, an Important Parameter of World History’
3 December 2024 – ‘Private Ownership – Communal Ownership, Or How Humanity Is Measured Historically Against Itself’
–Petros Roussos
‘Parenting in the Digital Age’
–Manos Stefanidis
‘Propylaea – City Hall: Two Pillars of Our Modern Culture’
6 June 2025
–Two distinguished lectures, one by the Rector of the University of Athens, Professor Gerasimos Siasos, at the City Hall (18 March 2025 – ‘“PROLAMVANO”. Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases’), the other by the Mayor of Athens, Dr Haris Doukas, at the University’s Great Hall (10 April 2025 – ‘Sustainability and Social Transformation in Cities’)
–‘Young People, Careers and the Digital Age: Rethinking Career Guidance in a Changing World’. A two-part lecture series organised by the Laboratory of Counselling Science and Vocational Career (Director: Katerina Argyropoulou)
27 March 2026 – ‘Supporting Young People in Building Career Paths Aligned with the New Reality’. Speakers: Katerina Argyropoulou and Aspasia Karavia
11 May 2026 – ‘Artificial Intelligence as a Career Development Ally: The Role of Career Counselling’. Speakers: Katerina Argyropoulou and Olympia Chaidemenaki
4. Special Events
–12 June 2025 – ‘META-PHRASEIS – Celebrating the Translation Work of Maria Papadima’
–‘Here’s to You Teacher!’ (curated by Dora Menti)
13 October 2025 – ‘Teachers and Students: Glimpses into the Literary Life of the 20th and the 21st Centuries’
12 January 2026 – ‘Teachers and Students’
27 April 2026 – ‘Like Teacher, Like Student…’
–‘Palamas as a Literary Critic’
10 December 2025 – Presentation of Volume 21 of the Complete Works of Kostis Palamas
–I.V.I.S. Sustainability Challenge 2026 (curated by Maria Daskolia)
27 – 28 March 2026 – A two-day workshop on collaborative learning and social innovation for students from across the University’s academic departments. The event was organised as part of the CIVIS European University Alliance.
–3 June 2026 – ‘A Literary Journey through the History of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens: Celebrating 189 Years since Its Foundation’ (curated by Vangelis Karamanolakis)
5. Concerts
–Two concerts designed for people living with dementia and their carers, offering an inclusive musical experience for all
12 March 2025 and 2 May 2025 – Performances by ensembles from the Department of Music Studies, School of Philosophy, curated by the Laboratory of Music, Cognitive Sciences and Community (Director: Christina Anagnostopoulou)
–26 October 2025 – ‘The Lyrical Mikis Theodorakis: Celebrating the Centenary of the Composer’s Birth’. A concert featuring songs by Mikis Theodorakis in arrangements for symphony orchestra, vocal soloists and choir. The performance brought together the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra (conducted by Nikos Maliaras), Maria Farantouri and Tasis Christogiannopoulos, joined by the Academia Athens Youth Choir
–8 December 2025 – ‘Aliki Kayaloglou Sings Manos Hadjidakis: Celebrating the Centenary of the Composer’s Birth’
–10 March 2026 – ‘Our Corner of the Earth’, a concert by the University of Central Missouri Choral Union
–29 April 2026 – A concert by the Nanjing University Traditional Instruments Orchestra
6. Video Series
The series ‘Visual Explorations: Glimpses of Modern Greek Art’, curated by art historian Dimitris Pavlopoulos, continues to grow. To date, twenty-one episodes have been released on the Pemptousia TV channel.
7. Publications
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Editions published in 2025 (Athens) the booklet Creating out of the Sea through Words: The Poet Tasos Germenis (ISBN 978-960-466-365-1). The volume was edited by Professor Tzina Kalogirou, with graphic design by Dr Evgenia Pagani, and includes a foreword by Professor Achilleas Chaldaeakes. This is the first publication to appear as part of ‘NKUA in the City’, specifically within the ‘Poetry: The Negative of Silence’ series. It brings together contributions by Maria Dimaki-Zora, Tzina Kalogirou, Vasso Oikonomopoulou and Vicky Patsiou, all members of the University’s academic staff, originally presented at the honorary event dedicated to Tasos Germenis on 13 December 2024.
The educational, cultural and artistic activities of ‘NKUA in the City’ continue to expand with a rich and varied programme of events.
Keep up to date by following the University’s official communication channels.
‘NKUA in the City’: Overview of Activities (PDF)
ACHILLEAS G CHALDAEAKES
Member of the Administration Council
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
