The Academy of Athens and Greece’s public broadcaster, Greece’s Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, as part of the celebrations marking the Academy’s centenary. The agreement aims to bring scientific thought and intellectual creativity closer to the public.
The Memorandum was signed in the Ceremonial Hall of the Academy of Athens by Nikiforos Diamandouros, President of the Academy, Antonios Rengakos, Secretary-General, and Giannis Papadopoulos, President of ERT.
This partnership highlights the institution’s historical journey and contemporary activities, connecting a century of intellectual contributions with the issues and challenges of today.
The agreement provides for the co-production of documentaries, short programs and informational messages, coverage of anniversary events, and the promotion of the Academy’s work through ERT’s television and radio programs, digital platforms and social media. The Academy will contribute by involving academics and researchers, providing scientific, historical and archival material and ensuring the scientific supervision of the content.
The President of the Academy of Athens, Nikiforos Diamandouros, emphasized that the centenary presents an opportunity to strengthen the institution’s engagement with society:
“For the Academy, the centenary is an opportunity not only to look back on a century of history, but also to open its doors even wider and bring its work closer to the general public.”
Describing the shared objective of the two institutions, he expressed the hope that this collaboration would “open up new avenues for knowledge, science and culture to play an even more significant role in public life.”
The Secretary-General of the Academy of Athens, Antonios Rengakos, highlighted the connection between the institution’s prestige and its responsibility towards the present and the future:
“An institution with such an important history must earn its prestige every day through the quality of its research, its independence of judgement and its involvement in the major issues of our time.”
Looking ahead to the Academy’s second century, he identified support for original research and young scientists, interdisciplinary cooperation, and the use of digital tools to facilitate access to its archives and collections as key priorities. As he noted:
“The measure of this responsibility lies in what future generations will be able to create thanks to our work.”
ERT President Giannis Papadopoulos stated that “ERT could not be absent from the celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the Academy of Athens”, emphasizing the role of public broadcasting in showcasing the Academy’s activities and its contribution to the country’s history. As he remarked, “ERT takes on the responsibility of bringing this important heritage to the wider public.”
Meanwhile, Pavlos Marinakis, Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson, who attended the ceremony, welcomed the collaboration between the Academy of Athens and ERT. He emphasized that the production of vidcasts and podcasts, to be made available on the public broadcaster’s platforms, would give everyone, particularly younger generations, the opportunity to learn about the country’s history and achievements.
In conclusion, he added:
“I therefore welcome this initiative and am also very proud, on behalf of the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, that we too are part of this historic moment.”
The flagship project of the collaboration is the series “100 Years of the Academy of Athens: Reflections on the Present and the Future”, featuring 36 original stories by Academy members. Since October 14, the series has been available as a vidcast on ERTFLIX and as a podcast series on ERTεcho.
In their interviews with ERT journalist Antonis Tzavaras, the academics discuss their scientific and creative journeys and address issues that directly concern today’s citizens: from the role of Ancient Greek in education to the ethical boundaries of medicine, from understanding the universe to the challenges of the climate crisis.
Through these personal accounts, audiences discover the people behind the research, the ideas and the work that can enrich public debate.
The following members of the Academy of Athens take part in the series “100 Years of the Academy of Athens: Reflections on the Present and the Future”:Nikiforos Diamandouros, Antonios Rengakos, Stamatios Krimigis, Antonia Trichopoulou, Michael Cosmopoulos, Prokopios Pavlopoulos, Andreas Tzakis, Ioli Kalavrezou, Christos S. Zerefos, Ares J. Rozakis, George Kollias, Alecos Levidis, Manolis I. Korres, Doros Theodorou, Christophoros Charalambakis, Christos Papadimitriou, Michael Stathopoulos, Athanasios Fokas, Efstathios- Fotis (Stathis) Livathinos, Dimitrios Skarvelis, Paschalis Kitromilides, Constantinos Vayenas, Apostolos S. Georgiadis, Alexander Nehamas, Theodoros Papanghelis, Pavlos Sourlas, Dimitris Thanos, Kostas Buraselis, Charalambos Roussos, Emmanouil Floratos, Konstantinos Synolakis, Giorgos Chrousos, Vasilis Rapanos, Michael Tiverios, Andreas Karamanos e Panayotis N. Soucacos.
As the Academy of Athens celebrates its centenary and ERT marks 60 years of television broadcasting, the two institutions are joining forces to bring knowledge and intellectual creativity to a wider audience, both in Greece and across the Greek diaspora.
Source: ert.gr, academyofathens.gr
