Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-06-18

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] 2nd int'l con'f on disability, mass media

[02] KKE leader lashes out at major parties, SYN

[03] Interactive exhibition in NYC on ancient Greece

[01] 2nd int'l con'f on disability, mass media

?Dealing responsibly with the problems that people with disabilities face is a matter concerning everybody, and as an objective defines the quality of democracy a country enjoys,? Roussopoulos stressed, adding:

?The mass media play a major role in public dialogue and in efforts for better information, greater awareness and positive action.?

He also stated that the moves agreed upon in last year�s conference have already been implemented, referring to specific steps aimed at raising public awareness on issues concerning people with disabilities, combating stereotypes and prejudices and improving accessibility.

Roussopoulos said the international conference has become an annual event and from now on it includes the International Documentary Festival on Disability in Athens, already underway since Saturday at the Benaki Museum.

In addition, a guidebook for journalists offering assistance with disability-related terminology has been published, whereas the www.ameamedia.gr website covers the conference proceedings, he said.

Greek officials added that the Secretariat General of Communication-Secretariat General of Information website will soon become accessible to the visually impaired.

Caption: ANA-MPA photo of Theodoros Roussopoulos.

[02] KKE leader lashes out at major parties, SYN

Speaking at a press conference to present KKE's main political platform in view of upcoming national elections, Papariga said "all together, independent of our different views on certain issues, must strike a uniform blow at ND and PASOK".

Under the present circumstances, "the realistic and hope-bringing step would be a tangible decline of the forces of a two-party alternation (in government) so that a government and main opposition that are weak in votes will arise, in conjunction with a strengthening of the main and most fundamental rival of the two parties and plutocracy, which is KKE", she said.

Regarding the Coalition of the Left (Synaspismos) party, Papariga said that its platform placed it close to one of the two mainstream parties, and thus it was neither a credible nor a frank opponent of the two-party system.

Regarding the out-of-Parliament Popular Orthodox Rally Party (LA.OS) party, Papariga said representatives of the interests of the two-party system relied on other political forces as well, in order to achieve their goals.

���-MPA photo of Papariga.

[03] Interactive exhibition in NYC on ancient Greece

The exhibition, organised in cooperation with the Greek culture ministry, five New York universities and state agencies and with the financial support of Greek and US institutions, is divided into four themes: the Greek Gods; growing up and education in ancient Greece; Homer's Odyssey; and Discover Greece.

Children are invited to climb inside a 12½ foot tall Trojan Horse before stepping into Homer's great epic poem, The Odyssey, where they will journey through rocky caves and over open seas, escape the crawl-through Cyclops Cave and sing like Sirens in the Sirens "Karaoke Cove". The young visitors will have to be prepared to face on-screen "dilemmas", as their choices will be tracked along the way and a personalised on-screen Hero Record can be emailed to them.

They can also learn how gods and mortals interacted and take an on-screen personality quiz to determine which mythological character they are most like.

The children can visit the gymnasium (school) and oikos (home), explore the importance of athletic competition, become familiar with the ancient Greek alphabet by translating messages from Greek to English, learn about the heroism of ancient Greek women in myth and daily life, and compete with the goddess Athena in a virtual weaving contest.

They can further visit the Temple of Zeus at Olympia and assist in the reconstruction of a 3-D temple, learn about column construction, sculptures, and the giant statue of Zeus (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), while they can explore actual samples of ancient Greek artifacts: painted pottery, coins, votives, drinking cups, loom weights, arrowheads and sling bullets.

A replica of ancient Greece's version of the computer, the Antikythera Mechanism, a complex interlocking-gear-driven artifact used by ancient navigators to calculate astronomical positions, is also on display. It was discovered in the Antikythera wreck off the Greek island of Antikythera, southeastern Greece, and has been dated to about 150-100 BC.

Caption: A photo shows part of the Antikythera Mechanism, found at the bottom of the sea near the isle of Antikythera 100 years ago, during its presentation by a special research team of Greek and foreign academic researchers in Athens on Tuesday 30 May 2006. ANA-MPA /EPA/CARDIFF UNIVERSITY

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