The inaugural lecture organised the Belgian Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures

Tatiana Poulou of the Greek Ministry of Culture is giving a lecture in Brussels on Sunday, January 21, 2018 at 14:30. The talk is on Giovanni Battista Lusieri who was Lord Elgin’s agent in Athens. Although Lusieri was charged with documenting Elgin’s actions, most of his works from that period were destroyed in a ship wreck off the coast of Crete (not the Mentor – Elgin’s ship, but the Cambria, some years later).

I’ve heard Tatiana speak previously in Athens and would recommend this talk to anyone interested in the Parthenon Marbles or Greek History from this period.

For further information view the Invitation to talk in Brussels.

From:
Belgian Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures

The Belgian Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures cordially invites you to its inaugural lecture
on Sunday, January 21, 2018, at 2.30 p.m. Cinquantenaire Museum, Parc du Cinquantenaire 10, 1000 – Brussels

Tatiana POULOU
Archaeologist, Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports – Ephorate of Antiquities of Athens
Giovanni Battista Lusieri, Lord Elgin’s Unknown Agent His excavations in Athens and involvement in the removal of the Parthenon Marbles
(Lecture in English)
Welcome by François Roelants du Vivier, Senator Emeritus – President of the BCRPS
Visit our Facebook Page: @parthenonsculpturesreunitedbelgium

A View of the Bay of Naples, Looking Southwest from the Pizzofalcone Toward Capo di Posilippo

Parthenon Marbles round table discussion to form part of cultural tourism conference

The TourismA 2017 conference is taking place in Florence at present. As part of Sunday morning’s programme, there is a round table discussion on the Parthenon Sculptures, the campaigns for their return, how individuals can get involved and the practicalities of resolving the issue.

I will be attending as one of the panelists.

If you are in the area, please drop in to join the discussion.

To find out more about the event, please visit the official site for the exhibition.

TourismA exhibition, Florence

A moot court is being held at Monash University in Melbourne to discuss the issue

A moot court (AKA mock trial) is being held at Monash University in Melbourne. The title is: Greece v UK: The Parthenon Marbles Case. The event is jointly organised by the Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association (HAL) and Monash Law School.

Please the link here to reserve tickets if you are planing on attending.

Greece V UK – The Parthenon Marbles Case moot court flyer

From:
Trybooking

HAL (VIC) – Greece v UK: Parthenon Marbles Case
19 Oct 2016

Description

Greece v UK: The Parthenon Marbles Case – moot court and panel discussion

This year marks 200 years since the British Government controversially purchased the Parthenon Marbles from Lord Elgin and displayed them in the British Museum. The longstanding legal and diplomatic dispute about who owns them – Greece or the UK – continues to this day.
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Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles: breaking the deadlock?

Dr Tom Flynn of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles is giving a talk at the University of Geneva on 15th September. The talk is titled: The reunification of the Parthenon marbles and the role of cultural diplomacy in breaking the deadlock – Will we have to wait another 200 years?.

Find out more at the Facebook page for the event here.

Flyer for talk at University of Geneva by Tom Flynn

From:
Event Facebook page (google translated)

Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles: breaking the deadlock?
15 September at 19:00–21:00
Université de Genève – Uni Bastions

As part of the British Parliament’s vote bicentennial deciding to entrust the Parthenon Marbles in the British Museum, the Swiss Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles is pleased to invite you to the conference at the Law Centre of the art of the University of Geneva and the European Centre culture:

“The reunification of the Parthenon marbles and the role of cultural diplomacy in breaking the deadlock – Will we have to wait another 200 years?”
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Australian Aboriginal activist, Dr Gary Edward Foley gave a talk about the restitution of the Parthenon Marbles yesterday, comparing the restitution of Aboriginal cultural artefacts to the ongoing campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles.

Parthenon Marbles in British Museum

From:
Greek Reporter

Aboriginal Activist to Give Lecture on Parthenon Marbles’ Return
by Ioanna Zikakou
Mar 4, 2015

Starting this Thursday, the 2015 Greek History and Culture Seminar series, organized by the Greek Community of Melbourne for the fifth consecutive year, will take place in the community’s new building. The seminars’ inaugural lecture is on March 5 with Aboriginal activist Dr Gary Edward Foley and Greek-Australian University of Melbourne professor Nikos Papastergiadis.

During his speech, Foley will focus on the recovery of cultural heritage and the return of Aboriginal antiquities, alongside the Parthenon Marbles case. This will be the first time that an Aboriginal will present his speech before the Greek Community of Melbourne.
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Susan Woodford is giving a gallery talk on the Parthenon Sculptures. It will take place in the Duveen Gallery at the British Museum on Friday 12th December (tomorrow).

From:
British Museum

Gallery talk
The sculptures of the Parthenon

Friday 12 December,
13.15–14.00
Room 18
Free, just drop in

A gallery talk by Susan Woodford, independent speaker.

Gallery talks last 45 minutes.

They are given by Museum staff or guest speakers and are suitable for all levels of knowledge.

A lecture by Alan Read at the Dulwich Picture Gallery (with a somewhat controversial choice of title) looks at how the significance of the Parthenon Marbles has changed over time.

From:
Dulwich Picture Gallery

The Elgin Marbles: looted or rescued?

The Parthenon sculptures have been the subject of controversy since their creation 2,500 years ago. How did a Scottish aristocrat acquire the very best of them, and how did the British Museum buy them in 1816? This lecture celebrates their magnificence, and examines how their significance has changed, from decorations on an ancient temple to disputed cultural objects in the present day. Lecturer: Alan Read

Date: 18 November 2014, 7pm
Price: £12 / £10 Friends (includes a glass of wine)

A followup to the earlier post about Dusan Sidjanski’s talk on the Parthenon Marbles.

Dusan Sidjanski of the Swiss Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures

From:
Greek Reporter

Swiss Committee on the Return of the Parthenon Marbles
Apr 19, 2014

The president of the Swiss Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles, Professor Dusan Sidjanski, during the event titled “Europe and the Parthenon Marbles: a common cause,” stressed the need for return of the marbles to Greece.

In his speech, Dr. Sidjianski referred to the Swiss Committee’s concern for the legal claim of the return of the Parthenon Marbles, stressing that this is considered a European issue which needs to be resolved through dialogue between the European institutions as well as through informing the public and especially Britain.
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I meant to post about this ages ago – but the arrival of our first child has rather disrupted my daily routine.

Anyway – in Sydney at the moment (their final day is about to start around now), is a round table event to discuss the Parthenon Marbles issue, organised by three different pro-restitution organisations from the USA, Australia & UK.

Further details of the programme for the event can be found here.

From:
Archaeologia

International Colloquy about the Parthenon marbles opens on Friday
Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Only few days are left before the opening of the International Colloquy: “Parthenon. An Icon of Global Citizenship”. The event will be opened on Friday the 15th of November 2013 by the Premier of NSW, The Hon Barry O’Farrell MP. The opening function will take place inside the Nicholson Museum at the University of Sydney.

“Colloquy” is the latin word for “speaking together” and the organisers of this event are trying to extend this conversation out of the limiting boundaries of a lecture hall. Using popular Social Media platforms like Facebook and Twitter they will try to include a larger number of participants on the four key workshop topics: Education, Litigation, Activism and Economy. Participants will be able to follow the online conversation and discuss/comment in real time.
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Admission to the Acropolis Museum will be free on 28th October. This is to celebrate Ochi day (Οχι looks strange written in English), when Greece refused the Axis powers entry into the country. There will also be a special presentation taking place on the day, called “The Other Gods of the Acropolis”.

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition)

Tuesday October 22, 2013
Acropolis Museum offers free admission on October 28 national holiday

Admission to Greece’s landmark Acropolis Museum will be free of charge on Monday, October 28, in celebration of “Ochi Day,” a national holiday commemorating the country’s refusal to allow the Axis powers’ entry into the country on October 28, 1940.

The museum will also be offering 10 separate presentations for adults titled “The Other Gods of the Acropolis,” with one in English at 1 p.m. and another in French at 5 p.m., as well as eight workshops for children on “Myths in Images” aimed at 8-12 year olds.

Parties interested in attending the special events must book a spot in advance on tel 210.900.0900.

Opening hours on October 28 will be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In addition to the articles I posted earlier, Marbles Reunited has written a report on the event held in Brussels earlier this week, and Tom Flynn has also posted a transcript of his talk.

The report that follows is based on my notes taken during the event. I have not tried to capture everything, just the key points. I am hoping that my comments do not misrepresent what the speakers were saying – some it was from the live translation there, and some of it was from the responses to questions afterwards, rather than from the original speeches.

After introductions by Krister Kumlin & a brief video, Tom Flynn was the first speaker, and pointed out, that when considering the acquisition of obviously looted artefacts “Most museums now know better”. The thing is of course, how to get museums to act retrospectively – to apply the rules that they would use now to actions that they made well before their current rules and guidelines came into force.

He also added, that “Nowadays, the social network acts as a critical filter to the acquisition of disputed artefacts”. This is a good point, as museums nowadays have a far greater interaction with the public than perhaps ever before. People’s opinions mean more to them than they ever used to, and as a result, it is important to let museums know if what you think they are doing is morally unacceptable.

German MEP Jo Leinen had a simple message – drawing on the words of another German politician, he quoted Willie Brandt “we have to unite what belongs together”.

The Spanish MEP, Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez took a slightly different viewpoint from some of the other speakers, looking at this action by Britain, in the context of other actions that occur within Europe. He felt that it was particularly important that the countries of northern Europe, in some way recognise that although they might be economically the powerhouses of Europe today, they still owe so much culturally to the Mediterranean countries in the South of Europe. He stressed a message that Campaigns such as Marbles Reunited have also long emphasised, that “It is not about sending the Parthenon Marbles back to Athens, but about reuniting them”.
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There have been a few press articles about the Round Table event organised in Brussels last week, where various speakers explained why they supported the return of the Parthenon Sculptures.

From:
Daily Telegraph

Join in ‘mediation’ with Greece over Elgin Marbles, Unesco urges Britain
The long running dispute over the Elgin Marbles should be settled by mediation, Britain is told
By Martin Banks, Brussels
6:56PM BST 15 Oct 2013

William Hague has been urged to take part in a “mediation procedure” with Greece in a fresh diplomatic bid to resolve the long-running dispute over the Elgin Marbles.

Unesco, the United Nation’s cultural organisation, has written to the Foreign Secretary, to Maria Miller, the culture secretary, and to Neil MacGregor, the British Museum’s director, inviting them to sit down with Greek officials and seek a mutually acceptable solution to the issue of the sculptures – once part of the ancient Parthenon building in Athens.
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