Ambassador Pyatt Announces US Campaign to Commemorate Greece’s Bicentennial

US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt. Photo source: US Embassy Athens

US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt recently announced the launch of a year-long campaign by the US Mission to commemorate the Bicentennial since the Greek War of Independence in 1821.

Under the title “USA & Greece: Celebrating 200 Years of Friendship”, the campaign will include educational and cultural events across Greece that will highlight the two countries’ historic relationship and common principles: democracy, partnership and shared values.

Ambassador Pyatt’s announcement followed the launch of the “Greece 2021” Committee’s campaign on January 1, to commemorate the landmark anniversary since the Greek Revolution of 1821.

“US-Greek relations are the best they’ve been in modern history.  Our friendship began during Greece’s war for independence and Greece’s 2021 bicentennial is an opportunity to celebrate this history and the values of liberty and democracy our peoples have defended for over 200 years,” Pyatt said during an interview on Greek national broadcaster ERT.

The U.S. Mission will fund several programs throughout 2021, partnering with Greek and American civil society, educational, and arts institutions.

The list of “USA & Greece: Celebrating 200 Years of Friendship” programs for 2021 include the following:

• Virtual Entrepreneurship Project “Connect the Dots”: a virtual entrepreneurship mentoring program conducted in partnership with The Hellenic Initiative (THI), that will provide online mentorship by U.S. business leaders to Greek entrepreneurs
• Athens Science Festival 2021 – 200 Years of Innovation: an experiential space will be created, comprising multiple exhibits that refer to the historical anniversary and the evolution of the Greek state
• Greek National Opera, Stavros Niarchos Hall: the Greek National Opera will present two special musical performances of works reflecting the shared values of the U.S. and Greece
• The “American Philhellenism” Exhibition at the Museum of Philhellenism in Athens:  a special exhibition featuring unique artifacts and historical documents capturing the birth and evolution of Philhellenism
• Exhibition “The Free and the Brave: American Philhellenes and the Glorious Struggle of the Greeks (1776-1866)”  at the Gennadius Library, American School of Classical Studies: This will be an exhibition exploring the movement of Philhellenism that flourished in the U.S. in the 19th century
• American Studies: scholarships towards the establishment of an American Studies curriculum at a Greek university
• “Greek Fire”: a seminar at the Delphi Economic Forum and online report on the lasting impact that the Greek Revolution has had on American culture and politics
• City of Sparta: Sparta will host a conference on American Philhellenes and conduct a range of programs throughout 2021 to commemorate the bicentennial
• U.S. Consulate General Thessaloniki: the creation of an exhibit that chronicles the history of the Consulate General and the U.S. presence in Thessaloniki.

Program dates and further details about specific programs will be provided on the U.S. Embassy website throughout the year at gr.usembassy.gov.