Dr Georgia Aristodemou participated on behalf of the School of Humanities of the International Hellenic University at the Research seminar: Ethnic Culture of the Azov Greeks: the experience and the prospects of research, which took place at 13th September 2011 at the Mariupol State University

The event was organised by the Mariupol State University along with the History Faculty and the Greek Philology Faculty, in collaboration with the Federation of Greek Communities of Ukraine. The Project Coordinator was the Dean of the History Faculty, Professor Ponomaryova Iryna - Doctor of History.

Dr G. Aristodemou presented her paper with the title: The Azov Sea in Antiquity. The Presence of the Greeks.

Apart from presenting her scientific approach on the subject, Dr G. Aristodemou, also had the opportunity to promote the International Hellenic University, especially the School of Humanities and the MA in Black Sea Cultural Studies to the students and the academic faculty of the Departments of History and Philology of the Mariupol State University. She also presented the School of Humanities to the chairpersons of the two Federations of Greek Communities, located at Mariupol, Mrs. Aleksandra Procenko-Picadzi and Mrs Nadia Tsapni.

Mariupol was founded when in 1778 almost 18.000 Greeks were forced to leave the Crimea Khanate and, guided by Archibishop Ignatiy, settled down on the coast of the Azov Sea. Today, the Greeks have the third largest population in the ethnic structure of Donetsk District (1,6 % of the population, ca. 78.000 people), living in 48 villages of the Azov Region of Ukraine. In spite of the different ethnic environment, the Greek population has preserved its ethnic self-consciousness, traditional culture and language. The Azov Greeks are divided in two groups of a different language: the Hellenic Greeks (the Rumeis) and the Turkic Greeks (the Urums). Both Rumeis and Urums, have a common religion, Orthodoxy, which is one of the basic criteria for their self-identification.

The above mentioned Round Table focussed on the cultural existence of the Azov Greeks through time, and searched for ways to preserve the culture and the language of this distant but vibrant Greek community. One of the main efforts is the creation of an international Research laboratory for the Azov Greek culture, open to scientists and institutions worldwide.

You can see the photo gallery here.