The historical events for Nikos Kazantzakis in New York, USA, organized by the International Society of Friends of Nikos Kazantzakis and in which the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum participated as co-organizer, were a great success. The events were held under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the General Secretary of Expatriate Hellenism and Public Diplomacy and with the financial support of the Region of Crete, the Manolis E. Velivasakis family (Cultural Crete-USA) and Mr. George Stasinakis. Thus, a great wish of the author himself was fulfilled, which was none other than to travel and get to know the New World. This trip and the establishment of an Institute of Modern Greek Culture that he planned with Pantelis Prevelakis never materialized. However, his works translated into English and their transformations into other art forms were loved by American audiences.
The events took place between 21-25 October 2024 under the general title: "Crete and Nikos Kazantzakis meet New York and the New World". The Region of Crete was represented by the Vice-Regional Head of Culture, Mrs. Georgia Milaki, who is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum. The Museum was officially represented by the President of the Board of Directors of the Museum, Prof. Michael Taroudakis and by the Director Mrs. Marilena Milathianaki and actively participated in all the individual activities. The International Society of Friends of Nikos Kazantzakis was also represented by its President, Mrs. Katerina Zographistou, while Mrs. Niki Stavrou, the copyright holder of the work of Nikos Kazantzakis, also participated in the mission.
The journey began with visits to the expatriate schools of St Demetrios in Astoria, St Nicholas in Flushing and St Constantine and Helen in Brooklyn, where, in an atmosphere of emotion, the new Educational Kit for Nikos Kazantzakis, designed by the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum with funding from the Region of Crete, was presented for the first time to the educational community. The Museum Kit travelled to the USA especially for these visits and will remain there to be made available to Greek-speaking schools in the Americas.
The trip continued with a literary symposium "Nikos Kazantzakis: The Cretan Universal Writer and Traveler" which took place at Queens College, New York. The event featured a screening of the Museum's recent short documentary "I am free" and a series of talks by distinguished scholars of Nikos Kazantzakis' work, highlighting the universal character of the great writer. In the context of the evening, the President of the Museum's Board of Directors, Prof. Michael Taroudakis, discussed the topic "Nikos Kazantzakis and cultural diplomacy".
Important from a symbolic point of view was the event in the main building of the United Nations, in the presence of invited diplomats, entitled "Nikos Kazantzakis: A World Traveller", which included speeches by Andreas Manatos, Professor Peter Bean, Elena Avramidou and Nikos Alexiou, while greetings were given by Mrs. Georgia Milaki, the President of the Board of Directors of the Museum, Prof. Michael Taroudakis and Mrs. Niki Stavrou.
The Museum's "journey" to the USA was concluded with the presentation of its Mobile Exhibition entitled "Nikos Kazantzakis: his life and work" curated by Dimitris Kalokyris and adapted and translated into English especially for this purpose. The Mobile Exhibition was developed in a room of the Consulate General of Greece in New York and exemplified the exhibition of documents from the life and work of Nikos Kazantzakis presented by Mrs. Niki Stavrou. The Consul General of Greece in New York, Mrs. Iphigenia Kanara, welcoming the delegations, referred to the importance of disseminating the work of Nikos Kazantzakis to young people. The exhibition was honored by the presence of numerous expatriates who expressed their warm words about Nikos Kazantzakis and his Museum.
The Nikos Kazantzakis Museum, with its participation in these activities and its cooperation with the Region of Crete, the International Society of Friends of Nikos Kazantzakis and all the co-organizers, led by Manos Velivasakis, Head of America of the ISFNK, contributed to the promotion of the life and work of the author and the universal and timeless character of Kazantzakis' thought. The events as a whole proved once again that Nikos Kazantzakis is an international, bright and living representative of Modern Greek culture and his work is a universal symbol of peace and freedom. Finally, through the dynamic presence of the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum in all the activities, its multifaceted activity as a modern cultural and educational institution with an international reputation was highlighted.
