A covenant of collaboration betweeen the Ministry of Edudcation and Religious Affairs and the National Theatre of Northern Greece was signed by the commanding under-secretary of Education and Religious Affairs, Konstantinos P. Gioulekas, along with the Vice Chairman of the NTNG, Meni Lyssaridou, and the artistic director of the NTNG, Yannis Vouros.
In the press conference that was given on Saturday, April 12 2014 at the Royal (Vassiliko) Theatre, the under-secretary of Education and Religious Affairs mentioned that the aim of the collaboration is “ another opening of the education to the cultural domain, and a first-time opportunity of an absolutely free specialty training in theatrical domain expertises, for those who are interested. In today’s Greece, a country harrowed by the financial crisis, we can render learning, knowledge, culture and new work positions, based on national and European Union resources. We can meet this other Greece – the one of culture, which constitutes the most important assets of the country.
Meni Lyssaridou (NTNG Vice Chairman), Konstantinos P. Gioulekas (under-secretary of Education and Religious Affairs) and Giannis Vouros (Artistic Director of the NTNG)
The Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs signed an additional contract with the NTNG regarding the concession of selected archival material to the body of the General Secretariat for Lifelong Learning, exclusively for educational purposes. The archive comprises of 862 theatrical productions and 81,200 associated digital archives that will be exploited through the educational radio-television.
“ The agreements signal the inclusion of the theatrical art in the structure of Lifelong Learning, the officially validate the educational and formative role of the NTNG in contemporary education, and reveal another dimension that relates to the technical knowledge, the human resources and its valuable archive,” underlined Ms. Lyssaridou.
The artistic director of the NTNG, Yannis Vouros, described the collaboration as a “ lesson of positive cooperation”, by underlining the social and educational role of theatre, the capacities provided for the training of the technical personnel, but also the invention of new working positions, as the teaching staff will come from the orders of set designers, costume designers, prop-men, et.al., that are already at the services of the theatre.
The covenant of collaboration between the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs and the National Theatre of Northern Greece, which is equivalent to the one signed by the Ministry of Education with the National Theatre, involves theatre studies for the expertise of technical personnel, which will be accessible to the students of Public Institutes of Vocational Training (DIEK) and Schools of Professional Training (SEK) from the next academic year.
The new expertise fields provided are the following:
- Assistant Set & Costume Designer (DIEK-Public Institute of Vocational Training)
- Theatre Mechanist – Prop-man (DIEK-Public Institute of Vocational Training)
- Theatrical Makeup & Hairstylist Technician (DIEK-Public Institute of Vocational Training)
- Theatrical Costume Manufacturer (specialization in cutting-sewing) (SEK-Schools of Professional Training)
- The theme unit “Theatre Education” will be incorporated in the Lifelong (continuing) Education Centres of the Country, as well as in the Second Chance Schools.
In addition to these, there was an announcement of a reduced ticket price (set up at the amount of €8) for the trainees of all Public Institutes of Vocational Training (DIEK), Schools of Professional Training (SEK), Second Chance Schools (SDE), and centres of the General Secretariat for Lifelong (continuing) Education, for the theatre productions of the NTNG across the country.
Meni Lyssaridou (NTNG Vice Chairman), Konstantinos P. Gioulekas (under-secretary of Education and Religious Affairs) and Giannis Vouros (Artistic Director of the NTNG) |