A Monday in the European Parliament
In the packed hall of the European Parliament Office in Athens, this year’s “FrontPage” events ended on Monday, May 26, 2025.
The actions were co-signed by the European Institute of Communication and the European Parliament Office in Greece, with the collaboration of the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, AxionArt and the Institute of Mediterranean Culture (IMC).
At exactly 17:00, the guests wondered why the speakers in the Ceremony Hall of the “House of the European Parliament in Greece”, of exceptional aesthetics, were “playing” “The Steamer from Persia”.
The smiles were followed by the clarification of the Anchor of the evening bulletin of One Channel, Iliana Koularmani, who, from a microphone, “connected” the “Steamer” by Tsitsanis, with Journalism, i.e. Art with Communication, as well as the issues connected by the “FrontPage” initiative.
The lyrics chosen by the late creator were nothing more than the metaphor of the Headlines of the time.
Ms. Koularmani passed the floor to the head of the European Institute of Communication Mr. Mario Notta that prefaced the event.
Welcomed:
On behalf of the European Parliament Office in Greece, the head of the European Parliament’s Office in Greece, Mr. Konstantinos Tsoutsoplidis.
On behalf of the Union of European Journalists, the President Ms Saya Tsaousidou and the Secretary General Mr. Panagiotis Sfaelos.
On behalf of EDIPT (Association of Journalists and Owners of Periodical Press), the President Mrs. Penny Kalyva and the Secretary General Mr. Georgios-Konstantinos Spyrou.
As part of the events, the ECI and the Municipality of the Heroic City of Naoussa co-signed a Memorandum of Cooperation.
In collaboration with the European Parliament Office in Greece, the EDIPT (Association of Journalists and Magazine Press Owners) and the Organizers of FrontPage, presented their upcoming actions regarding the launch of a Postgraduate Program for Balkan Communicators based in Naoussa, as well as in scientific meetings / Conference, in November 2026. At the same time, a Balkan version of the project is being examined. FrontPage‘ for May 2026, in Thessaloniki.
The information was made online by the Mayor of the Heroic City of Naoussa Mr. Nikos Koutsoyiannis, while the Municipality was represented in the hall by the Deputy Mayor for Education, Youth and Sports Mr. Stelios Dagas and the journalist Mr. Chrysovalanti Liolios, publisher and special associate of the Mayor of Naoussa, graduate of the European Institute of Communication.
Two groups of students from Greek universities (Panteion, Law, Agriculture, Medicine, Economics), coordinated by the ECI expert Mr. Manolis Polychronidis, with rules that were fully respected and with the attendees “evaluating” the opinions electronically, they faced each other in a debate that “put opposite”:
“Freedom of the Press vs Quality Information-Control of Fake News”
(The topic is linked to the 2026 Conference on the “Security vs Freedom” Dipole).
The beginning was made by two “pushers”, setting the tone for the students and having diametrically opposed views. The solid knowledge of the subject was the distinguished leader for seven years DPO / Data Protection Officer of the Ministry of Digital Governance, Dr. Athanasios Kosmopoulos advocating for the Control of Disinformation and the also distinguished journalist and advocate of the unhindered Eleftherotypia, member of Reporters United, Mr. Thodoris Chondrogiannos.
Then, the baton passed to the Speech and Anti-Speech groups, which consisted of the students:
- Themistocles Sarhousoudis, first-year Law Student of the University of Athens
- Haris Tsiabazis, student at the Department of Political Science and History of Panteion University
- Eleni Christia, student of the Department of Public Administration of Panteion University
- Irene Gritzali, first-year student at the Medical School of the University of Athens
- Maggy Sarpaki, a graduate student at the Law School of the University of Athens, and
- Filyra Souli, a graduate student at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Development of the Agricultural University of Athens.
At the start of the Controversy, the attendees participated in an electronic opinion that was repeated at the completion, tracing the changes in attitude.
Ο κ. Polychronidis at the end of the Debate referred to the value of Structured Controversy and its usefulness in educating young citizens, as well as its value for an increased and better parliamentary process and ultimately Democracy.
Various creative events accompanied the Antilogy:
“Karagiozis and the Fake News”, signed by Konstantinos Koutsoumplis, gave the attendees a joyful, as well as mocking welcome, while the performance of prof. hon. Paris Katsivelou, in an authentic, with his signature, theatrical one-act play for the First Page, captivated the audience and constituted another aid for the opposers.
The event ended with a reception, where the attendees, raising a glass of wine, congratulated both the students who gave their best, and the organizers who managed to keep the interest unwavering for more than three and a half hours.
It was a hybrid, useful and pleasant event, which left excellent impressions. The organizers committed to keep the ad hoc crowd informed about the future actions that are part of the Project Citizen Literacy for which the European Institute of Communication and the European Parliament Office in Greece have been collaborating since 2018.
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Ελληνικά (Greek)