On June 29, 2023, the 2nd Annual Meeting of PAIA was held at the l’Institut français de Grèce in Athens. The conference was chaired by prof. Kazimierz Lewartowski, Chairman of the PAIA Scientific Council, who welcomed the guests and then gave the floor to the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Athens, Mr. Artur Lompart. In his speech the Ambassador emphasized the importance of establishing the Institute and showed the scope of its cooperation with the Embassy. Then the Vice-Rector of the Jagiellonian University, prof. Armen Edigarian spoke about the role of his university in establishing PAIA, and expressed his conviction about the extraordinary role of the Institute in promoting Polish science and culture in Greece. Afterwards the Director of PAIA, prof. Janusz Czebreszuk, presented the report on the activities of the Institute in the years 2019-2022. He also emphasized the importance of cooperation between PAIA and the École Française d’Athènes and its director, prof. Veronique Chankowski. Director’s report was followed by a lecture on the first field project conducted under the auspices of PAIA, entitled “Anthemous Valley Archaeological Project: On the Final Stretch”, presented by Prof. Jakub Niebieszczański, and co-authored also by Prof. Janusz Czebreszuk, Dr. Maria Pappa, Prof. Stelios Andreou, Prof. Konstantinos Vouvalidis, Prof. Panagiotis Tsourlos, and Prof. Georgios Syrides. Among the guests of the conference, apart from the speakers mentioned above, there were Prof. Veronique Chankowski, Dr. Panagotis Moudzouridis from the Greek Ministry of Culture, Prof. Jenny Wallensten, Director of the Swedish Institute at Athens, Prof. Andrzej Chankowski, Dr. Tobias Krapf from the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece, Dr. Giorgos Doulfis, Prof. Stanisław Sroka, Dean of the Faculty of History of the Jagiellonian University, Prof. Jan Święch, former Dean of the same faculty, and Prof. Konstantinos Vouvalidis from the Aristotle University at Thessaloniki. The conference ended with refreshments for the guests and a very lively discussion.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to Nicolas Eybalin, Director of l’Institut français de Grèce in Athens, for the opportunity to organize the conference at the IFG headquarters.
photo: Jakub Niebieszczański, Marek Władyka