Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 00-11-18

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] AGNES VARDA PRESS CONFERENCE WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE 41ST FILM

[02] NIOTIS: THE GOAL IS TO INCLUDE IN THE SAE NETWORKS AN ADDITIONAL 50.000

[03] VUKOVIC: THESSALONIKI IS THE CENTER OF BALKAN FILM PRODUCTION

[04] SAE: SATISFACTION OVER THE OUTCOME OF THE MEETINGS

[05] THE VISIT OF THE GREEK ORIGIN JOURNALISTS TO GREECE WILL BE COMPLETED

[06] BALKAN STATE THEATER ASSOCIATION AND A THEATER FESTIVAL IN THESSALONIKI

[07] THE DIRECTORS OF THE 60 LARGEST BALKAN MASS MEDIA WILL ATTEND THE MPA

[08] ORPHAN CHILDREN FROM FORMER YUGOSLAVIA WILL BE HOSTED IN GREECE

[09] OVER 3.780 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HAVE BEEN ARRESTED IN THE LAST 10 MONTHS

[10] CONFERENCE IN MADRID ON "GREECE-SPAIN: THE BORDERS OF EUROPE"

[01] AGNES VARDA PRESS CONFERENCE WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE 41ST FILM FESTIVAL IN THESSALONIKI

Agnes Varda in a press conference she gave in Thessaloniki yesterday within the framework of the 41st Film Festival held in the city, characterized the film documentary as "a return to the school of simplicity and modesty".

The well-known French film director, who is honored in this year's Film Festival in Thessaloniki with the screening of four of her films in the New Horizons program was presented by festival director Michalis Dimopoulos and New Horizons director Dimitris Eipidis.

In her interview she said that it is a paradox for someone to be invited in a festival, eat in the best restaurants, stay at the best hotels and at the same time, present a film on the poor people who live with what other people throw away.

Ms Varda spoke with great sensitivity about the ragmen saying that the rest of us do not see those people, we pass right by them and we do not see them, adding that she believes that they are bright people who are not ashamed of who they are.

In her documentary "Don't throw away anything", she tried to hear what those people have to say, while at the same time she included a lot of personal elements in it, stressing that "every documentary is subjective".

[02] NIOTIS: THE GOAL IS TO INCLUDE IN THE SAE NETWORKS AN ADDITIONAL 50.000 GREEKS

The first meeting of the secondary World Council for Hellenes Abroad, SAE, networks that were elected in the 3rd World Assembly in Thessaloniki last December together with SAE's presiding board, was characterized as important for the future activities of SAE in statements made to MPA yesterday by foreign affairs undersecretary Grigoris Niotis. According to Mr. Niotis, the proposals tabled by them for further action in 2001 were going to be discussed today, while he also added that he expects them to be structured on a realistic basis.

Mr. Niotis stated that the coordinating committees must operate following the model of the SAE presiding board and the goal is to include in the secondary networks an additional 50.000 Greeks who live abroad. He also said that another issue under discussion is the immediate promotion of the volunteers' program in view of the 2004 Olympic Games.

[03] VUKOVIC: THESSALONIKI IS THE CENTER OF BALKAN FILM PRODUCTION

Thessaloniki and the Film Festival held in the city are the center where the Balkan film production crystallizes, said Belgrade's Film Institute director Miroljab Vukovic in a press conference held in Thessaloniki today within the framework of the 41st Film Festival.

Mr. Vukovic also referred to the second meeting of the Cinema Institutes in south eastern Europe which aimed at the establishment of a network having as a goal film productions, co-productions, the development of scenarios and the strengthening of the presence of the Balkan cinema in Europe and the rest of the world.

[04] SAE: SATISFACTION OVER THE OUTCOME OF THE MEETINGS

The International Economic Relations National Council will begin its operation in the first four months of 2001 and in its plenary session will also participate five representatives of the World Council for the Hellenes Abroad, SAE, according to statements made by undersecretary of national economy Yiannis Zafiropoulos in a press conference held in Thessaloniki today. The press conference was given on the occasion of the completion of the five-day meetings of the SAE presiding board, the coordinating bodies and networks that took place in Thessaloniki.

Mr. Zafiropoulos also stated that the International Economic Relations National Council will be a new kind of cooperation between the International Economic Relations general secretariat and SAE which will strengthen the Greek business activities in the wider Balkan region and south eastern Europe.

At the same time, said Mr. Zafiropoulos, the organizing of the world conference of Greeks living abroad in cooperation with the foreign ministry and the ministry of national economy, the listing of the Greek businessmen all over the world and the appointment of economic and trade affairs advisers in the regions where the Greeks are active, will further strengthen the ties between the Greeks living abroad with Greece.

Undersecretary of foreign affairs Grigoris Niotis referred to the efforts made to organize the international networks of the Greek communities abroad at a local, national and regional level in Europe, Australia, America and Asia where SAE is active, while he expressed satisfaction for the cooperation of the delegates participating in the conference. He also referred to the proposal of the youth, women and culture networks for self-funding in order to maintain their autonomy and avoid being burden on the state budget.

[05] THE VISIT OF THE GREEK ORIGIN JOURNALISTS TO GREECE WILL BE COMPLETED TODAY

The journalists of Greek origin, representing foreign mass media, will complete their visit to Greece today.

Thirty three journalists from Europe, the United States, Latin America and Australia took part in the 4th meeting of journalists of Greek origin that was organized by the press ministry in Athens on November 12-19.

The meetings, that were held for the first time in 1997, are now an established institution and their goal is to brief on a number of issues those attending them as well as, Greece's promotion through the foreign mass media. Yesterday, the journalists of Greek origin met with president Kostis Stephanopoulos.

[06] BALKAN STATE THEATER ASSOCIATION AND A THEATER FESTIVAL IN THESSALONIKI

A protocol of cooperation which seals the decision for the establishment of the Balkan State Theaters Association was scheduled to be signed in Thessaloniki today by the artistic directors of the state theaters of Thessaloniki, Tirana, Sofia, Zagreb, Skopje, Bucharest, Ljubljana and Istanbul. The goal of the association will be to promote exchange programs and co-productions.

State Theater of Northern Greece artistic director Diagoras Chronopoulos, pointed out that with the signing of the protocol the vision of the Balkan State Theaters Association will materialize and suggested that a Theater Festival should be held in Thessaloniki in the fall of 2001.

Meanwhile, Turkish state theaters deputy general director Tamer Levent, responsible for artistic issues, stated to MPA that he brought proposals for a joint Greek-Turkish theater performance on a boat in the middle of the Aegean and a cooperation with the State Theater of Northern Greece for the exchange of performances and actors and theater co-productions.

[07] THE DIRECTORS OF THE 60 LARGEST BALKAN MASS MEDIA WILL ATTEND THE MPA CONFERENCE IN THESSALONIKI

The directors and editors-in-chief of the 60 largest Balkan mass media as well as, leading computer scientists, specializing in the latest developments in new technologies and the Internet, will attend the 6th Inter-Balkan Journalist Conference on "The New Technologies in the mass media for the development of inter-Balkan cooperation" which is organized by MPA and will take place in Thessaloniki on November 24-25.

The conference will be attended by representatives of leading mass media in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Moldavia, FYROM, Romania and Turkey. Also, among the main speakers in the conference will be 12 directors and editors-in-chief representing leading newspapers and radio-television stations in Greece.

The conference will open with the speeches of Organization for the Reconstruction of the Balkans general secretary Andrea Zobel, Boston MIT University Media Lab Computer Science director Michalis Bletsas, who will refer to the latest developments in the Internet and Aristotle University Computer Science professor Yiannis Pitas, who will present a program on the protection of copyright on the Internet.

[08] ORPHAN CHILDREN FROM FORMER YUGOSLAVIA WILL BE HOSTED IN GREECE

Children from former Yugoslavia will be hosted in Greece during the Christmas Holidays. The program is organized by the Yugoslav Red Cross in cooperation with the Serb division, while the Greek Red Cross has the exclusive responsibility to organize the program in Greece.

It is estimated that the children will arrive on December 21 and they will depart for their country on January 8.

[09] OVER 3.780 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HAVE BEEN ARRESTED IN THE LAST 10 MONTHS

Over 3.780 illegal immigrants and 147 slave-traders have been arrested in Greece in the last 10 months, according to official information.

Also, based on the available figures, a total of 45 boats of different kinds were seized by the Coast Guard.

[10] CONFERENCE IN MADRID ON "GREECE-SPAIN: THE BORDERS OF EUROPE"

An international conference on "Greece-Spain: The borders of Europe" will take place in Madrid, Spain on November 22-24 organized by the Greek embassy and the Greek-Spanish Forum. The conference will be attended by widely known in Spain professor Eduard Malefakis, Pen Club International president Greek-Mexican author Omirou Aritzis and Chilean Hellenist and academician Miguel Kastillo Dideaux.

In the conference, academicians, professors, authors and intellectuals will seek to find common denominators in the Greek and Spanish thought, while they will contribute to the deepening of the research and the strengthening of relations between two cultural countries of indisputable dynamism such as, Greece and Spain.

The conference will also include a special presentation dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Greek poet Seferis and two music concerts with Spanish-Jewish songs and Spanish poetry.

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