– A Symposium for the Teachers of the 9-year Schools and the High Schools of Spirit of Love Foundation –
On February 23, 2019, at the Amphitheater of the Cultural Center of the Resurrection of Christ Cathedral Complex, a Symposium was held on “Collaborating with the Spirit of Love Foundation for the Benefit of our School Programs”. The symposiumwas organized by the Spirit of Love Foundation of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania and it was attended by 170 teachers who had come from three 9-year schools and five high schools (5) of our Church, which function under the care and support of Archbishop of Tirana and all Albania, His Beatitude Anastasios.
The event was greeted by the head of the Spirit of Love Foundation, Ms. Pamela Barksdale, who presented the Foundation and its future goals. She emphasized that, we should all acknowledge the purpose of this Foundation’s work, which is to recognize Archbishop Anastasios’s efforts for imparting love to all people. The spirit of love is in fact the hope for the future that we want to pass on to the younger generations. She further stated that the purpose of this event is that the staff of these schools, which are already found in all the country, and who are dedicated to the sacred task of education, get to know each other and share their experiences.
The event began with the greeting of the Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania, Prof. dr. Anastasios. Referring back to the past, in the first years of his coming to Albania, noone could imagine the tremendous results of the process of revival of the Orthodox Church of Albania and the success that the development of such an educational system would have. These are gifts, for which we should first thank God, as he claimed, and then all those people who have contributed to this work. He also addressed the teachers in the hall, thanking them for their continued contribution to the Churchschools, where their hearts have been laid. Further on, Archbishop Anastasios emphasized that the church has always tried to offer the youth and children the best education, soappropriatedschool buildingsare built and equipped with the necessaryfacilities (with a cost of about 22million euros). Whereas for the function of the whole education system, 10 more millions have been spent. Further, His Beatitude emphasized that the general aim for the children in these schools must be not only to learn, but also to becomevirtuous people who willcontribute to the progress of their country.
The event continued with the presentationof the ProtagonistsAlbanian-American 9-year- and high school which is the largest in the church school system, with over 1 thousand students by Ms.IriniPapamihali, a teacher of the school. After that, two high school students from the “Platon” high school in Korça made a presentation of their own school.
In this event, two well-known Greek professors were invited, who emphasized in their papers the importance of spirituality in the educational process, and the impartation of love and dedication to the students. First, it was Prof. Emmanuel Severus (from the Kapodistrian University of Athens), who referred to the theme “The Ethical and Spiritual Dimension of Education and the Orthodox Christian Perspective”. Among other things, he stressed that “In the age where we live, the era of profound and rapid social, political, economic and technological changes, the clarification of the concepts of education and virtue should be one of the main priorities of scientific researchers in this field. This clarification is indispensable because it helps the community of teachers at all levels of education to plan and implement fruitful study programs and actions tailored to the social and educational conditions and requirements of the time …”
Then the presentation of a video of the Spirit of Love 9-year-old and high school of Gjirokastrafollowed, which drew attention to the multi-faceted process of education, both inside and outside the classroom.
Next, it wasProf. KristosVasilopoulos, fromAristotle University of Thessaloniki, whose topic was on “Sharing universal values in a multicultural environment”, in which he emphasized that “The multicultural synthesis of today’s society imposes, in parallel and in combination with ethnics, the cultivation of our European identity as well as a universal, ecumenical conscience. Thisin turn contributes to essential communication with every one, respecting at the same time his individuality. This goes is in line with the “ecumenical character” of “human values” as well as the importance that man has as a free and responsible person. “
After some break, the presentation by one of the teachers of the Spirit of Love 9-year school and high school in Durres followed where he stressed the improvement of the school performance each year.
It was also impressive the video that featured the hard work of the Mesopotamia high school and other schools in Saranda.
The attention of the participants was particularly drawn by the presentation of the Logos University College held by the University Rector, Prof. dr. NikoletaMita, who invited the graduates of the present schools to enroll in this University with a multi-year success story and new departments and opportunities added lately to young people. She also stressed that the education system they offered served not only the students, but it functions in fact as a two-way relationship, where Logos would contribute to raising the teaching level in these school, through seminars, studies, counseling, etc.
A special place was also given to the presentation of the Social Theology and Religious Sciences branch, which is offered on one of the university campuses located at the Monastery of Saint Vlash.
Afterwards, a common lunch followed the range of presentations during which there was discussion among the participants who got to know each other better.
The event ended with group discussions on the symposium topics. Finally, there was an evaluation of what was achieved during the symposium as well as the goals were also setfor the future. All participants made a picture together with Archbishop Anastasios which would be a nice memory from this event.
