Do the centuries-old trees of the Revolution talk? Do they have a soul? Do they have a voice? And if they did, what would they say? The MORIAS ’21 program – an initiative of the Captain Vassilis and Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation and Costa Navarino – invites students from all over the country to hear the trees’ stories and create their own via the panhellenic competition “Trees Talk.”

The program was carried out under the scientific guidance of the University of Peloponnese and was coordinated by professor Nikolaos Zaharias, the Agricultural University of Athens and the Environmental Education Center of Kalamata. The MORIAS ’21 program integrated and marked 27 centuries-old trees of the Peloponnese, which narrate significant moments of the Greek Revolution.

These trees – olive, plane, palm and oak trees, which have existed in the Peloponnese since the early 19th century and have been “witnesses” to historical events – are at the center of the panhellenic student competition “Trees Talk,” aimed at students aged between 10 and 14 years old (5th-9th grades), both individual participants and schools.

Inspired by the educational material found on the MORIAS ’21 webpage (https://www.morias21.com/ekpaideytiko-programma-ta-dentra-miloyn/), students are invited to let their creativity and imagination free and participate in the competition by creating their own story; they can submit original material here in one or more of the following three categories:

 

  1. Original video shot with a mobile phone device in .mp4 or .mov format, with a maximum duration of 5 minutes. .
  2. Original podcast in .mp3 format, with a maximum duration of 5 minutes
  3. Original poem, with a maximum number of 30 verses.

 

The educational program “Trees Talk” will run during the 2021–2022 academic year and will conclude in the spring of 2022, when the winners are also announced.
Participation in the student competition is open both through the school units and individually, for those interested. The schools can also cooperate with the Environmental Education Center of Kalamata to present the material as part of the school program.
The original works chosen by the three panels will be published on the website of the MORIAS ’21 program and will also be uploaded to the program’s social media. The participants will be awarded with tech gifts courtesy of Samsung and Public Stores.
The works will be evaluated by three panels, one for each category, comprising renowned academics and professionals.
The panels comprise:
  1. Original video: Vassilios Poulopoulos, assistant professor at the University of Peloponnese, Lefteris Haritos, director, and Marina Papatsoni, director general, Business Development and Corporate Affairs at TEMES
  2. Original podcast: Maria Kouri, lecturer at the University of Peloponnese, Lefteris Haritos, director, and Natasa Glaraki, cultural activities manager at the Captain Vassilis and Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation
  3. Original poem: Elena Papalexiou, assistant professor at the University of Peloponnese, Elsi Dimoula, poet, and Xenophon Kappas, director general at the Captain Vassilis and Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation