It is “a landmark exhibition in the bright chronicle of corresponding initiatives we have taken” at the Hellenic Parliament, as the President of the Parliament, Constantine Tassoulas, said in his welcome address, stressing that: “The Hellenic Parliament is not only a historical guardian of the memory of the Struggle for Independence. The Vouli, the Parliament, in other words the representative system expressed in this voting house is one of the most valuable trophies of that Struggle. The form of government sought by those who fought for Independence in 1821 was “representative”, in other words parliamentary". Mr. Tassoulas underlined that “By learning where we started out from and how hard that start was, we are better able to understand ourself, because we compare that self with our own past and we call upon it to stabilize our own present and for our self to be optimistic about our own future.” And quoting Kolokotronis in his famous speech to the young “We liberated you, to you what remains is to stand straight and to make the land more beautiful”, the President of the Parliament emphasised that: ”I am sure that with such a past, with such roots, with such a competitive spirit in such a difficult present and with such well-founded optimism for the future, we shall be able to stand straight and make the land more beautiful".
The President of the Republic, Mrs. Katerina Sakellaropoulou, characterised the Exhibition at the Hellenic Parliament as “extraordinary”, and spoke of “the invaluable, in every aspect, archives of the Parliament’s Library, containing documents dating from the beginning of our struggle for independence to the election of Otto, first King of Greece. Within these documents the effort of the nation risen to throw off the Turkish yoke and to build a liberal and democratic state has been recorded”. Mrs. Sakellaropoulou emphasised that “the need to consolidate a constitutional state was formulated by the Greek insurgents already in the first months of the Struggle”, stressing that “in the Constitutions of the Struggle the revolutionaries recorded everything that establishes and guarantees the unity and the cohesion of the nation”. She concluded by emphasising: “We gratefully acknowledge their contribution, study their texts and honour their struggles”.
During her speech, the President of the “Greece 2021” Committee, Mrs. Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, pointed out that “on the bicentenary of the Greek War of Independence, we Greeks have been called upon to take advantage of the opportunity offered by this anniversary and to rise to the occasion by taking stock of the past and envisioning the future”. Mrs. Angelopoulos urged us to “to re-examine our past together in all its complexity, without self-delusions, blinders and facile simplifications, in order to gain greater self-awareness and to reinvigorate our collective ties. But also to conceive the ideas and practical plans that will bring forth a promise for a better tomorrow".
The Professor and Chairman of the Exhibition’s Scientific Committee, Mr. Paschalis Kitromilidis, also addressed the event, while the participants went on a digital tour of the exhibition with the guidance of one of the Curators, Mr. Theodoros Koutsogiannis. Throughout the event and in the halls of the exhibition one could admire members of the Lyceum Club of Greek Women in traditional costumes from all over Greece.
The President of the Republic, Mrs. Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the Prime Minister, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos, accompanied by the President of the Parliament, Mr. Constantine Tassoulas, and in line with the health protocol, were guided around the Exhibition, unfolding in the two monumental spaces of the Parliament Building, the colonnaded lobby (“Peristylio”) of the Plenary Hall and the “Eleftherios Venizelos” Hall, former Trophy and Aides-de-Camp” room. The representatives of the Parliamentary Groups of the political parties, the President of the “Greece 2021” Committee, Mrs. Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki and the President of the Onassis Foundation – major sponsor of the exhibition – Mr. Antonis Papadimitriou were also guided around the exhibition.
The following graced the event with their presence:
• The Prime Minister, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis,
• The Minister of Culture and Sports, Mrs. Lina Mendoni,
• MP Olga Gerovassili, representing Mr. Alexis Tsipras, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance
• MP Vasilis Kegeroglou, representing Mrs. Fofi Gennimata, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group of KINAL
• The 6th Vice-President of the Parliament, Mr. Giorgos Labroulis, representing Mr. Dimitris Koutsoumbas, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group of the Communist Party of Greece
• The 7th Vice-President of the Parliament, Mr. Apostolos Avdelas, representing Mr. Kyriakos Velopoulos, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group of Elliniki Lysi (Greek Solution)
• The Secretary of the Parliamentary Group of DiEM25, Mrs. Foteini Bakadima, representing the Chairperson, Mr. Yanis Varoufakis
• The Vice-Presidents of the Parliament: Mr. Nikitas Kaklamanis, Mr. Charalampos Athanassiou, Mr. Athanassios Bouras and Mr. Dimitrios Vitsas
• The Secretary General of the Parliament, Mr. George Mylonakis
• The Special Secretary of the Parliament, Mr. Vasilis Bayiokos
• The Diplomatic Advisor of the Parliament, Ambassador Constantine Economides
• The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps – Ambassador of Cyprus in Greece - , Mr. Kyriakos Kenevezos
• The Ambassador of Russia, Mr. Andrey Maslov
• The Ambassador of Portugal, which currently holds the EU Council Presidency, Mrs. Helena Alexandra Andrade
• The Head of the European Parliament’s Office in Greece, Mr. Konstantinos Tsoutsoplidis
• The President of the Onassis Foundation - major sponsor of the exhibition -, Mr. Antonis Papadimitriou
• The President of the Lyceum Club of Greek Women, Mrs. Eleni Tsaldari