Vassiliki Chryssanthopoulou, Assistant Professor, Department of Philology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

Philippos Mazarakis-Ainian, Senior Curator, National History Museum, Athens-Greece, Vice-Chair, ICOM Greece, Vice-chair, International Association of Museums of History (IAMH), Greece

Amphilochios Papathomas, Head of the Department of Philology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

On behalf of the Department of Philology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, which is hosting this, the 15th International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, I would like to warmly welcome all the participants. We are glad that for three days you will be participating in scholarly discussions and exchanges on issues surrounding cultural heritage, which we hope will promote understanding of the subject of the meeting, that is Community Building, and open up new ways for further treatment of its various facets.

Participants are bound together by their interest in heritage issues and by the desire not only to promote knowledge of them but also to find ways of future cooperation. The topic is a broad and multifarious one and papers are expected to focus on a wide spectrum of topics, including aspects of difficult heritage, heritage in education, in public life, archival heritage, and, closer to home, Greek diaspora heritage.

We would have been more than happy to welcome you here in Athens in person; all the more, as our Department, on its own as well as in cooperation with the other Departments of the School of Philosophy of the University of Athens plays a pivotal part in the study, preservation and promotion of Greek culture and heritage in Greece and worldwide.

Unfortunately, the Coronavirus pandemic has prevented the organization of the conference in situ; however, the organizers and myself are optimistic that the inescapably virtual way of scholarly communication will not stand in the way of interaction and exchange of ideas. On this occasion, your cooperation shows the way forward on many levels. I wish you a most successful and productive conference.

Dimitrios Karadimas, Vice Rector for Academic and Student Affairs, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

I would like to express my warmest greetings to the organizers, speakers and participants attending the Fifteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, which is held under the auspices of the Department of Philology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens – held only virtually this time, due to the covid-19 pandemic. I would also like to congratulate all the colleagues involved in the preparation of the conference and especially the Conference Chair Prof. Vassiliki Chryssanthopoulou for her continuous efforts to make this event happen despite the unexpected and unprecedented difficulties.

The special focus of this year’s conference is on Community Buildings: Ways of Creating and Transmitting Heritage. It will certainly offer all participants the occasion for an enriching and prolific exchange. Having had a look at the programme, I am convinced that the variety of the subjects and the quality of the lectures and discussions will make a very interesting and fruitful conference.

I wish every success to all the conference participants and organizers and I extend my best wishes to all of you!

Stavroula-Villy Fotopoulou, Director of Modern Cultural Heritage, Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports

We are very pleased and honored to participate in the 15th Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Conference with its special focus on heritage. Our engagement with living culture, intangible cultural heritage, as part of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports’ organizational apparatus, has contributed to an on-going dialogue about the scope and the definition of cultural heritage in Greece. This year’s Conference will surely enrich this discussion, bringing to the fore questions and reflections on the topic -particularly that of community engagement and ownership- and broadening the perspective by interdisciplinary analysis.

Best wishes for a successful and fruitful conference.

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