3rd International Symposium for a New Elefsina – “Rebuilding the World”

The 3rd International Symposium for a New Elefsina returns to the spot of the celebrated Mysteries – wherever for implicit 15 centuries the thought of interior translation and initiatory cognition has been cultivated – for a three-day lawsuit of reflection, inspiring dialogue, and visionary action. From 25 to 27 September 2025, the World Human Forum invites innovative speakers from a assortment of fields to the Old Elefsina Olive Factory successful Elefsina for the symposium entitled “Reinventing the World”. Content: however we tin reconstruct our narration with life, nature, others, and ourselves to pave the mode for a caller eco-civilization.

Alexandra Mitsotaki, president and co-founder of the World Human Forum, and Spyros Doukakis, adjunct prof astatine the Department of Informatics astatine the Ionian University and president of the Institute of Educational Policy, speech to Protothema.gr astir the Symposium.

“This is the 3rd twelvemonth that the World Human Forum returns to Elefsina, a spot that for 1,500 years, with its Mysteries, was the spiritual notation constituent of antiquity. A batch of enactment has been done for Elefsina to go the European Capital of Culture. The investments and infrastructure that person been made, the wealth that has been spent, indispensable not beryllium wasted. When we archetypal went to Elefsina successful 2023, arsenic portion of the 2023 Elefsis European Capital of Culture, we made a promise: that each twelvemonth astatine the extremity of September, we would return. We are keeping this committedness this twelvemonth and hopefully for galore years to come,” Mitsotaki begins to say, portion referring to the issues that are to beryllium highlighted successful the discourse of the Conference, she notes: “The symposia we organise successful Elefsina question to attack holistically the large issues, the large concerns of our time. At a clip erstwhile humanity is facing aggregate crises – successful narration to the environment, democracy, work, but much specifically, crises of loneliness and the meaning of beingness – Elefsina tin again play an important role. Each of these is not a antithetic crisis. They are interconnected. They are a substance of taste situation and a situation of values. That is why, erstwhile we speech astir re-engaging the world, we bash not privation to bounds the treatment to a constrictive model – aft all, immoderate conferences absorption connected idiosyncratic themes. In Elefsina, from 25 to 27 September 2025, distinguished speakers from astir the satellite volition talk to america successful a caller mode and with a caller perspective, offering america anticipation astir the economy, democracy, sustainability, health, education, art, and interior transformation. But we volition not lone perceive to the speakers. Those of you who articulation america successful Elefsina volition enactment successful hands-on workshops and experiences, and each evening successful unsocial creator events. The past evening, adjacent successful the unsocial Archaeological Site of Elefsina, successful the Ceremonial Hall, wherever the Mysteries utilized to instrumentality place.”

In the property of the dominance of the image, what spot tin the ‘inner transformation’ of antheral occupy? Is it a realistic goal? “It is simply a indispensable goal,” answers the WHF president, “Our age, with its accelerated changes and successful which 1 ‘image’ chases aft another, astir of the clip unluckily does not bring antheral greater happiness, bliss. So the heavy questions that torment antheral astir his ain way and the meaning of beingness stay the same. The excessive velocity of changes and developments, which we find it precise hard to travel and understand, creates adjacent greater trouble successful uncovering a equilibrium with ourselves. Our discussions successful Elefsina punctual america however important each these reflections are. There is nary “one size fits all” here; determination is nary implicit regularisation of thumb for however to bash this. Everyone is looking for it successful their ain way.

According to Mitsotaki, the concepts of “re-initiation” are not lone incompatible with the system and work. The system is not an extremity successful itself. In this sense, it has, perhaps, the astir important relation to play successful the flourishing of nine and people. It is truthful by nary means a substance of incompatible concepts. For a palmy life, the system has to beryllium compatible with some our values and our activities. A palmy beingness is simply a beingness successful which our enactment is arsenic adjacent arsenic imaginable to what fulfills and satisfies us. At the 3rd International Symposium for a New Elefsina, we attack the system successful a much originative and hopeful way. Through 3 sub-themes that let america to spot it differently. We volition sermon the necessity and imaginable of interaction investing, the lessons we tin larn from nature, and however what we spot arsenic junk tin yet go “treasure”. We request to rethink however we tin unrecorded with nature, however to get retired of the logic of an extractive system that does not put successful sustainability oregon redistribution of wealth. Many radical judge that each this is utopia. I personally judge that it is utopian to proceed to spell with the logic of concern arsenic usual, erstwhile successful truthful galore areas we person gone beyond the limits of what beingness connected the satellite tin sustain.”

Regarding man’s narration with nutrient and however it tin lend to the interior translation of man, helium adds: “A steadfast caput successful a steadfast body, the past Greeks utilized to say. The past Greeks besides said: ‘Man is one: mind, spirit, body. There is nary mode to beryllium complete, with a spiritual and balanced life, unless we coexist healthily with our assemblage arsenic well. I was precocious speechmaking a survey astir processed foods and their detrimental effect connected the body… Proper nutrition, which we present truthful lack, is indispensable for our carnal and, by extension, spiritual health. Eleusis was a centre of worship of the goddess of agriculture, Demeter, who taught radical however to cultivate the land. Looking astatine our narration with food, we spot however overmuch antheral has besides go disconnected from his narration with the land, with production. Greece is simply a state with a tiny country of onshore that tin and should beryllium cultivated with quality. So I americium precise blessed to spot much and much radical successful our state cultivating the onshore otherwise and feeding themselves differently. The Mediterranean fare is 1 of the beardown advantages of our region. It could not beryllium absent from the treatment astatine our symposium. In the applicable panel, the emeritus prof of the Medical School of the University of Athens, Ms. Antonia Trichopoulou, volition besides participate.”

As to wherefore the conception of ideology is called upon to ‘re-inspire’, the question arises arsenic to whether its charm has been ‘dulled’ successful its birthplace, Greece. Alexandra Mitsotaki comments: “Democracy is going done a precise large situation connected an planetary level. More and much countries are being ruled by authoritarian regimes. In the European continent, and I americium acrophobic successful our state too, we are seeing a displacement towards populism that is putting ideology astatine risk. Tools similar societal media and the internet, we thought astatine 1 constituent that it would beryllium a caller accidental for democracy. In the end, they often extremity up confining america to our ain microcosm, to our ain barriers, creating less opportunities for speech and dialogue. Each person, locked up successful his ain ‘cloud’ of ideas and beliefs, tin nary longer adjacent perceive to what the idiosyncratic helium considers to beryllium his near-opponent has to say. Developments successful the USA, unfortunately, corroborate this phenomenon. We judge – and this volition beryllium discussed successful Elefsina – that much and amended ideology is needed. Democracy cannot beryllium conscionable casting our ballot each 4 years to springiness idiosyncratic the work to govern us. Real ideology means effectual activation, empowerment, participation, and work of citizens for what happens successful our society.”

Children, who person ever served arsenic the driving unit of humanity, tin lone person a spot astatine the symposium: “Citizen activation, successful which we astatine the World Human Forum judge truthful strongly, tin commencement astatine a precise young age. That is wherefore actions involving children are astatine the centre of our attention,” explains the President. “In Greece, we inspired the instauration of the Sustainability Education Network “From Mythology to Space – Myth2Space”. A web created by the teachers themselves successful Athens and the region. Almost a 1000 schools instrumentality portion successful it, and successful aboriginal 2026, it volition clasp its 2nd pupil league successful Athens. But we are besides bringing Design for Change to Greece. We are talking astir the largest alteration question successful the satellite by and for children. And to deliberation that it was started by a parent successful India who, without being a teacher, decided to make her ain school, which, 20 years aboriginal was awarded arsenic the champion schoolhouse successful the world. She shared this acquisition done Design for Change with hundreds of educators successful 72 countries and much than 2 cardinal students worldwide. These children are uncovering solutions and making not lone their school, their neighbourhood, but besides the full satellite a amended place. After India, Dubai and Japan, successful November 2026, our state volition big the archetypal planetary Design for Change gathering for the archetypal time. These children are our anticipation for a genuinely amended world.”

On the portion of the Institute of Educational Policy, its president, Spyros Doukakis, talks astir ‘reimagining the world’ done education: ‘It is the hunt for a caller look towards knowledge, creation, and life. It is the infinitesimal erstwhile schoolhouse is not constricted to the transmission of information, but becomes erstwhile again a spot of inspiration, of innovation, and empowerment for students. At the Institute for Education Policy, we are moving to marque the acquisition strategy a spot of re-invention. We make caller Curricula that foster captious thinking, creativity, and collaboration. We are implementing aggregate textbooks, which gives teachers the prime and students the acquisition of antithetic approaches. We integrate full lit books, and we usage artificial quality successful inclusive acquisition truthful that each kid has existent learning opportunities. And astatine the aforesaid time, we are paving the mode for a caller pedagogical civilization wherever the pupil is not a specified receiver but an progressive creator.

Digital technologies are becoming portion of this journey. Through European programmes, virtual and augmented reality, students tin locomotion done past civilisations, research the secrets of nature, acquisition humanities events. With artificial quality they larn to negociate information, analyse information and make captious thinking. With integer platforms they person entree to unfastened and collaborative learning that transcends the boundaries of the schoolhouse and connects them to the world.

Re-engaging the satellite means bringing wonder, imaginativeness and anticipation backmost into learning. A schoolhouse that unites exertion with values and prepares students not conscionable to basal successful the world, but to signifier it arsenic progressive citizens. This is the schoolhouse we deserve, and this is the imaginativeness we service astatine IEP; due to the fact that lone done partnerships, lone genuinely unneurotic for education, tin we bring backmost the wonderment successful learning.

Topics and speakers

Issues to beryllium explored astatine the 3rd International Symposium for a New Elefsina:
– Art arsenic a gateway to interior transformation

– Rebuilding the economy, work, and neighborhoods
– Our narration with food
– Democracy arsenic a shared vision
– Children arsenic a reservoir of humanity’s dreams
– The relation of psychedelics successful consciousness and healing
The database of speakers and participants includes, among others. Stefanos Gandolfo, Daniel A. Barber, Anis Barnat, Antonia Trichopoulou, Jehangir Mehta, Maria Loi, Hélène Landemore, Lex Paulson, Achilleas Tsalta, Spyros Dukakis, Gary Bolles, Marlis Petersen, Pavlos Kavouras, etc.

The creator events

– 25/9 | Cinema Elefis: Screening of the movie Mystery 14: Human Requiem successful Eleusis by Stephan Talneau

– 26/9 | Old Olive Factory: Psychelectronica euphony show by Superwave (Leonidas Danezos & Tasos Sotiriou)

– 27/9 | Elefsina Archaeological Site: Sacred Paths performance, From the Mysteries of Elefsina to Byzantine Chanting and the contented of the Mevleviades Dervishes – the Rotating Dervishes of Constantinople, the Choir of the En Athinais Association of Music lovers of Constantinople, Socrates Sinopoulos and Michael Marmarinos constitute a mystical acquisition astatine the emblematic archaeological site.

A fewer words astir the World Human Forum

The World Human Forum is simply a deliberation vessel and enactment vessel that seeks to lend to the instauration of a new, ecological civilization. Taking Delphi arsenic its symbolic basal and starting point, it harnesses the powerfulness of emblematic places (Elefsina, Delos, Ancient Olympia, Aristotle’s Lyceum) and connects innovative forces of our satellite to make a caller communicative for humanity. WHF’s methodology is reflected successful the “Delphic Cube”, a holistic attack based connected the values of sustainability and regeneration, democracy, education, interior transformation, subject and exertion and art.