The Venus Project in Athens, Greece
Greece was an amazing stop. It was the first time we actually did a little sightseeing as you can see with the photos at the Acropolis, which was quite a thrill, but equally as exciting was all that is going on in Greece with The Zeitgeist Movement. The conditions are volatile there and the Greek people are very boisterous and do not take the austerity measures imposed upon them from their debts very easily. The country manufactures little to nothing and has been propped up through tourism, which is decreasing. There is a lot of anger there and it spills into the streets with protests regularly of various kinds. This was actually refreshing coming from the United States where the people are relatively passive in regards to social issues.
The Zeitgeist Movement in Greece has been extremely active. They have continuously scheduled events, reached out to people in all walks of life, showed The Zeitgeist’s films often, and the social conditions enabled them to get a lot of interest. Business people, scientists and others support them. Our lecture was sold out in advance so they scheduled a second one before we left.
We traveled to Heraklea a small island of about one hundred people to the south east of Greece and even they knew about The Venus Project presenting us with a plaque to acknowledge our work.
We traveled to this island to view a prototype desalinization project with professors who developed the project from the University of Aegean on the island of Syros. They are doing some wonderful work there and are very sympathetic with the direction of The Venus Project. They stated that The Venus Project gave them incentive to do the work they have been doing. But being able to create their own free water, even to this isolated location that has none, cuts into the profit of those who take large freighters of water to the island so there is much opposition to the notion of free water. The scientists from The University of Aegean are proposing a larger project on another Greek island to develop a showplace demonstrating several clean sources of energy, and a larger desalinization plant, but are running into obstacles along the way in regards to funding.
The Greek Chapter of Zeitgeist Movement is coordinating with other European chapters to see how they can work together to move forward.
For those who read Greek here are a couple of links to newspaper articles from Syros where Jacque did a lecture and I took questions with him. Antonia did a wonderful job with the translation.
http://www.syrostoday.gr/Events/453-Aeiforia-kai-Avaptujn-sto-Aigaio-The-Venus-Project.aspx
http://www.syrostoday.gr/News/1965-The-Venus-Project–Aeiforia-kai-avaptujn-sto-Aigaio.aspx
Other media coverage
http://www.zougla.gr/page.ashx?pid=2&aid=152297&cid=40
Like everywhere we visited we feel we have extended our “family.” We feel The Zeitgeist members are wonderful and extraordinary people.
Roxanne Meadows
www.thevenusproject.com
I am so pleased to hear such good news!
Yes, the VP world Tour in Athens, was really great! In a hall of 400 seats, we was about 600 persons, of all ages, from all over the Greece.
It was a magical time from us, to see and speak with Jacque and Roxane..
Here in Greece, the movement grows, and the main reason for this, is that there are many many people with progressive thinking, ready to accept the amazing ideas of the Venus Project and the Zeitgeist Movement.
As for us, the members of the Greek Movement, we are really believe in those ideas, people from across the country that had never before known and met, united by the movement, now we are partners and friends …
We are moving forward!
Fotis Grontas,
The Zeitgeist Movement Thessaloniki (Greece)