Event reports
The participants of the very first KAS Greece Political Academy included 30 young men and women between 19 and 35 years old. Most of them had already been actively involved in politics and the civil society. Among them were highly motivated members of youth organizations, candidates in municipal or national elections as well as from Civic and Nongovernmental Organizations.
The objective of the KAS Greece Political Academy is to provide the participants with political knowledge and technical expertise in order to enhance their ability to shape their political argumentation.
The Academy weekend included the presence of numerous politicians and academics as well as researchers. Dr. Antonis Klapsis, Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Peloponnese, made an introduction to the interaction between the Greek and European centre-right political thought. Christos DimasMP, Member of Parliament for Corinthia, spoke about his experience as a young person being involved in national politics. Christos Staikouras MP, Parliamentary Coordinator of Economic Affairs of Nea Demokratia, gave a thorough analysis of the current economic situation in Greece in relation with the ongoing economic crisis and the results of the bailout programs. Nikos Dendias MP, Parliamentary Spokesperson of Nea Demokratia, referred to the challenges faced by Greece and the European Union in relation with the migrant and refugee crisis. The Vice President of Nea Demokratia, Adonis Georgiadis MP, explained the particular challenges faced by Greek politicians at the time of the economic crisis. Dr. Manos Papazoglou, Associate Professor at the University of Peloponnese, analyzed the political climate in Greece, arguing that a new political landscape has been created in the last years.
Technical and strategic skills were also an important part of the seminar: Ralf Güldenzopf, Head of Political Communication at Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Germany, offered the participants the theoretical and the practical framework of how to plan and implement a political campaign and how to form a political narrative. Konstantinos Kyranakis, President of the Youth of the European People’s Party, explained the importance of the use of social media in modern political campaigns and showed numerous practical examples.
