Thessaloniki, Greece, June 11th 2019
On the 11th of June 2019, the President of the Scientific Council of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization (IASLCC), Professor Emil Constantinescu, visited the headquarters of the Institute of Balkan Studies in Thessaloniki, Greece, to meet with its General Director, Mrs. Paroula Naskou-Perraki.
Established in 1953 under the oversight the Society for Macedonian Studies, the Institute for Balkan Studies (IMXA) has been operating under the direct supervision of the Greek Ministry of Education and Religion since 1974. Its main objectives aim to promote a better understanding of the trends that determined the social and political evolution of South-Eastern Europe, and to disseminate it both within the academic environment and the international community at large. The IMXA currently operates the largest library that specializes in Balkan Studies in Greece, established to serve the academic interests and preoccupations of researchers into Balkan history and culture. Fully digitized, more than 30.000 volumes and over 1.500 periodicals are available for the perusal of scientific researchers, members of the academic community, but also that of members of the general public that express an interest in the Balkans.
During the discussions held at the IMXA headquarters, President Constantinescu offered a brief presentation of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization and, together with Mrs. Naskou-Perraki, outlined a number of avenues for future inter-institutional cooperation between the IASLCC and the IMXA, discussed the elaboration of a number of common cultural and research projects, and underlined the excellent example of good practice set by the IMXA digital library for the future creation of the IASLCC’s own digital library focusing on the Levantine region at large.
