106 1st Year pupils from six high schools take part in ΄Aliki Padova΄ pupils΄ competition

On Friday, May 9th, the award and commendation ceremony took place for the annual pupil competition, which was organised once again this year—for the tenth consecutive time—by the Corfu Reading Society, dedicated to the memory of the Society's great benefactor, Aliki Padova.

A total of 106 1st Year pupils from six Corfu high schools participated in the competition (2nd, 3rd , 4th and 5th High Schools and Agros and Argyrades High Schools).

This year, the awards were presented as follows:

• 1st Prize was awarded to pupil Ioanna Kontziali, daughter of Theodoros and Margarita (4th High School).

• 2nd Prize was awarded to studentpupil Aggeliki Stasinou, daughter of Vassileios and Anastasia (3rd High School).

• The 3rd Prize, due to the fact that the written submissions were of equal merit, was awarded equally to the following pupils:

  • Konstantina Mouzakiti, daughter of Efstathios and Maria (Agros High School)

  • Georgia Soma, daughter of Evangelos and Anthoula (5th High School)

• A commendation was awarded to the Corfu Music School for providing the musical accompaniment at the event.

• A commendation was also awarded to the Agros High School for having the highest pupil participation in the competition.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Library Curator of the Corfu Reading Society, Kostas Lindovois, spoke and, among other things, thanked everyone who contributed to the execution of this year’s competition as well.

Greetings were delivered by:

• Petros Aggelopoulos, Director of Ionian Islands Primary and Secondary Education

• Marios Poulos, Dean of the School of Information Science and Informatics

• Theodoros Kontzialis, Ionian Islands Deputy Regional Governor of the

• Thomas Soulos, President of the Athens Union of Corfiots.

Professor Nikos Koskinas spoke about Aliki Padova, and Professor Maria Mizotera spoke about this year’s competition.

The event concluded with a performance by the string ensemble of the Corfu Music School pupils, conducted by Iosifina Armeni, with piano accompaniment by Christos Kavour.

Finally, the awards and participation commendations were presented.

• The video recording of the event has already been uploaded to the Corfu Reading Society's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BBJy_1BiGo.

The topics related to the Corfu/Ionian cultural heritage were selected by a three-member committee of philologists, consisting of Ms. Maria Mizotera and Messrs. Kostas Lindovois and Nikos Koskinas.

The Board of Directors of the Corfu Reading Society expresses its warmest thanks to the three-member philological committee responsible for organising this competition, to the Ionian Islands Regional Director of Primary and Secondary Education, Mr. Petros Aggelopoulos, and the Corfu Director of Secondary Education, Mr. Harilaos Alamanos, for their excellent collaboration, as well as to the educators who supported this effort.

Above all, the Society thanks and congratulates all the pupils who responded to our invitation and simultaneously invites all the young people of our island to get to know the Corfu Reading Society and, in general, to connect with the history and traditions of our region.

A few words about Aliki Padova:

The late Aliki Padova, daughter of lawyer Antonios Padova and Maria Padova (née Argyropoulou), was born in Corfu in 1936. She spent the years of the German Occupation in Corfu and, after the war, completed her high school education at the Girls’ High School. In 1958, she left for the United States on a scholarship, studying Home Economics at Purdue University in Indiana. She lived there for most of her life, obtaining four master's degrees in community development, social work, educational training, and home economics, and pursued an academic career.

However, she always kept Corfu in her heart, visiting regularly. Among her many activities, she published a cookbook featuring authentic Corfiot recipes and often gave courses on the Greek language and culture in Missouri, where she resided, and elsewhere. In her will, at the end of her life (2011), she bequeathed a significant real estate property to the Corfu Reading Society, which endeavours—using whatever means available—to preserve and promote Ionian culture in all its forms.

Corfu Reading Society, with the aim of honouring the memory of its great benefactor and passing on to future generations the love for Corfu, established, with the approval of the Ministry of Education, and in collaboration with the Ionian Islands Regional Directorate of Primary and Secondary Education, the annual pupil competition. The competition includes a symbolic cash prize for first-year high school pupils in the Corfu Prefecture, focused on topics related to Corfiot and Ionian cultural heritage as understood today (historical, monumental, intangible, environmental).

The annual "Aliki Padova" pupil competition aims to foster competition and interest among pupils on issues related to Ionian cultural history and aspires to gradually become an educational institution on our island.

ELENI KORONAKI

Photos: Corfu Reading Society