The Greek Diaspora Project at SEESOX is organizing a conference “Homeland-Diaspora Relations in Flux: Greece and Greeks abroad at times of Crisis” on June 22-23, 2018 at St Antony's College, University of Oxford. Greece’s long drawn out economic crisis is by now an indisputably pivotal event in the country’s history and as such, it cannot but redefine the nature and role of Greece’s diaspora. The modern Greek state was constructed by and for a trans-territorial national community and since its establishment the proclaimed aim of its diaspora policy has been the strengthening of ties between the Greek ‘national centre’ and Greeks abroad. The latter have historically demonstrated high levels of homeland orientation and have had a major input in Greece’s evolution in economic, political, social and cultural terms. But how is the interrelationship between Greece and its diasporic communities shaping up in the current context and conjunction of the crisis? To what extent are Greeks abroad willing and able to contribute to the crisis’ resolution and, more importantly, to Greece’s long term transformation? Aiming to answer these questions the conference will explore the impact of Greek diaspora communities on the trajectory of their homeland through interactions in the domains of the economy, politics, philanthropy and in the sociocultural field.
The programme of the conference can be found here