CYA’s 2nd Annual Student Conference Re-cap
[Above: Rebecca Bowles (Emory University) with Professor John Karavas, Conference Chair]
CYA’s 2nd Annual Student Conference, Concepts of Urban Design and Public Space in Greece Throughout the Ages took place on May 2 -3, 2018.
The Annual CYA Student Conference is a long inspired dream of our academic community and reflects CYA’s dedication to building strong academic foundations for our students. The success of the 2nd Conference indicates that the annual event will become a tradition for our institution.
This year’s Conference stimulated a broad-based and multidisciplinary discussion on varying aspects of both urban planning and the utilization of public space in major urban centers in Greece from antiquity down to the modern age.
CYA students, Allison Davis, Carolyn Dorey (College of Charleston), Rebecca Bowles (Emory University), Jack Chase (Kenyon College), Sophia Cunningham (Mount Holyoke College) and Elsa Mann (University of Southern California) presented their papers at the Conference.
Four CYA Students who presented at the Conference from left: Jack Chase (Kenyon College), Allison Davis, Carolyn Dorey (College of Charleston), Rebecca Bowles (Emory University)
In addition, we were pleased to welcome five students from the National Technical University of Athens – Metsovio, The School of Architecture. Georgios Drakontaeidis, Christina Milopoulou, Georgia Malapani, Katerina Ninou, Melina Tsagareli and one student in the Erasmus program, Sonia Dupouy (University of Bordeaux), who under the leadership of their professor, Thanos Pagonis, joined our students in this event.
Click here to read the presenter’s bios and abstracts in the Conference Program
For our students, this was their first opportunity to prepare abstracts, presentation speeches and finally papers following publishers’ specifications, to be part of an annual edition. The published edition of last year’s Student Conference papers will be available soon, and this year’s volume will follow shortly.
Another strong point of the Conference is the encouragement of academic dialogue between students from U.S. and Greek institutions. We consider all of the above a valuable learning experience for all students involved.
Keynote Speaker Vassilis Sgourtas giving his lecture: The Urban Realities of Athens
Keynote speaker Vassilis Sgourtas, Architect, Former President of the International Union of Architects (UIA) and Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects closed the first day of the Conference with his lecture: “The Urban Realities of Athens”, which was followed by a reception on CYA’s rooftop. Guests enjoyed a glass of wine under the stars, and the spectacular view of the Acropolis lit up at night.
The reception on CYA’s rooftop overlooking the Acropolis
The guidance of our fantastic faculty and the hard work of the Conference Committee, Theoni Scourta (VP for Academic Affairs), Maria Vidali (Contemporary Urbanism professor) and Chair, John Karavas (Ancient History & Archaeology professor) ensured this two-day meeting was a great success.
We would like to thank the students for dedicating time –beyond their coursework- to prepare for the Conference and wish them all the best in their future academic and professional careers.
