Aiming to contribute to an upgrade of the quality of the educational process, in 2020 the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation supported the educational activity “Skonaki”, implemented by DIA-LOGOU non-profit organisation. The NPO DIA-LOGOU aims at the development of the modern Greek language in all its timeless and contemporary aspects, as well as its preservation and dissemination throughout the country by means of the internet and social media.

Since 2017 and as part of its activities, the NPO DIA-LOGOU implements, among other things, the “Skonaki” educational activity, whereby, through the use of digital technology as an educational tool, ancient and modern Greek teaching materials are created aimed at primary and secondary school students. “Skonaki” is the first –nationwide and worldwide– freely accessible collection of digital material, offering an original and innovative online way of teaching the Greek language and improving the educational process in general. On the basis of short videos which contain simple, comprehensible grammar and syntax rules, learning ancient and modern Greek becomes more attractive, modern-day and more interactive.

The John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation supported the implementation of the activity in 2020, covering the costs of designing and producing the digital material posted on social media to complement the existing collection. The activity has been embraced both by the educational community (teachers, students, parents) and by the general public who use the Greek language in their daily communication and want to improve their level of knowledge and use of that language.

• 17 educational videos have been implemented in the framework of the educational activity with the Foundation’s support.
• Over 89,000 followers of the “Skonaki” Facebook page have access to the educational videos posted.

“Promotion of the ‘Skonaki’ activity started for free through Facebook, providing an excellent opportunity for the general public to explore the evolution of the Greek language over time, for the first time online. The fruitful collaboration with and funding by the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation in 2020 has been a major, decisive factor for the continuation of the activity. It has allowed for the design and implementation of 17 new visual educational modules, in the form of educational videos; these modules were published on Facebook from April through November 2020, getting more than 180,000 views with an equivalent viewing time of 12,000 hours.”

Giannis Tryfiatis

PhD in Pedagogy & Postdoctoral Researcher, National and Kapodistrian

University of Athens

Educator, Director, DIA-LOGOU