ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ για την εφημερίδα Hellenic News of America
In November 17-19, 2016 the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) held its annual convention “Everyday Leadership; Leadership every day” at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. At the convention representing the Department of Educational and Social Policy and the University of Macedonia in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Dr. Areti Okalidou, Professor of Speech-Language Pathology, Dr. Ioanna Papavassiliou-Alexiou, Associate Assistant Professor in Professional Guidance and Counseling, and Mrs. Christina Zourna, Mathematician, MA in Adult Education and Drama in Education expert practitioner, presented their poster entitled: “How can Communication Disorders Professionals develop Personal and Interpersonal Skills? Answer: Drama in Education”.
Drama in Education is an innovative experiential method for developing professional skills and can be applied in any educational or training context. Dr. Papavassiliou and Mrs. Zourna use this pioneer method with remarkable results in experiential sessions during postgraduate programs at the University of Macedonia. The above implementation of Drama in Education method has also been awarded with the VITA Award 2016 in the annual European Contest “La Vita e Bella”. The ceremony took place in Thessaloniki in September 2016. More details can be found at http://mahara.vita-eu.org/view/view.php?id=3187
Furthermore, during the one-and-a-half hour poster presentation the audience was also informed about the graduate and postgraduate programs offered in the Communication Disorders and Special Education Fields in the University of Macedonia. UoM plays a most important educational role in Southeastern Europe and offers today graduate and postgraduate high quality study programs in the fields of Economics, Business Administration, Lifelong Learning and Special Education, Music Science, Informatics, Balkan and International Studies. Currently, the University runs 8 undergraduate and 28 postgraduate programs. Further information about UoM can be reached at http://www.uom.gr
Through our newspaper the three visitors from Greece would like to express in public their special thanks to Mr. Paul Kotrotsios for his warm welcome as well as his personal care during the days of their staying in Philadelphia and the United States. “We have found a real friend, almost family” they said. “We had a most kind reception, a warm welcome; we could never imagine that we would enjoy real Greek hospitality outside our country. We thank Paul for his kindness and true friendship. Our staying in Philadelphia will be cherished and long remembered. Our participation to the ASHA Convention also opened new possibilities for future cooperation with the Greek Community in the USA. We will be happy to visit your lovely city again in the near future and build creative fruitful cooperation links between you and the University of Macedonia.”
Photos
Areti Okalidou, Christina Zourna
The group of postgraduate students during the Drama in Education workshop which was presented at the ASHA Convention in Philadelphia (on the right) Ioanna Papavassiliou – Alexiou
From left to right: Areti Okalidou, Christina Zourna, and Paul Kotrotsios
