Greek diaspora schools to test new language platform

A selection of schools of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America will test a Greek language-learning platform in a pilot project involving the Greek Foreign and Education Ministries, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and the SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies at Simon Fraser University.

According to the Foreign Ministry’s General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad (GSGA), the platform StaEllinika will be launched at schools in California, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey under the supervision of Dr Anastasios Koularmanis, director of the Archdiocese’s department of education.

The GSGA’s official tool for learning and teaching the Greek language, mythology and elements of Greek culture in the Greek Diaspora was released in a beta version at the end of April. It currently reaches an impressive 7,000 registered students from 106 countries.

The educational application was developed by a team of young people based in Greece, and it will provide additional teaching resources and support to teachers who work exclusively in an online environment, in line with new protocols introduced in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The final version of the platform will be available this fall, after the pilot application feedback is reviewed. [ANA-MPA]