Acropolis News

New Acropolis Portugal commemorated World Philosophy Day, established by UNESCO with a series of activities in its various locations. The main theme chosen by all centers was Aristotle in tribute to the 2400th anniversary of the birth of one of western culture’s most influential philosophers.

The New Acropolis Centers of Lisbon and Oeiras-Cascais held an event titled “Aristotle and the Path of Happiness”, held at the Museum of Pharmacy of the capital, counted with the presence of Dr Elizabeth Silva, UNESCO representative in Portugal, who read the message of the Director General of this Institution, Irina Bokova.

In the Centers of New Acropolis Famalicão, Porto, Braga and Aveiro, various symposia and lectures were held with the theme of Aristotle as central axis.

New Acropolis Coimbra celebrated this day with a cultural trip to India titled “The return to the original sources”.

All the activities held at New Acropolis Portugal have counted with the institutional support of UNESCO.

Fernand Schwarz, anthropologist, philosopher and director of the Hermes International Institute, gave a public lecture titled Tibetan wisdom for the 21st century in the Auditorium of the Municipal Library of Oeiras. Moreover, the Portuguese Edition of his book Concentration and Inner Awakening according to Tibetan Buddhism was presented.

Then, at the Salón Noble of the Fundição de Oeiras Fernando Schwarz presented the six-hour seminar Mindfulness, Concentration and Awakening according to Tibetan Buddhism.

The presentation of the book Cagliostro, the Unknown Master by Marc Haven, took place at the central branch of New Acropolis in Lisbon, published by Nova Acropole Publishing House.

The activity was led by José Carlos Fernández, director of New Acropolis in Portugal and Gabriela Palha, translator of the work to Portuguese. Both highlighted aspects of the life and personality of Cagliostro, as well as the role that he played in history.

Coinciding with the celebration of the Cultural Municipal Fair, New Acropolis Coimbra (Portugal) organized a festival of music for youths in which participated 30 students from the different schools of music established in the city. During the activity that counted with the support of the Town Hall, different styles of music were interpreted including classical and pop-rock.

Aims of this festival were highlighting the importance of music in the training of young people, as well as creating an opportunity for the young  artists to showcase their work.

As a culmination of summer activities carried out by New Acropolis Lisbon, Professor Laura Winckler, writer, philosopher and specialist in Jung, developed the theme ‘Jung and the symbolism of dreams and fairy tales’ in a three-hour seminar.

During the activity, she highlighted aspects of the tales in the perspective of a unifying medicine of the soul according to the theories of Jung and his disciple Marie-Louise Von Franz. Professor Winckler also offered some keys of interpretation that could be useful in an educational scope.

The speaker also spoke about the language of dreams, and that unraveling the meaning of dreams can help us to know ourselves better and discover hidden aspects of ourselves.

Patricia Muñoz Peralta, director of New Acropolis Guatemala, accompanied by Professor Roberto Pérez, visited the central branch of New Acropolis Lisbon (Portugal) where they presented the seminar “Ancient Maya: the sacred book Popol Vuh and the spirituality of the Maya”.

The activity was presented in two parts. First, Professor Roberto Pérez explained the creation myth as it is described in the Popol Vuh and unveiled some of the most representative myths of the Maya such as the famous ball game.

New Acropolis Oeiras-Cascais was awarded the Municipal Merit Medal in its degree of copper, for “acts and services of significant importance for the municipality and the country”.

In the presentation, the Protocol Service of the municipality of the town highlighted the work developed by New Acropolis Oeiras-Cascais volunteers and emphasized that “New Acropolis has carried out many activities in the most diverse areas thus promoting human and social enrichment in this region. (…) In the past two years, New Acropolis has organized 62 public activities which had an attendance of more than 2,000 people”.

The director of New Acropolis Oeiras-Cascais thanked the support of the City Council and the work carried out by all members and supporters of the Association.