The “Kernels of our Future” is an original international, educational summer program for young leaders aged 15-18 years. The Kernels program was established in 2004 by The Greek Association for Atlantic and European Cooperation, under the Direction of Prof. Dr. Aliki Mitsakos, M.D., Ph.D.

The participants of the program are young people, aged from 15 to 18, from a variety of countries (this year’s program saw delegations from Greece, Palestine, Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria and the United States) who distinguished themselves to make a positive contribution to the future society, to educate them on broader citizenship and help develop trust and understanding among the next generation of leaders. It is the only such program ever developed on an international scale.

The program took place this summer from July 19 to August 5 on the University campus of the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania in Crete and Athens for the sixth time, and brought together 25 students from 6 nations.

The program consists of a series of activities and games destined not only to promote their personal development but also to entertain them and guarantee that they will have a great time and make good friendships. Besides an important personal development, the chosen activities activate leadership skills as well as provide the Kernels with valuable knowledge on international relations and organizations, conflict resolution, their contribution to the civil society, Democracy and relevant contemporary issues. The way to achieve these goals is through lectures, debates, informal games and activities, simulations, cultural trips, sport practices, and a valuable constant interaction among them within an international context.

The lectures, integrated as a part of the informal education, are administrated both by organization members and international guest speakers specialized in a diversity of fields. This year, the Kernels of our Future had the opportunity to be lectured on International Organizations, with a particular relevance on NATO, the U.N. and the E.U. Following the initial insight on these International Institutions by Prof. Zehra Odyakmaz from Turkey, they initiated their learning of basic concepts of public law and constitutional law.

In a special “NATO days” session, they were introduced to the topic of NATO and its operations by guest lecturer Barbora Maronkova from the NATO Public Diplomacy Division, who then challenged the students to a simulation about  NATO’s New Strategic Concept

 Furthermore, the Kernels received lessons on the role of the Civil Society, the importance of Human Rights and Gender Equality by program director and founder Prof. Dr. Aliki Mitsakos . Additionally there were a series of lectures covering many other topics such as Political systems, International security, “The Good Society” by guest speaker Prof. Michael Collins and a simulation game on Politics, Business and Environment.

In a simulation game conducted by Prof. Rene Repasi from Germany, the Kernels engaged in a very interesting and passionate debate on the challenges facing the globalization and carbon trade, taking the different roles of countries and businesses.

The highly level of expertise of the speakers and the interactive learning environment, accompanied with multimedia presentations, videos, games and encouraging constant interventions, made these lectures much more valuable and interesting for the Kernels than the formal day-to-day education.

Together with the lectures, the Kernels also engaged on a number of debates, both on the issues discussed on the lectures as well as topics of their personal interests. These discussions, such as the “Full moon night owl discussion” taking place in a more informal environment, gave the students a free environment for expressing their opinions also outside of the classroom setting.

Regarding the informal games and activities, they provided the Kernels with a great a way to discover their potentials and develop their skills, through a fun and relaxed environment, followed by reflections on what they have accomplished with the exercises.

The practice of sport activities in an international context also contributed to these purposes. The healthy competitions that the Kernels engaged with team mates from different nationalities made these competitions to be embedded of the Olympic spirit. They learn how to act as a team, to manage their different perceptions and to interact together with people from diverse cultures.

After fulfilling days of lectures, games and sports usually at night the Kernels organized thematic parties divided by each delegation where they share their cultural habits, food and music with the each other, offering a good way for them to taste specialties from different countries as to know the other’s social habits.

In addition to these activities the participants still had the possibility to enjoy Cultural Trips on the Island of Crete, visiting archeological sites, like the Therisso gorge and visiting museums and sightseeing in the city of Chania. All these trips were preceded by detailed explanations on the importance and history of each location. Also a more relaxing component was not forgotten and the students enjoyed trips to the local beaches, including a trip to the famous Stavros beach where the movie “Zorba, the Greek” was filmed. The screening of the movie is a tradition in Kernels of our future and could not be left out this year.

 Although the cultural interaction is present throughout the program, it was strongly enforced with a cultural presentation night where each delegation had the opportunity to present their country and culture in the way they feel that represents them best. The creativity and commitment that the participants demonstrate in these presentations was truly amazing.

After a session of examination and Evaluation of the academic part in Chania, The Kernels and Alumni traveled to Athens for a special program were they had the honor to be a guest in the Parliament and visit the Town Hall as well as the Presidential Palace. They also had the great opportunity to visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where a staff member of the Ministry gave them an insight of the work of a diplomat and then answered different questions from the young people. Additionally The Kernels made a visit to the the offices of Kathimerini Newspaper and Skai Television. Of course there was also the opportunity to discover the beauty of Athens, modern and ancient. The Kernels went to see the Acropolis, visited the districts of Plaka and Monastiraki and spent a very interesting afternoon in the New Acropolis Museum.

A very pleasant commencement ceremony marked the end of the program, during which the Kernels were awarded participations diplomas and the “Outstanding Alumnus” award was presented to Mr. Nikolay Kolev from Bulgaria, who has shown his enthusiasm for the program by continually supporting and developing the Kernels idea as an Alumnus and participating every year since being a “Kernel” for the first time in 2005.

The Kernels of our Future 2010 would like to thank their Partners, Sponsors and Donors for their kind and generous support of the program and its mission to build a world of greater tolerance and understanding through educating the future generation. Without their help, this program would not be possible.