The General Secretariat for Greeks Αbroad of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies, have designed a series of apps to bring the children of the Greek Diaspora closer to the Greek culture, language, history and mythology.
From Monday, April 27, those interested can access www.staellinika.com through their computer, mobile phone or tablet and after a simple free registration process, will have access to educational material in both Greek and English.
The apps are designed for kids aged 4+ (Greek for Preschool/Kindergarten), kids aged 6+ (beginners Greek for ages 6-8) and kids aged 9+ (beginners for ages 9+).
"The aim of our initiative is to use technology to mobilise the interest of students, especially younger ages, in a modern and at the same time attractive methodology for learning the Greek language, mythology and culture, through a complete personalised learning experience. The Greek language is one of the key elements that unites Hellenism and this platform will be an important investment for its preservation, dissemination and promotion," Greek Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Kostas Vlasis stated.
Each teaching unit includes audiovisual educational material such as videos, online educational books and interactive exercises.
The initiative did not cost anything for the Greek government, and was released earlier to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown measures.
Every day, content will be updated, so that the full version will be available in September this year.
The initiative will gradually reach the public of all ages, while providing the opportunity to support structures of the Greek State and Greek organisations (Embassies, Consulates, communities, schools and institutions of Greek culture), to provide Greek language and mythology courses to anyone interested.
Secretary General for Diaspora Greeks, Ioannis Chrysoulakis commented that this initiative is a "brilliant tool. I consider it extremely important today to offer apps for the Greek language in the environment of mobile devices. In order to ensure both the suitability and effectiveness of the material and its aesthetic perfection, a team of educators, linguists, teachers and artists have undertaken the scientific support of the project. It is worth noting that the majority of the team members are talented young people living in Greece."
The www.staellinika.com initiative is already operating on YouTube , and the app is now available on apple (iOS) devices for children aged 4-5, 6-8 years and over 9 years. The app will become available on android devices in September.