From May 30 until July 5, 2018, students from American and Greek universities serve as interns at cultural institutions in Nafplio, Greece. In addition to their internship responsibilities, students develop a research project with the guidance of a faculty mentor, and tour cultural and archaeological sites in the Argolid region and in Athens. Learn more about the program here.
The students are nine in total. The three students below are occupied at the Municipal Organization of Culture, Environment, Sports, and Tourism (DOPPAT), contributing to projects in the city and for the city of Nafplio.
Who are we?
My name is Mayukha and I am a rising senior at Harvard College. I am studying Social Studies and am particularly interested in migration and diasporic communities.
I am Michalis Savvidis, an undergraduate student at the Department of Political Science and Social Administration at Democritus University of Thrace. I have a long-lasting interest in Constitutional Law, Human Rights, Philosophy of Law, and Political Theory. After graduating, I plan on attending law school.
I’m Trey Rogers, a rising senior at Harvard College studying Social Studies with a focus in the rise of American populism and the relationship between rurality and politics.
What do we do?
Thus far we have experienced Nafplio in dual capacities. As we go about our daily routines, we experience the city as tourists: walking through cobblestone streets and alongside the waterfront, sitting in cafes and frequenting ice cream parlors. When we step into our internship roles, we explore the city as representatives of a tourism institution, DOPPAT, which is dedicated to developing the cultural heritage of Nafplio and promoting the history of the city in general. As such, we focus on how to introduce the city’s past and present to its future tourists. In order to better understand the city, we have explored historical sites (particularly those related to Ioannis Kapodistrias), the neighborhood of Pronoia originally built for refugees, as well as social meeting spaces like the farmer’s market. In light of these excursions and our future meetings with DOPPAT officials, we are excited to contribute to the department’s tourism strategy. Given our varying interests and backgrounds, we notice different aspects of the city, allowing us to learn as much about the city from each other as from historical documents. We are excited to continue our work to better understand and promote the historic and picturesque city of Nafplio.