“The Place Where I Am From”: A Moving Celebration of Student Achievement and Creativity

On Saturday, September 26, 2026, the Gennadius Library welcomed students, teachers, families, and friends to the awards ceremony of “The Place Where I Am From” (Ο Τόπος μου), a student competition organized to mark the Library’s centenary and held under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports.

The event brought together young people from across Greece, whose work offered fresh perspectives on the Library’s collections. Through creative writing, video, drama, and visual art, they explored the meaning of “place” with imagination and sensitivity, connecting history with the present, collective memory with personal experience, and landscapes with the people who shape them.

Eleven prizes were awarded to individual and group entries. Above all, the event celebrated the creativity and enthusiasm of every student who took part. Congratulations to the award recipients and all participants, as well as to the teachers and families who supported them throughout the process.

Music added a special touch to the celebration, with a program presented in collaboration with the Gina Bachauer International Music Association and the Santa Barbara Guitar Orchestra, conducted by Alexandros Paparizos. Students and guests also visited the centenary exhibition Gennadius 100: A Century of Inspiration, exploring the Library’s rich collections of rare books and manuscripts, maps, works of art, and other historical treasures.

A highlight of the day was a behind-the-scenes visit to the Library, where students discovered how a research library operates and how its collections are preserved. The competition thus came full circle: from exploring the Library’s digitized collections for inspiration to experiencing the Library itself and meeting the people who care for its holdings.

As the Gennadius Library enters its second century, welcoming a new generation through this celebration was a fitting way to mark the occasion—inviting young people not only to discover the past, but also to reinterpret it through their own experiences and their own sense of place.