Berlin and Athens have decided to establish a Greek-German Youth Institute in an effort to bridge cultural differences and break down national stereotypes among young people. The agreement was signed on September 12 between the ministries of education of Greece and Germany. It includes internships, school youth exchange programs and visits to places where Nazi atrocities took place.

Similar agreements are already in force with Poland and France, aiming at healing the wounds of the Second World War. “More than 3 million young people benefited from that. We had ten bilingual schools in France and in Germany”, said Sigrid Skarpelis-Sperk, former Social-Democrat MP and leading figure in the initiative, during the first meeting of the project in Bad Honnef in Germany.

“Our goal is the rapprochement of our societies,” says Greek Secretary General of Youth Panagiotis Kanellopoulos. “ The project aims at bringing our young people together as well as improving the bilateral Greek-German relations.”