First International Congress on Macedonian Studies
(February 1988)

In February 1988 the AIMS organised its First International Congress on Macedonian Studies with the participation of 234 renowned academics and academicians from 35 European, American, Asian and Australian Universities (Poster of the Congress). The proceedings of the Conference led to the publication of a collective volume edited by A. M. Tamis, entitled Macedonian Hellenism, published in 1990 in Melbourne by the River Seine Press. The intention of the congress was to stimulate academic research, the dissemination and discussion of findings and the identification of future directions for research.
A total of 63 participating academics presented a paper. The range of topics covered is illustrated in the Program of the First International Congress and included theoretical and Empirical aspects of archaeological evidence in the region, arts and culture, history, literature, anthropology, linguistics, international law, folkloric tradition, immigration and settlements patterns. The works of the Conference highlighted the complexity of the issues surrounding the Macedonian cultural heritage in an explicatory and immitigable way.
The Congress was open by the Deputy-Prime Minister of Australia and was attended by prominent academics, politicians, Scholars and students. This congress provoked the unnecessary reaction of the Macedoslav community who demonstrated not only at the site of the venue where the Congress was taking place but also at the venues where the social events happened.
The participants of the First International Congress on Macedonian Studies included the following prominent academics:

Academics, academicians and Professors:

Photios Petsas, Constantine Romaios, Georgios Babiniotis, Nicholas Katsanis, George Delopoulos, Nicholas Nikonanos, George Lavvas, Harilaos Symeonidis, Milton Papanicolaou, Antonios Thavoris, Euthymia Georgiadis-Koundoura, Dimitrios Panternalis, Ioannis Hassiotis, Phaedon Malingoudis, Vissilios Dimitriadis, Vassilios Kontis, Stephanos Papadopoulos, Agapitos Tsopanakis, Michael Sakellariou, Artemis Xanthopoulou-Kyriacou, Charalambos Papastathis, Areti Fergadis-Toundas, Ioannis papandrianos, Kaeti Manolopoulou, Evdokia Miliatzidou-Ioannou, Lring D. Danforthm Ricki Van Boeschoten, Evangelos Kofos, Evangelos Kyriacoudis, A. Papaspyropoulos, Michael Katiforis, Nicholas Themelis, Poly Enepekidis, Deftereos Angelos, Constantine Plastiras, Constantine Pyrzas, Vickie Hatzigeorgiou-Hassiotis and Nicholas Ioannou;

Journalists:

Charalmbos Bousbourelis (Vema newspaper), George Karayiorgas (Kathimerine newspaper), Eleni Kypreou-Filippidou (Acropolis newspaper);

Ministers and parliamentarians:

Stylianos Papathemelis, Nicholas Martis, Vassilios Papas;

Friends of the AIMS in Greece:

Nicholas Kyriacou (President), Maro Lazaridis, Zois Oikonomou, Constantinos Stergiadis, Pantelis Vysoulis, Gregorios Velkos,