Presidency Transfer: From Greece to Turkey

by Dr. Markos Loukogiannakis

Athens, February 4, 1997

The firs three-years period of our Balkan Society came to the end, leaving the echoes of a successful meeting in Athens which, for first time, brought in contact so many fellows from the Balkan peninsula and the neighboring areas, opening exciting perspectives for closer collaboration and firm communication in various scientific and social fields.

From Florina to Athens, the Hellenic Geophysical Union led the first steps of the Balkan Society, trying to trace the paths for an effective internal communication as well as for the indispensable contacts with the international geoscientific community. The final achievements were not always what we expected to be, but something important has been already established and is going ahead in spite of the obstacles we met and we are still facing.<

The second period leadership belongs to the Chamber of the Geophysical Engineering of Turkey. Prof. Dr. A.T. Basokur, who assisted the Greek presidency with all his forces as vice-president, confirmed our Turkish colleagues will to push the Society even more and strengthen its voice for the benefit of all geophysicists from South-Eastern Europe.

The official transfer of the presidency took place in Istanbul Hilton Hotel, on January the 17 th. The Greek delegation, formed of the President G. Sideris, the Secretary-scientific M. Loukogiannakis and the Treasurer Y. Grigoriou met the respective Turkish fellows A. T. Basokur, I. Aydin and T. F. Aksu. All files, correspondence and financial records of the BGS were passed to the Turkish presidency. The cordial climate of the meeting led us to the Bosphorus seaside where the Turkish delegation offered a tasteful dinner with traditional Turkish cuisine. The past and the new members of the BGS Council, accompanied by the President of the Istanbul branch of the Turkish Chamber O. Gündogdu and the General Co-Chairman of the Istanbul’ 97 meeting B. Ecevitoglu, had the chance to exchange ideas for the future of the Society and its place in the international geoscientific scene.

The Hellenic Geophysical Union is committed to support the new presidency in all initiatives it will undertake for the benefit of our Balkan Geophysical Society. We wish success to its targets and we are looking forward to meeting all our colleagues from Balkans and abroad, at the second Balkan Congress in 1999.

With my best wishes for peace, collaboration and success.