2008 Programs and Events
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Ambassador Speckhard (center) dines with Prefect Grigoris Arhondakis, NSA Commander Capt. Tom McDonough and others (US Navy Photo: Paul Farley).
IIPES, Souda Bay Host Ambassador in Crete
July 29, 2008
Ambassador Speckhard went to Chania, Crete on July 29 to talk about U.S. foreign policy with Greek, American and international students at the 13th annual International Institute for Political and Economic Studies (IIPES). Following the student program, the Ambassador attended a luncheon hosted by Captain Tom McDonough of the U.S. Naval Support Activity, Souda Bay for Prefect Grigoris Arhondakis and the mayor of Chania, Kyriakos Virvidakis.
IIPES is a three-week summer program for students organized by the Fund for American Studies and its local affiliate, the Greek Association for Atlantic and European Cooperation, and Georgetown University at the Mediterranean Agronomy Institute in Chania. The largest such program in the Mediterranean, this year the nearly 100 participating students represent 24 different countries including the United States, the Balkan region, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Middle East. The program aspires to help young, emerging leaders better understand transatlantic institutions and the concepts of individual liberty, the rule of law, and free market principles within the context of cooperation, tolerance and a civil society.
