Maria Chnaraki
Adjunct Professor at Drexel University, Ethnomusicologist, Folklorist & Cultural Anthropologist (MA, PhD)
Crete on the world map: Island Innovation Award
Maria Chnaraki
A pedagogical, intercultural, and experiential project for Crete with a spirit of internationalism, generosity, and extroversion.
At this year’s Island Finance Forum, the winners and finalists of 12 categories from the annual Island Innovation Awards were announced and distinguished for a first time through a special online ceremony. The Island Innovation Awards are organized in collaboration with Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) and recognize talent in individuals, organizations, and projects that have a positive impact on remote and island communities globally. By recognizing the winners and finalists of each category, Island Innovation seeks to positively inspire, as well as to widen the exchange of knowledge concerning island communities around the world.
The official award ceremony was presented by Island Innovation CEO, James Ellsmoor, with a keynote lecture from the former president of the United States of America, Bill Clinton. Dr Maria Chnaraki (Ethnomusicologist, Folklorist & Cultural Anthropologist [MA, PhD]), Professor at Drexler University (Philadelphia, PA, USA) and Education Consultant at Kids Love Greece, has received the award for “most impactful innovation ambassador” for the pedagogical, intercultural, and experiential project that she offers with a spirit of internationalism, generosity, and extroversion to the island she comes from and where she is mainly active, Crete.
During her speech, she emphasized the significance of long-term education in a participatory manner, paralleling it to water in our everyday life. She further noted that, due to her island roots and experiences, she understands well that “none of us is an island,” but we are all intricate amalgams bearing the same expressions but in different manners. If we realize this experientially and let ourselves wander in Minoan labyrinths and Socratic paths, if we deeply observe our very being as external observers and consequently seize the “know thyself” maxim, then we can freely breathe and build multidisciplinary bridges of mutual understanding that transcend all borders. Island Innovation offers precious threads and acts as a modern Ariadne who helps traditional and modern citizens find ways of coexisting peacefully. Concluding, she thanked her parents for the roots, her students for the branches, and Island Innovation and its associates for the buds.
