Kavala - Greece | Cosmopolis International Festival

Organized by: The Municipality of Kavala, Municipal Development Enterprise of Kavala
Date: 16 - 20 July 2008
Place: Kavala, Greece
Visitors: More than 70.000 visitors attended the events of the 7th Cosmopolis (2007)

The International Festival Cosmopolis* first took place in 2000. Due to the fact that each Cosmopolis Festival should not be a reproduction of the previous one, an attempt was made to avoid either forming a certain pattern or any kind of limitations regarding artistic campaigns. So, Cosmopolis, instead of a mere selection of events, decided to emphasize on a thorough presentation of cultures.
Culture is not only music and dance. It is, mainly, people and every kind of their activity. More specifically, their folk art, foods and, most importantly, their thoughts and creations being expressed in artistic devices. Differences in colors, words, sounds, movements, really elevate our soul. Such differences should not belong to a part of a museum, but to stay alive and act as a signal of their culture.
Ignoring cultural identities does not mean that we bring cultures together, thus contributing to the end of disputes, even to the end of wars. Instead, we end up undermining thought and creation. We do not need to be similar with other cultures; only to understand that we are different from others in terms of cultural affairs and to consider the importance of it. This could be even a way to put an end to wars.
That is what Cosmopolis Festival tries to do. It creates a multicultural spirit and promotes cultural differences, aiming this to act positively so as to strengthen the bonds between cultures. It is a celebration. Like those celebrations when easygoing people were dancing, having no concern of who was next to them. No matter in which race one belonged. You just were a human being among other ones.

Cosmopolis is a celebration that gives a hug to everyone. Let’s participate!

* Cosmopolis: a Philosophical – political view that dominated the 4 c. BC in Macedonian Dynasty, when there was the feeling that the cultural relationship was beyond limits as far as genealogical relationships and borders are concerned. The call for going beyond the local boundaries, for a boom of cultural exchange n was looking for a leader. This leader came to be Alexander the Great.