Welcome to Crete and ΒΙΟΤΕΧΝΟΛΟΓΙΑ 2018, the annual gathering of our extended biotech and pharma family. Since our first meeting eighteen years ago our wish has been to share with you Greece’s history, culture, and natural beauty. Starting in 2001 we have sat with you beneath the windmills of Mykonos; walked in the medieval city of the Knights of St. John in Rhodes; visited the home of the great Macedonian kings, Philip II and Alexander the Great, in northern Greece; marveled at the site of the great Minoan palaces in Crete; admired the magnificence of ancient and modern Athens; had a taste of the unique blend of Greek and Italian culture in Corfu; strolled in the port of Nafplion, the first capital of the modern Greek state; were welcomed in Samos, the island of Pythagoras; were inspired at Olympia, the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games; watched the full moon rise over the ancient Temple of Poseidon in Sounion; climbed to the small village of Papingo in the Pindos Mountains of Epirus; experienced the centuries-old multicultural history of Thessaloniki, the capital of northern Greece; met in a sea of olive trees in Messinia by the bay where Greek independence was determined; in Eastern Crete, we were treated to a private visit to the ancient necropolis of Eleftherna and the leper island Spinalonga; we were hosted by friends in the small city of Kastoria, a Byzantine urban center continuously inhabited from the Byzantine age until today; we revisited glorious Athens: and last year we were back again to Kerkyra, where we held our meeting in 2006.
This year we are meeting at the Elounda Executive Conference Centre in eastern Crete, the same place where we met in 2004. Our program starts in the evening of Monday, May 21, with a cocktail reception. Our business sessions will be on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, followed by lunch. On Tuesday afternoon we will hold the Alex Barkas Memorial Soccer Tournament (PLAYERS BRING SNEAKERS, the field is artificial turf, not natural grass) in honor of our great friend Alex and on Wednesday afternoon we will visit the ancient Dorian city-state of Lato and one of the oldest villages in Crete, Kritsa. In the morning of Thursday, May 24, we will visit the ancient city of Knossos and, after lunch in Heraklion, the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. Our day will end with our farewell dinner back at the resort.
This year we are meeting at the Elounda Executive Conference Centre in eastern Crete, the same place where we met in 2004. Our program starts in the evening of Monday, May 21, with a cocktail reception. Our business sessions will be on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, followed by lunch. On Tuesday afternoon we will hold the Alex Barkas Memorial Soccer Tournament (PLAYERS BRING SNEAKERS, the field is artificial turf, not natural grass) in honor of our great friend Alex and on Wednesday afternoon we will visit the ancient Dorian city-state of Lato and one of the oldest villages in Crete, Kritsa. In the morning of Thursday, May 24, we will visit the ancient city of Knossos and, after lunch in Heraklion, the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. Our day will end with our farewell dinner back at the resort.