Athens – University professor and father of semiotics, essayist and novelist, philosopher and public intellectual, Umberto Eco left an indelible mark on the contemporary mind through his brilliance and his extraordinary ability to interpret the world. Ten years after his death, the Michalis Cacoyannis Foundation is hosting the first major symposium in Greece devoted to the thought and wide-ranging work of Umberto Eco. The international symposium, promoted by the Association of Italian Academics in Greece (SEPI), will be held on Wednesday, 10 June, in Athens. Scholars and collaborators of Eco from the University of Bologna and other leading European universities will take part, alongside distinguished Greek academics and specialists in his work. Contributions from university students are also welcomed, with the aim of encouraging dialogue across generations. Two panels are scheduled: "Umberto Eco: The Academic Legacy" and "Umberto Eco: Narrator and Public Intellectual." Between the two panels, a ten-minute conversation will take place between the editor of the newspaper To Vima, Periklis Dimitrolopoulos, and journalist and columnist Antonis Karpetopoulos, on the theme: "Attending a Lecture by Umberto Eco as a University Student." The documentary La biblioteca del mondo (A Library of the World), directed by Davide Ferrario, will also be screened. The event, held under the auspices of the Italian Embassy in Athens, is co-organised by the Italian Cultural Institute of Athens, the Department of History, Italian Literature and European Culture at the University of Athens, the Michalis Cacoyannis Foundation, and the newspaper To Vima. (9Colonne)