1^st International Workshop on

 ‘Modern Asclepieions: Health <-> Culture’

The Athens / Epidauros Declaration

1.             The citizen is the epicentre.  In the 21 Century every effort has to be made to bring again the citizen to the epicentre of social development. Empowerment of citizens is the core issue.

2.             Social integration.  Key issues in the process of social integration is life long learning, equity of access to all services the citizens need, participation to social activities, participation to decisions affecting the lives of people. Every barrier that prevents and/or makes difficult for citizens to participate effectively in the development of a society with a more human face, must be removed or at least be reduced drastically

 3.             Design and construct activity parks. There is an urgent need for design and construction of parks where citizens can express their creativity and enjoy the good thinks of life. In these parks the citizens will be able to make use of all services that are necessary to fulfil their role as active members of the society. In these parks the social interaction and the participation to human activities is encouraged. This is in contrast to the voluntary or involuntary social isolation and the social exclusion, conditions that are unfortunately often present in many circumstances in all modern societies. 

4.             A new Civilisation. The activities of citizens in these parks will be the basis for a new civilisation. This new civilisation should be based on the human ideals, originally expressed by the ancient Greeks and can be found even today in the ideals, the hearts and the souls of young persons. This new civilisation calls for an improved health of citizens. For this purpose the WHO definition of Health as the ‘complete physical, mental and social well-being and not the absence of illness must be a central issue.

 5.             Health is part of Culture. Health is the precondition for the creative and imaginative participation of citizens in social activities. This involvement will create a new social and cultural wealth. Every effort has to be made to facilitate access of citizens to scientific knowledge. Technological achievements must be easily available to all those who want to be acquainted with them or use them for pursuing noble goals for the development of personal culture and personality and of benefit to the society. Every effort has to be made to alleviate the pain and the adverse effects produced by conditions associated with poor health, illness and ill fate 

 6.             Individualism must be give way. In particular ‘what is right and good for the individual or his/her narrow interests’ must give way to ‘right and good for the society in general’. Individuals must find a new role within this new civilisation. This must not be interpreted as being against inventiveness, character and personality development or personal initiatives. Society as a whole must recognise and reward individuals for their achievements and contributions. Recognition and reward by ‘closed groups of persons with particular interests’ or by the ‘members of systems’, initially constructed in the name of social justice and later operated and maintained by small or larger groups of persons, must be terminated or at least be reduced decisively 

7.             Modern Asclepieions.  Places where this new approach can be worked out and where noble human endeavours can be pursued are Modern Asclepieions. They are modelled after the Ancient Asclepieions

 8.             Modern Asclepieions are living organisms. Design, construction, operation and enrichment of Modern Asclepieions must take account of the fact that they should be treated like living organisms. The must nurtured, supported, and respected. The must be allowed to evolve, flourish and mature with time. They must be protected from decay or death. 

9.             A worldwide movement. A worldwide network of scholars and institutions and at later stages of Modern Asclepieions needs to be organised and operated. All modern technologies, tested or innovative methodologies will be employed.  Free flow of information and knowledge and easy sharing of achievements for the benefit of all, are the goals to be achieved 

10.        The Commitment. The participants of The Participants of the 1^st International Advanced Research Workshop, declare that are committed to the basic principles contained in this document and will work towards their realisation

Done at Athens, Greece, on … date ….., 2002

The Participants of the 1^st International Workshop

‘Modern Asclepieions: Health <-> Culture’

Names and signatures follow: