Study of Ancient Greek

The study of Ancient Greek is under threat in the Flemish education system. There is a steady decline in the number of pupils learning Greek at school, exacerbated by the fact that under the current system within schools of General Secondary Education (ASO), only pupils who study Latin in the first year also get the chance to learn Greek. Yet we can still feel the influence of Ancient Greece in our culture today. Just think of our democratic political structures, language for academic study, or architectural gems inspired by Ancient Greek buildings. Aspects of our daily lives are often intertwined with Ancient Greek ways of thinking, but this largely goes unnoticed. By actively experiencing this dialogue, pupils – and also those around them – gain valuable insights into language and language difference, their own and other cultures, and moral and philosophical issues. 

In the departments of Greek linguistics and literature, we therefore see it as our mission to share knowledge about the world of Ancient Greece with as many pupils as possible. Under normal circumstances, we give workshops to over 600 primary and secondary school pupils every year. Not only to pupils who are already studying classical languages, but also those doing other subjects. Moreover, our students from the Ancient Greek teacher training programme work with primary school children as part of ‘Ancient Greeks – Young Heroes’. Thanks to this project, around 500 pupils who would not normally come into contact with Ancient Greek, including disadvantaged students or students in lower streams, were able to learn about the Ancient Greek language, mythology, history, and culture. These pupils also made visible progress in their reading comprehension skills, a first indicator of the project’s impact.

Your support is more than welcome!

In order to continue offering our workshops and the Young Heroes project, and expand these projects, all donations are very gratefully received. These are used exclusively for the purposes of our outreach programmes in schools, which enable us to offer ever more pupils access to the challenging and enriching study of Ancient Greek.

We would be delighted if you want to support this great project by making a donation via bank transfer to the following account number: BE26 3900 9658 0329 (BIC: BBRUBEBB) with the message ‘LW_805’ or ‘Greek Outreach’.

University Fund of Ghent University
Sint Pietersnieuwstraat 25
9000 Ghent, Belgium

Your gift is tax deductible starting from €40 per year. 

For more information, see: https://www.grieks.ugent.be/info-voor/scholen/ (Dutch). If you have any questions, please get in touch via grieks@ugent.be.