IAOA Prize in memory of A. Kitsos by the Academy of Athens

The Board of Directors of the Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Albanians of Greek Descent (IAOA) –which is a member of the network of Foundations established by the John S. Latsis family– in an attempt to honour the great services offered by the late Angelos Kitsos, member of the Board of Directors, to the Foundation and to our country, decided to propose to the Academy of Athens the institution of an annual ‘Prize of the Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Albanians of Greek Descent (IAOA) in memory of Angelos Kitsos’, which will fall under the category of prizes awarded by the Class B of Letters and Fine Arts; the Academy of Athens accepted this proposal. The prize amounting to EUR 5,000 is intended to reward an original study/dissertation, published within the last five years, on a subject related to the history, architecture and art history of Epirus. Prizes may also be awarded to studies/collections related to the arts and photography in the region of Epirus.

The first prize was awarded during the solemn meeting of the Academy of Athens on 28 December 2010 to Ioannis P. Chouliaras for his work entitled "Mural Religious Painting of the 16th and 17th Century in Western Zagori", which was published in 2009 by the Rizarios Foundation.

Angelos Kitsos, who deceased on 6 August 2008, was an important personality of our time. He was committed to the struggle of promoting and ensuring the prosperity of his homeland, Epirus. Moreover, he demonstrated, mainly in the last phase of his life, a love for historic photography, which gave him the drive to ensure the publication of important images, which revealed aspects of the history of contemporary Hellenism. He was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the IAOA, he worked for many years for the National Youth Institute, and he was the Chairman and a member of the Board of Directors of the Rizarios Foundation. The contribution of Angelos Kitsos to the actions of the IAOA was invaluable, and for many years, he led the effort to fight against human misery.

After awarding the prize, the Academy of Athens announced the granting of the same prize in 2011. The deadline for the submission of applications is 30 April 2011.