December 30, 2025
“The mountains are our roots. They are our entire upbringing and origin,” emphasizes Varvara Terzakis-Palikari, Founding Member of the University of the Mountains and inspirer and creator of the Penelope Gandhi Mission. summarizing the essence of an effort that has been uniting the urban and rural worlds for years, through the actions of the University and the Mission.
Mrs. Terzaki speaks on the show “Beautiful Day” with Nikos Angelakis, on the occasion of the latest excursion of the University of the Mountains to the Municipality of Amari. The excursions of the University of the Mountains usually include: Mutual teaching between city and village students, examinations by mobile medical units by university doctors and students, and the “Cafe of the Mountains” — an institution for the revival of the popular assembly. In the “Cafe of the Mountains” , as she emphasizes, “the simple conversation that used to take place in the cafes is a social element, it is psychotherapy… this small, great council of the Greeks cannot be lost.”
A special place in the activities of the University of the Mountains is occupied by the activities of the Penelope Gandhi Mission, which highlight the art of weaving not only as a traditional skill, but also as a living cultural memory. “Weaving is the DNA of the women of Crete,” emphasizes Mrs. Terzaki, explaining that this art is passed down from generation to generation, not only as a technique but as a way of life, creation and expression. During the excursions to the villages, women of the region are given the opportunity to present their techniques, to talk about the looms, the yarns, the designs and to teach children how to weave a cloth with patience, prudence and soul.
“People in villages are not possessed by all this tension, by all this effort that we put in every day in the cities,” she points out. And this quietness, contact with nature and companionship, is a source of wisdom and sociability.
“Our lives are more normal, more beautiful, more compatible with our nature when we live close to these people ,” he says. “We cannot have a two-speed Greece… Golden children and children who are anxious to stand.”
The University of the Mountains is not a simple program. It is a quiet revolution of relationship, roots, and future. Listen to the audio below — a narrative of hope, memory, and action.