Publication History

The first activity of the Eugenides Foundation, following its establishment in 1954, was the writing and publication of appropriate textbooks for students at technical schools, which at that time fell under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry.

Students at evening and day Technical Schools did not have the necessary approved textbooks, and those available on the open market did not meet their needs. Furthermore, their retail price was prohibitive for students’ financial means.

Establishment of the Publications Committee

In 1956, the Foundation's Publications Committeewas established, comprising two representatives from the Foundation and two from the Council for Vocational Education.

The purpose of that first committee was to develop curricula for technical courses and to identify qualified authors to write the textbooks. As its first book, the Publications Committee decided to publish Mathematics for the Craftsman.

The task of writing the book was assigned to Nikolaos Kritikos, a professor of mathematics at the National Technical University of Athens, who, instead of writing a new book, chose to adapt into Greek a two-volume French book by the author R. Cluzel, which was used by students in France at the corresponding schools and corresponded to the Greek curriculum.

In November 1957, at an official ceremony at the Productivity Center, this first book published by the Foundation was presented by Marianthi Simou to the then Minister of Industry, Pan. Papaligoura, who emphasized the importance of the Foundation’s publishing work, urged the government to expand and strengthen its cooperation with the Foundation.

Mathematics for the Craftsman became a classic textbook used by students until the Lower Technical Schools were abolished in 1980!

After Technical and Vocational Education was placed under the Ministry of Education, the Parliament, recognizing the Foundation’s successful publishing record up to that point, entrusted the Eugenides Foundation with the task of writing and publishing textbooks and supplementary materials for vocational and technical schools, at the Foundation’s own expense. 

At that time, the Publications Committee was also reestablished, and its members included the then-director of Vocational and Technical Education at the Ministry of Education.

In 1956, the Committee for the Publication of Technical Education Textbooks for the Merchant Marine was established, with the task of determining which textbooks to publish and their content. This Commission began operating in 1966, when the Ministry of Merchant Marine commissioned the Eugenides Foundation to publish textbooks for the Public Merchant Marine Schools, and it continues to operate to this day.

In July 1972, the Eugenides Foundation signed an agreement with the Manpower Employment Organization (OAED), under which it undertook the writing and publication of textbooks for students at the organization’s educational institutions.

Furthermore, the Foundation was particularly pleased to accept the proposal from the Ministry of Infrastructure, Transportation, and Networks (YPYMEDI) to oversee the preparation, drafting, and publication of manuals and questionnaires for prospective drivers and transport operators. Thus, through a series of ministerial decisions, the Publications Committee was expanded to include four representatives from the Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport, and Networks, and the Foundation was tasked with the writing, editing, and publishing of Theoretical Driver Training Manuals for various specializations, Road Transport manuals, questionnaires, and texts from the Highway Code.

The Eugenides Foundation’s publications also include publications produced in collaboration with the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV), translations of technical manuals and books on physics, chemistry, biology, etc., the publication of show guides and other materials for the Planetarium, as well as conference proceedings, manuals on seamanship, etc.