This coming Saturday, May the 18th, marks the start of the new Skyros holidays season that carries on until September the 22nd. (https://www.skyros.com/)

Skyros Holidays, established in 1979, made a ground breaking entry into the tourist field as nobody had until then run any sort of learning holidays. Skyros was indeed the very first to do so, the innovative force whose ideas captured many people's imagination and attracted the interests of business all over the world.

The beginning was marked with the establishment of The Skyros Centre, a psychotherapy venue under the leadership of Dina Glouberman, a world-renowned expert in transformational imagery and author of several classic psychology books.

Its establishment turned almost instantly into a breath-taking venture. People did unwind and took a good, deep and honest look at their lives, explored pain, fears, inhibitions and habits that were getting in the way of a more fulfilling life, and, using their emotional intelligence, re-launched their life-long journey. At the same time, they did relate to other people more openly, deeply and effectively. People they had just met became, in just a few days, their best friends.

And then in 1984 Atsitsa was launched – this time under the guidance of Yannis Andricopoulos, a journalist and author of many history books.

Its launch was another ground-breaking operation as it re-introduced the concept of Holistic Living that both the Judaeo-Christian culture of faith and then the capitalist culture of profit had dismissed. Inspired by the ancient Greeks, the Holistic approach rested on balance, proportion and symmetry and demanded the honouring of all our constituent parts – mind, body and spirit. Physical, moral and intellectual excellence, all described by the single word areté, were considered indivisible.

Skyros' holistic approach was a major breakthrough in the thinking of our times as until then only Prince Charles had used the term holism, and this only in the field of alternative medicine. And its endorsement helped a lot to ensure that Skyros had a promising future.

Another major achievement of Skyros was the introduction of the writing courses through the establishment of the Writers' Lab. Its introduction, back in 1993, was again an almost entirely new venture which attracted as facilitators writers such as Hilary Mantel, Sue Townsend, Barry Unsworth, Bernice Rubens and several other Booker or Pulitzer prize winners.

(See https://www.skyros.com/about/outstandingindividuals/)

Still, what ensured the longevity and success of Skyros is mainly something else: its culture which encourages people, rather than resign, accept and conform to question, challenge and create. With the help of Skyros' exceptional staff, people can thus reconnect with their essence, unearth their dormant potential and activate their creative instincts. Encouraged to contribute to everybody's welfare, they also interact with each other as if they are a family – albeit without the usual family hindrances.

This is done not only through the courses but also through demos, the daily early morning meeting of the entire community for the exchange of news and views, the daily œkos groups in which its members voice honestly their thoughts and feelings in a confidential non critical space, the co-listening which involves the same process but between two people only, and the work groups, which are requested to perform simple tasks that help the smooth running of the community.

The work required by all members of the group does, incidentally, abolish all social, age or gender differences, underpin the individual's sense of responsibility towards the entire community, our polis, and strengthens everybody's connections with everybody else. This is what the Friends of Skyros group also demonstrates.

Perhaps the Skyros ethos and its culture is what attracted to Skyros as participants people such as the comedian Jimmy Carr, the Hollywood actor Bob Wisdom, the singer-songwriter Beth Orton, the renowned American environmentalist Kirkpatrick Sale or the journalists Kate Adie and Mariella Frostrup – to mention just a few of the celebrities who have joined us.

Another important factor that helped to establish Skyros as a pillar of the alternative world is the green, beautiful, traditional and friendly Skyros island, a home from home to so many of us. Its history goes back by several millennia – evidence of this one can see, among other places, in the remnants of Palamari, the early bronze age village close to Atsitsa or in the castle, the home of young Achilles, that stands above Skyros village.

To take a look at this year's programme go to https://www.skyros.com/

Courses in every session include yoga, kayaking, fiction writing, music & singing, dance, painting, personal development and much more.

To contact us go to holidays@skyros.com

Tel: +44 (0)1983 865566