Edo Polytechnio

The 2023 podcast series Edo Polytechnio is the 50th anniversary commemoration of a student sit-in at the Athens Polytechnic in November 1973, which was the first mass public demonstration of opposition to the military dictatorship which had ruled Greece since 1967.

This act was seen as an inspiration to the pro-democracy movement, a movement with deep roots in Toronto. Many activists, students and politicians fled to Toronto in the wake of the military junta, and organized opposition efforts to try to overthrow the dictatorship from here. Many artists devoted to bringing the world’s attention to Greece came to Toronto to galvanize public opinion here in Canada and among the city’s vibrant Greek immigrant community.

Episode five of the podcast series centres on the actions of the diaspora in Toronto and how even the Greek-Canadian community here was split between supporters of the military coup and those who were opposed.

The podcast also discusses efforts in Toronto around overthrowing the dictatorship in Greece and interviewed individuals who had to flee here. Hosts sought to teach audiences that coffee houses, concert halls and meeting places on the Danforth were places where pro-democracy activists met and mingled with pro-democracy activists from other communities, namely Chilean immigrants.