Since 1988, ten years ago exactly, Photosynkyria has, with its continuous annual appearance on this country's cultural stage, made an active contribution to the shaping of the contemporary photographic landscape in Greece, and perhaps elsewhere as well. Apart from directing the most modern of methods towards the promotion of art photography, Photosynkyria has throughout this period accomplished a dual purpose: it has enabled Greece to establish a complex communication with the world beyond its borders, on the one hand by welcoming to Thessaloniki every February a constellation of both contemporary and older photographic work from many different countries, and on the other by developing, within a single framework, a panorama of creative manifestations of Greek photography. It has thus repeatedly provided Greek and foreign artists with the opportunity to further their progress through contact, interaction and exchange. At the same time, it has dynamically preserved the "voice" of photography in Greece through its contribution to the shaping of a relevant cultural policy. The Ministry of Culture recognises and supports the initiative of the organizing body, Camera Obscura, and stands alongside it once again here in Thessaloniki, in this tenth anniversary celebration of Photosynkyria. In an age when the image prevails as the language and tool of communication and as a domain of concern and inquiry, we honour, in this great festival of photography, all those who find creative expression through photography and its offshoots, and no less the public that seeks them out and welcomes them. Evangelos Venizelos Minister of Culture