In view of the considerable cultural wealth of all of the areas of Thessaly, and the rich historical character of the region as a whole, and following productive meetings, the Region of Thessaly, in association with representatives from its own departments and from the Ministry of Culture, has satisfied itself of the need to organize the "1st International Congress on the History and Culture of Thessaly", in order to record, highlight, document and evaluate the issues and main elements of Thessaly's History and Culture, from prehistoric times up to the present day, in a scientific manner.

It should be noted that the need for a fuller, more in - depth and wide - ranging approach to the History of Thessaly by means of the said Congress was recorded and proposed by representatives of approximately 20 Thessalian organizations from the Culture Workshop, part of the Thessaly Regional Congress (June 2005), at which a unanimous decision was also taken to jointly organise the "1st International Congress on the History and Culture of Thessaly".

What makes this particular cultural event innovative is the fact that the Region of Thessaly will be bringing together people from the area of Culture, Historians, and researchers in the social sciences, as well as representatives of other institutions; this means that the Congress will be open and fruitful, and will yield collective and beneficial results that will be accessible to any interested citizen of Thessaly - or the world.

There is no doubt that the Thessalian people's attempt to attain self-knowledge through their history and culture enables them to determine more precisely where they are heading in the future.

It is imperative that we all strive towards these goals for Thessaly, and it is for this reason that we are calling upon all organizations and citizens to contribute to our effort, and to assist us in this major collective undertaking, a first for the Region of Thessaly, which we hope will turn into a regular event.