Delos Symposium

The Delos Symposium was a forum for discussion and debate over issues of Ekistics, or the study of human settlements, in its widest sense.

The Symposium was organized by the Greek architect-planner, Constantinos Doxiadis in the Aegean Sea, on board his yacht, and was held each June from 1962 through 1974, lasting about ten days. The proceedings were published in Ekistics Journal. Each year, prior to the Symposium, the Athens Ekistic Week was held, involving the Symposium participants in a larger meeting.

Idea development

Ideas incubated and mooted at the Symposium, such as the Habitat Forum were subsequently transformed into institutions, and United Nations programs. Each senior expert were asked to invite a young protege, bringing youthful ideas and variety into the gathering.

Notable attendees

• Barbara Ward (economist)
• Margaret Mead (anthropologist)
• Buckminister Fuller (technologist)
• Arnold Toynbee(historian)
• Edmund Beacon (urban designer)
• Vikram Sarabhai (scientist)

References

• Wendy Hui Kyong Chun and Thomas Keenan, ed., New media, old media: a history and theory reader, p. 394, ISBN 0415942241