Institutional Identity
Leirion Alternative Library is an independent educational and research organisation based in Athens, working in the fields of education, diplomacy, research, publishing and culture. It designs and delivers educational programmes, international conferences, simulations of diplomatic and institutional practice, research activities, and publishing and cultural initiatives.
Original work. A defining characteristic of the organisation is the development of original educational and diplomatic methodologies, applied systematically across its programmes and accompanied by a certification programme for educators.
Mission. The organisation creates enabling environments for young people, for vulnerable groups and for those without equal access to further learning, so that they may develop their skills through experiential learning and practice. Learning is not confined to the transmission of knowledge; it evolves into dialogue, critical thinking and meaningful participation. This principle runs through all of the organisation’s programmes, from poetry education for children to university-level diplomatic simulation. The organisation also creates space for young people to take on responsibility early, in the running of its programmes.
Institutional development. The educational and cultural path that led to Leirion began in 2013 with “Young Explorers of Culture”, a non-profit association running cultural activities, which ceased operating in June 2016. In 2017 Leirion Alternative Library was founded, continuing and gradually broadening the scope of its work. In 2022 its organisational and legal structure was transformed into a Non-Profit Civil Company, marking a new period of institutional growth and international orientation.
FIELDS OF ACTIVITY
Non Formal Education – Diplomatic Simulation – Research – Publishing – Culture – Education Innovation
The Leirion Policy Forum is a university-level diplomatic simulation platform, based on the Next Generation Diplomatic Architecture™ (NGDA) methodology. It addresses undergraduate and postgraduate students, academics, universities and institutions. It operates as an annual institution, with its first edition in 3-7 March 2027 | Global College Malta.
Original Methodologies & Intellectual Property
Next Generation Diplomatic Architecture™ (NGDA)
Bridging the gap between traditional diplomatic simulation and real-world policy development.
A university-level methodological framework for diplomatic simulation, institutional negotiation and the development of substantiated institutional proposals. It addresses undergraduate and postgraduate students. Its foundational principle is “Knowledge before Action”: the simulation is given structure, so that experience is converted into knowledge.
It differs fundamentally from conventional simulation: it does not reproduce a session, but simulates institutions in their actual operation, with its own institutional framework and its own terminology. It runs with a limited number of participants, by design: the quality of preparation and of the work produced takes precedence over the size of the event.
Academic supervision is a foundational element of the method. The academic training, the Round Tables and the special seminars are always delivered by university professors. The Academic Observer follows the proceedings, and evaluation is carried out through structured questionnaires before and after the event. The method rests on seven foundational principles: Knowledge before Action; specialisation as a structural element; multidimensional analysis; the Convergence Session; academic substantiation; selective participation; thematic unity across all Strategic Bodies. Its theoretical grounding draws on the literature of experiential learning and negotiation (Kolb, Schön, Dewey, Fisher & Ury).
The architecture is organised around a political, economic or social issue which runs through all the bodies taking part in the simulation. The participants’ work converges through the Synthesis process and results in specific deliverables: the Forum Decision, the Policy Briefs and the Forum Volume.
The conference does not end when proceedings close; it ends with a substantiated text.
The vision of the method is to bring young people closer to institutions, by learning in practice how institutions work and how policy is made at global level.
The idea was born at the first international conference of 2021 and the methodology took shape through its application at the International Model United Nations Conferences of 2023 to 2026, with full application at the 5th International Leirion Model United Nations Conference. It is published in the volume Next Generation Diplomatic Architecture: Foundational Volume (Leirion Publications, ISBN 978-618-87607-4-5) and forms the basis of the Leirion Policy Forum.
Ithaca Method™
A pedagogical framework for free co-existence and poetic expression. Poetry is the means; the human encounter is the purpose. It is structured in eight stages around Cavafy’s “Ithaca”, with Socratic dialogue and voluntary participation: nothing is imposed, and participants are not assessed.
It was applied in autumn 2021 to 270 children and adolescents aged 5 to 15, in 10 schools in Greece, France and Germany. It was delivered in cooperation with the Hellenic Ministry of Migration and Asylum, working with unaccompanied refugee children and with educators in reception facilities, and with the Municipality of Zakynthos, for children of women who had suffered violence.
Its first documented form is the book “Co-existing Freely” (Entypois Publications, ISBN 9789606590306, 2022). The methodology is presented in the article “Poetry as a place of free co-existence: a Socratic, non-assessment-based pedagogical approach with children in three countries (ITHACA Method)”, Culture, Journal of Culture in Tourism, Art and Education (2026).
MUN for Primary School Students
An original adaptation of diplomatic simulation for pupils aged 10 to 13, from the final years of primary school through the first year of junior high, with “Knowledge before Action” as its guiding principle. The children first attend academic training on the topic and then take part in the simulation.
The simulation is conducted in the participants’ mother tongue and focuses on environmental and social issues, so that the topic is accessible to the age group without losing its seriousness. The structure is simplified (one to three committees, an adapted Study Guide, a limited number of participants), but the substance remains the same: the official terminology, the voting procedure and the drafting of a Resolution are retained exactly as in the conferences for older participants.
The programme develops an understanding of political and social issues, together with research, substantiation and public speaking.
It has been applied in two conferences, in 2024 and 2026, with 35 pupils in total.
Dialogue with a Painting
A museum-education methodology connecting Socratic dialogue with the work of art. It has run in periodic cycles since 2022, and within the organisation’s summer programmes, reaching more than 150 children across eight museum venues in Athens: the National Gallery, the Museum of Cycladic Art, the National Archaeological Museum, the Acropolis Museum, the National Sculpture Gallery, the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation Museum of Contemporary Art, the OTE Group Telecommunications Museum and the Goulandris Natural History Museum.
The methodologies are the original intellectual work of Anna-Anila Pani. The rights belong exclusively to their creator. Leirion Alternative Library is granted a licence to apply the methodologies in its programmes.
Leirion MUN Academy
An international programme of diplomatic education, from primary school to university.
Leirion Publications
Leirion Publications has operated since 2025 as the organisation’s publishing arm. It publishes scholarly works, methodological volumes, educational handbooks, the volumes of the international conferences, and literature. As of August 2026, five titles with ISBN have been released, with four more forthcoming.
The catalogue includes two works by Dr Athanasios Staveris-Polykalas in the field of security and technology, the proceedings of the 4th International Conference, the poetry collection
“To Agriochorto” (The Wild Herb) by Yannis Sirinakis, and the foundational volume Next Generation Diplomatic Architecture: Foundational Volume by Anna-Anila Pani (ISBN 978-618-87607-4-5), in which the methodology of the same name is published.
Forthcoming: the volume of the 5th International Conference, expected at the end of September 2026, together with three educational works: The MUN Advisor, the handbook of the Ithaca Method™ and the MUN Manual for Delegates.
Certifications
Leirion MUN Certification
International Professional Certification Programme
Level 1
Leirion MUN Educator™
Level 2
Leirion MUN Advisor™
Ithaca Method™ Educator Certification
International Professional Certification in the Application
of the Ithaca Method™
Institutional Journey 2013 to 2026
Leirion in Numbers
The figures below cover our work from 2017 to August 2026.