In the presence of the Prime minister, Mr. Alexis Tsipras, the President  of the National Bank of Greece Mrs. Louka Katseli, the CEO of the National Bank of Greece Mr. Leonidas Fragkiadakis, the President of the Onassis Foundation Dr. Anthony Papadimitriou and representatives of public benefit foundations and institutions, the crowdfunding program ACT4GREECE was presented by  the National Bank of Greece today, Monday, February 1st, at the Melas Megaron (https://www.nbg.gr/act4greece/el/ ).

In this program, which is a National Bank of Greece initiative and at the same time the first big crowdfunding platform with a public benefit character in Greece, the Onassis Foundation participates as a Strategic Partner.  The President of the Onassis Foundation Dr. Anthony Papadimitriou, in his speech addressed during the presentation event, noted the following:

 

“In the Onassis Foundation, we are extremely happy that today, together and in conjunction with other important public benefit foundations, we accept the invitation of National Bank of Greece to participate in the ACT4GREECE initiative – the first big crowdfunding platform with a public benefit nature, developed in Greece.

Onassis Foundation was established in 1975 – last year was our 40th anniversary – in order to contribute in critical areas, such as health, education, culture and social solidarity.  We acknowledge that the private sector ought to join forces with the State, enhancing it, for achieving a multiple effect and for the common good, especially when it involves public benefits.

The vision and timeless mission of Onassis Foundation is to release the potential of our society.  With our support, acting as a springboard, institutions, people and ideas create a better present and a more optimistic future for our country.

We succeeded in achieving this exact release of potential in the area of health, through the construction and donation of Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center to the State, in 1993.  We achieved an even greater one in the areas of culture and education, with the establishment of Onassis Cultural Centre (Stegi) in 2010 but also through various other projects, like the provision of 6.500 scholarships so far.

In this same context, Onassis Foundation accepted the invitation of the National Bank of Greece to participate as a Strategic Partner in the ACT4GREECE initiative.

We perceive this initiative as the provision of a tool to the wider public, which will enable each one of us to contribute, to the degree possible, in the fight against the crisis and its respective growing problems.

Each one of the institutions in this alliance offers its specific experience and knowhow so that all crowdfunding participants can be certain that their offering – with full transparency guaranteed by the National Bank – will reach the right recipients.

The Onassis Foundation and the Onassis Cultural Centre contribute with their 40-year experience and expertise in a significant project of this alliance, in the field of culture.  It is self-evident that we will contribute also financially, building a solid base as a starting point for the collection of the necessary funds, for an important cause.

This way and through this innovative collaboration, we want to inspire our fellow-citizens, to join also in the ACT4GREECE initiative, by offering what they can afford, to the cause which moves them.

Through its participation in the ACT4GREECE program, the Onassis Foundation takes on the support of institutions active in the area of culture, starting with the ART THEATRE KAROLOS KOYN. A cultural institution with long and undisputed offering, a genuine school of theatrical education, whose  contribution in our cultural identity and heritage is priceless.

Because, only education and culture can secure that the values of humanism and democracy will continue to constitute the main ingredients of our social coherence, especially nowadays.

As a Strategic Partner, with clear conscience of the responsibility and with a strong belief in the power of synergy, the Onassis Foundation looks forward, through its participation in the ACT4GREECE, to a new era for welfare in Greece.

The accumulated experience of organizations who are familiar with our society’s needs, as well as with the mechanisms for the best fulfilling of those needs, together with the power of the sensitivity and the contribution of our fellow-citizens, can provide a new, optimistic breath in our country’s development and the release of its potential”.