Seeking to strengthen Greece’s position in a rapidly changing world and its ability to deal with the significant challenges that lie ahead, dozens of Greeks at home and abroad have rallied together to establish an organization of global Hellenic networks, it has been announced.
Provisionally named the Node, the nonprofit organization is backed by more than 100 distinguished Greek and diaspora Greek academics, businesspeople and professionals from a diverse range of fields. They include active members of the Academy of Athens, diplomats and senior executives of organizations and important think-tanks.
The Node’s steering committee has former Greek presidents Karolos Papoulias and Prokopis Pavlopoulos and ex-prime minister Lucas Papademos as its honorary presidents.
“On the 200th anniversary of the start of the War of Independence, Greece faces significant economic, geostrategic and social challenges, stemming from long-standing problems and current circumstances in the broader region and the world. It is imperative to achieve national unity and to mobilize global Hellenism,” the Node announcement said.
The Node will be an independent organization with no political affiliations that seeks to cooperate with existing agencies, organizations and institutions and serve as a platform for discussion, networking and the development of ideas, and a catalyst linking individuals and organizations, “with the aim of making the best use of Hellenism’s comparative advantages to initiate development projects in Greece.”
Reaching out to young Greeks and diaspora Greeks distinguishing themselves in their respective fields, it aims to support projects that adopt innovative practices and have a strong developmental, technological, social, cultural and geopolitical orientation. Sectors of interest include shipping, culture, global governance, health and biotechnology, the environment and care for the elderly.
It also aims to create a register of distinguished Greeks abroad and encourage and assist in the creation of a comprehensive cross-party national plan to make the best use of the Greek diaspora and to repatriate Greek academics, especially those who left the country during the last decade’s wave of emigration.