The Stavros Niarchos Foundation’s decision to ask the Foreign Ministry’s Secretary General, Ambassador Vassilis Kaskarelis, to assume the duties of head of the Board of Directors of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and, in parallel, member of the Foundation’s Executive Management comes in recognition of his long and successful career in Greece’s Diplomatic Service and is a source of great satisfaction to us.
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (www.SNF.org) is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world and makes donations in the sectors of art and culture, education, health and social welfare. From 1996 until today, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation has approved the provision a total of €1 billion ($1.3 billion) in 2,400 donations to non-profit organizations in 109 states around the world. Over 80% of the Foundation’s donations have gone to organizations and initiatives in Greece.
Responding to the ongoing socioeconomic crisis in Greece, the foundation announced in January 2012 an initiative for the provision of €100 million ($130 million), over three years, to help bring relief from the repercussions of the crisis. Since then, and in the framework of this initiative, the Foundation has provided €54 million ($69 million) in support of various non-profit organizations throughout the country.
The Foundation’s single largest donation (€566 million/$796 million) is to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens. The Center includes the new facilities of the Greek National Library and the National Opera, as well as “Stavros Niarchos Park”.
In his new post, Mr. Kaskarelis, with his wide experience and international contacts, will be able, among other things, to contribute to the Foundation’s extensive and multifaceted work in Greece and on a global level at a critical time.
Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos stated the following in reference to Ambassador Kaskarelis’s appointment:
“I am sorry to be losing an excellent associate who served the diplomatic service and Greece’s interests with dedication, dignity and exceptional effectiveness in his 38-year career. The Diplomatic Service is losing one of its most valuable members. But his being chosen by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation fills me with satisfaction, as I am certain that in his new post he will be able to contribute to the rehabilitation of Greece’s international image and to our country’s reclaiming the position it deserves on the international cultural stage and emerging from this difficult state of affairs that has resulted from the crisis.”
February 16, 2013