Trade with Greece
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Which are the activities and contribution of the Onassis Foundation?
The Onassis Foundation, faithful to its founder’s vision, has been contributing to the
Greek society for 35 consecutive years. By means of its activities and targeted pro-
grams, it supports and promotes Greek culture in Greece and abroad, offering pub-
licly beneficial work in general.
It offers financial support to established programs in Greek language and Hellenic
studies at universities outside of Greece both independently and in association with
other institutions. It has been awarding scholarships to Greek doctoral and post-
graduate students for studies abroad and in Greece, as well as to non-Greeks for
research within Greece.
In 1978, the Foundation established the International Prizes, awarding the work of
organizations and individuals in the fields of culture, social achievement, literature
and science.
In health, the Foundation built the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre (OCSC), which was
donated, fully operational, to the Greek State in 1992. The OCSC was the first hospital
in Greece fully certified in the departments of adult and paediatric heart surgery and car-
diology, and remains the only certified hospital in Greece for heart and lung transplants.
Dedicated to the dissemination of humanity’s cultural treasures through their recording
and study, the Onassis Foundation has undertaken the support and refurbishment of
the Onassis Library for Hellenic and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York, the National Archaeological Museum Library and the Christian and Byzantine
Museum Library. The future plans of the Foundation include the extension of the Library
of the Archaeological Society at Athens and the Library of the Benakis Museum.
Needless to say, our latest major project was the Cultural Centre.
ANTHONY S. PAPADIMITRIOU
“Our vision is to
establish an institution
that will support
contemporary Greek
culture”
The President of the Alexander S. Onassis Public
Benefit Foundation, Dr Anthony S. Papadimitriou,
talks to “Trade with Greece” about the Onassis
Cultural Center and its role in the development of
contemporary Greek culture.
By Nicoleta Makri
