With the presentation of the awards to 262 senior high school graduates from the Attica region, the series of events organised throughout the country in the context of the sponsorship programme “The Great Moment for Education” launched by Eurobank EFG Group came to an end yesterday (19 December 2005)
The main aim of this programme is to support and reward school students in their “struggle” for knowledge. Eurobank wishes in this way to make a valuable contribution to the community in which it operates by helping the young generation achieve its high objectives.
The sponsorship programme, “The Great Moment for Education” is supported by the Ministry of Education and it concerns over 230,000 pupils graduating from senior high school throughout Greece. In the context of the programme, Eurobank EFG rewards each year the pupils who achieved the highest marks for admission to tertiary education. The programme includes all 1,300 high schools in Greece, public and private, daily or evening. The award is accompanied by the amount of € 1,000, which is deposited in a savings account at an Eurobank EFG Group branch in the relevant city.
The Minister of Education Mrs.Marietta Giannakou stressed in her address that “events, which highlight initiatives with a strong value and ethical content, such as the sponsorship programme for education implemented by Eurobank three years ago, in addition to rewarding intellectual achievement, also contribute to promoting excellence, which needs to be publicly acknowledged”. The Education Minister added that “at European level, the Ministry of Education focuses today on three important issues: lifelong learning, multilinguism and excellence as part of the effort to bring back talent and skills to their homeland”. Mrs. Giannakou commended Eurobank EFG for its initiative and urged it to keep up the programme and congratulated the award-winners for their achievement, the teachers for their contribution and the parents for supporting their children’s efforts, expressing her conviction that “the new generation will certainly achieve more than we have. Tomorrow can be better”.
Eurobank EFG Group CEO Mr. Nicholas Nanopoulos stressed that “The Great Moment for Education” programme is growing into a dynamic, successful institution that has reached out to young people and gained their response, whilst highlighting the significance of precious and essential timeless values –such as the acquisition of knowledge and meritocracy – which our youth must believe in, endorse and turn into a way of life.
At the same time, values like persistent effort and consistency, healthy competition, the pursuit of success, ongoing upgrading of one’s capabilities, striving for quality and culture and freedom, which is achieved through a never-ending improvement of the scope of our thinking and action are being promoted. These values, although often tested and questioned, constitute the only solid basis on which a society can build its vision and efforts for real development and progress, both material and moral. These are values of practical importance, as they are the most effective way of seeking distinction and success in a competitive society, as well as of essential, human significance, because they refine the mind and morals, bringing fulfillment to man”. Mr. Nanopoulos underlined that “Eurobank, as a dynamic, modern and pioneering financial institution has a duty to play a creative role and contribute to the advancement of the society in which it operates. Following the same approach as for Education, the Eurobank EFG Group has developed a strong sponsoring activity in the fields of Culture, Sports and Environment, sectors that reflect society’s highest values and which contain its most vibrant and creative forces”. In his concluding remarks, Eurobank EFG Group CEO emphasized that, “in the field of Education, in particular, we seek to be the first to put into action what we advocate. We rely on our people and we operate on the basis of a meritocratic, but people-centered model that guides their daily work and guarantees their professional prospects. We have created thousands of new jobs for young people with talent, education and a need to be creative. We continuously invest in developing further their skills and potential, offering opportunities to all those who wish to move forward.”
Journalist Mara Zacharea was the moderator of the event which was attended by approximately 1,500 people.