Tag: Greece

Bear cubs stray into town of Kastoria in northern Greece

Residents in the northern Greek town of Kastoria were roused from their slumbers on Monday night after two young bears strayed into the town center.

According to a member of the Arcturos bear conservation society, the two cubs are around a year old and were initially spotted in a street beside Kastoria Lake shortly after midnight.

Nikos Panagiotopoulos, who is also a member of the Kastoria Environmental Protection Society, told the ANA-MPA news agency that four police patrol cars and two civilian vehicles were dispatched to the scene to contain the bears from wandering any further.

“Flashing our headlights and honking our horns, we tried to usher the bears to the town’s exit and back into the woods,” Panagiotopoulos. “Instead, they went into the cemetery and then started walking around the town center.”

Panagiotopoulos, who coordinated the effort to push the bears back into the forest, noted that the pair has been spotted near the town before, accompanied by their mother, and appeared undaunted by the human presence.

“There’s a playground right on the edge of the mountain where it slopes down into Kastoria and we’ve seen bears having a ball of a time, especially on the seesaw and spring rides,” Panagiotopoulos said.

After rousing dozens of residents who joined the effort, Panagiotopoulos and his team were able to escort the bears safely back into the woods after around four hours.

(www.ekathimerini.com)

November 10, 2016
Greek olive oil goes for gold

Praised for its exceptional quality, Greek olive oil is one of the few products keeping the country’s economy afloat. A series of producers are trying hard to update a centuries-old tradition, and their efforts are not being unnoticed. Last month, quite a few olive oil producers managed to collect awards in the 2016 New York Olive Intertantional Oil Competition (NYIOOC). It hasn’t been easy: 820 olive oils from 26 countries were competing to be judged by an international jury of experts.

Facing competition from Chile, Australia, the United States and – of course – Greece’s main competitors, Italy and Spain, eight Greek producers received gold awards, eight silver and two were awarded for being ‘best in class’: Chryssopigi PDO from Sitia, Crete and Argali, producer Giovanni Bianchi’s koroneiko variety from Messinia. An Italian computer programmer based in Rome, Bianchi, was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, where his family lived for his first 11 years, creating such “a strong link with Greece” that he decided to buy land with 250 hardy olive trees in Gargalianoi, western Peloponnese, in 2004.

“From that year, I began dreaming and thinking about olive oil. I studied, took classes in Italy on oil tasting, and convinced the millers to make oil as I wanted,” he told in an interview with Olive Oil Times following his award.
“My dream would be to return to Greece and make this great passion my job.” Already, he personally manages every harvest, bottling, and pruning session.

As for Vitsentzos Kornaros, producer of Chryssopigi and a champion of Cretan olive oil, he shared the secret of his success: “We believe in our product, and we work very hard to be so good. We care for our olive trees with love and knowledge that enriches them in every way.”

Another koroneiko from hand-picked Cretan olives, Gaea Sitia, won a gold medal for its “woody notes and mildly intence aroma”. Hellenic Agricultural Enterprises’ Acaia, from hand-picked Kolovi olives that grow in the mountainous groves of the Aegean island of Lesvos, also won a gold medal for its “richly complex aromas” and “excellent harmony” and experience the distinctive flavors of this exceptional olive oil.
“In fact, we created our Acaia brand in order to introduce consumers everywhere to the island’s olive oil, which is proverbially famous for its aromas and delicate flavour,” said Ellie Tragakes of Hellenic Agricultural Enterprises.

Kyklopas Olive Mill, by Argyris Kelidis Argyris S.A., won a gold medal for its “aromas of fruit, green grass, artichoke herbs and notes of almond, apple and walnut”. The producer also won for the organic line of product, a monovarietal cold-pressed, early harvest extra virgin olive oil from very green olives which are picked only in the month of October.

Niki Kelidou, president of Kyklopas (or Cyclops), also spoke to Olive Oil Times, stating “each prize our company wins gives added value and also shows us that we are on the right track”.

Another extraordinary organic olive oil, Eliris, crafted by Iris Iris Efthimiadi and her fiancé Sam Lord, also won the gold distinction. It was a great accomplishment for the pair, who gave up “successful careers in London” to return to northeastern Greece to “honour her father’s memory by rejuvenating and tending the cherished family olive grove”, an unusual mix of Greek olive varieties, including koroneiki, kalamata, tsounati, manaki, megaritiki and halkidiki.

An organic medium Nemoutiana, ‘Mythocia Omphacium’ (the word evokes Hippocrates’ characterisation for the best of all extra virgin olive oil, which was thought to be valuable for medicine purposes) is a brand that revives the ancient methods of early harvest and direct milling at room temperature, creating a balanced and complex intensity olive oil of high nutritional quality. Konstantinos Papadopoulos said he expects his gold award for Mythocia Omphacium Organic and silver award for Mythocia Omphacium to “help us give our brand the prestige we want. The fact that our products have won a number of distinctions in only two years is the result of people working hard and with passion and striving for quality. It is a great motivation to think that we contribute to spreading the excellent quality of Greek olive oil all over the world”.

Yanni’s Finest, a single-varietal green early harvest extra virgin olive oil with intense fruity aroma and flavour, was also awarded, gaining praise for its low acidity, intense fruity aroma and bitter taste with a characteristic pungent aftertaste. Apart from the gold, Yanni’s Limited PDO Chalkidiki also won a silver award, leading producer Evi Prodromou to say: “It was like we managed to climb Mount Everest, to the top of the world.” Yanni’s Olive Grove is the only company involved in the pilot project of a unique research method called ‘Application of Intelligent Agriculture’ which aims “to produce green early harvest extra virgin olive oils with the highest possible quality”. All aspects of production are under the care of the Krinos Olive Center and the American Farm School. ‘PJ Kabos’, a privately-owned label producing exclusively award-winning Greek extra virgin olive oil won for the ‘Family Reserve’ extra virgin olive oil which has an acidity of just 0.12 per cent during production, but also collected a silver award. James Panagiotopoulos, PJ Kabos founder and owner, attributed his company’s success to their maintenance of “high standards with no quality compromise, sparing no expense on our part in order to achieve this. From caring for our trees to olive harvesting, oil extraction, storage and transportation of the final product”, they come “as close to perfection as possible”.

As noted by Gaea’s Aris Kefalogiannis, Greece’s top winners are perfect examples of a trend in Greece: “More and more, especially young producers try to be informed and educated and produce olive oil following best practices. This will make the difference in the year to come.”

(neoskosmos.com)

November 10, 2016
Stavros Niarchos Foundation: 20 years of grantmaking activity

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation celebrates its 20th anniversary, fulfilling the original purpose of its establishment: to contribute, with all the means at its disposal, to the improvement of the lives of those less privileged and to support organizations and projects that are expected to achieve a broad, lasting and positive impact for society at large.

The SNF’s philanthropic activity, to date, has spread across 111 countries, with particular emphasis on Greece which—among other grants and programs—is where some of the most important initiatives of the Foundation are being developed, such as the development of the SNFCC, alongside Initiatives Against the Greek Crisis and for Recharging the Youth.

Since the commencement of its activities in 1996, to date, the SNF has made grant commitments of $1.9 billion (€1.56 billion), through 3,646 grants to nonprofit organizations across the world, in four main areas: Arts and Culture, Education, Health and Sports, and Social Welfare.

Specifically, during the last 20 years, the SNF has committed the following, in total:

▪ Arts & Culture: 752 grants (totaling €387 million), with the key strategic objective of broadening public access to the Arts, promoting Greek art and culture worldwide, encouraging creative partnerships between institutions, organizations and artists on a national and global level, as well as strengthening the social role of cultural organizations.

▪ Education: 1,107 grants (totaling €484 million), supporting the implementation of innovative educational programs, the establishment of new, innovative education centers in Greece and abroad, and the creation of significant capacity building opportunities for the benefit of numerous social groups.

▪ Health & Sports: 672 grants (totaling €287 million), which aim to improve the quality of life of society as a whole, while simultaneously helping to widen accessibility to comprehensive health care services for all.

▪ Social Welfare: 1,115 grants (totaling €409 million), mainly focusing on the needs of the most vulnerable groups (children, the elderly, the homeless, refugees, the disabled, etc.).

Initiatives: Against the Greek Crisis & Recharging the Youth

In addition to its regular grant-making activities, and in order to contribute towards the efforts to address the multifaceted effects of the crisis on the Greek society, the Foundation, beginning in 2012, launched initiatives totaling €300 million, with the aim of providing immediate relief to those mostly affected by the crisis, as well as creating new opportunities and better employment prospects for the younger generation, which has been severely impacted by one of the highest percentages of youth unemployment in Europe.

As part of the Grants against the Greek Crisis, the SNF has made 494 grants, totaling €164 million, in order to address the effects of the crisis. The purpose of this initiative is twofold: through the supported programs, it aims, on the one hand, to contribute to the immediate relief of those impacted more severely from the crisis and, on the other hand, to create those necessary conditions which will ensure long-term benefits. In this context, a series of grants were designed, based on a strategic and long-term perspective. The majority of grants supported the development, adaptation and expansion of existing social programs and the operation of grantee organizations. Additional grants were made for the purchasing of equipment or vehicles, as well as the construction and renovation of social structures.

As part of the Recharging the Youth Initiative, the SNF has made 57 grants, totaling €38 million, focusing on programs aimed at the development of entrepreneurship, the creation of skills, as well as education, while it continues to develop and assess programs—in collaboration with various local and international partners—which have the potential to provide a boost in youth employment.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center

In addition to the SNF’s 3,646 grants and the special initiatives, the Foundation’s philanthropic activity is complemented by the creation of a new landmark for the city of Athens: the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC). The SNFCC is the Foundation’s largest single gift, with a total budget of €617 million, and it has already recorded some significant successes, even before its official delivery to the Greek State, which will be the project’s legal owner.

▪ The SNFCC’s construction was completed within 4 years, adhering, without any major deviations, to the original project timetable, despite the project’s scope and complexity.

▪ Designed by the Renzo Pianο Building Workshop, the SNFCC is one of the few projects worldwide, which houses two national cultural and educational institutions, namely the Greek National Opera and the National Library of Greece, complementing them with the Stavros Niarchos Park, with a total surface area of 210,000 m², which connects the city center with the urban waterfront.

▪ According to a study by the Boston Consulting Group, during the project’s construction, the SNFCC added €1.1 billion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (0.2% of GDP per year), contributing €57 million in tax revenues. According to the same study, the construction of the SNFCC created more than 13,000 jobs, in total.

▪ During the project’s implementation, best practices were used in terms of construction, alongside a mix of traditional and innovative materials, which ensured the SNFCC’s innovation and functionality. The SNFCC earned the prestigious Platinum LEED certification, the highest possible rating for environmentally conscious and sustainable buildings.

▪ Beginning in mid-August of 2016, when the project opened its doors to the public through a series of free events, funded exclusively by the SNF, the SNFCC welcomes on a weekly basis more than 35,000 visitors.

Andreas Dracopoulos, Co-President of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, stated: “At a first glance, the 20-year course of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation may reflect the innumerable needs of society worldwide. For us, however, it also reflects people’s possibilities and prospects, for which we should all strive more. We feel proud that after 20 years of grant making activity, we have managed to evolve and strengthen our initiatives, while at the same time remain flexible to respond to all kinds of challenges, from the greatest ones, such as the creation of the SNFCC, to supporting a small organization that demonstrates vision and commitment. We hope to continue in the same way in the coming years, helping to make our world a better place, to the best of our abilities.”

(www.snf.org)

November 10, 2016
Alexandria Chamber of Shipping discusses twinning agreement with Greece, Cyprus

The Alexandria Chamber of Shipping discussed a twinning agreement with the Greek and Cypriot chambers of shipping during the Federation of National Associations of Ship Brokers and Agents (FONASBA) annual meeting in London.

Chairperson of Alexandria Chamber of Shipping Mohamed Meselhy met with FONASBA president Glen Gordon Findaly on the sidelines of the annual meeting to discuss the challenges in maritime transport and the necessary mechanisms to deal with them.

Meselhy said that they discussed the supporting mechanisms needed to create healthy competition among operators and maritime agents in markets so as to reduce harmful competition and prevent monopolistic practices among them.

He told Daily News Egypt that the Egyptian delegation at the meeting discussed with participants ways to attract foreign investment in the fields of storage and shipping.

Talks with participating delegations focused on the role of navigation in revitalising trade exchange with Egypt and all markets, he added.

Meselhy said that the Alexandria Shipping Chamber seeks to be present in international forums and participate in the development of operational standards and the latest international maritime laws.

The chamber’s participation in international forums allows it to promote investment opportunities in the Egyptian market among top operators and international companies.

FONASBA is one of the largest international organisations that provides a united voice for the world’s chambers of shipping.

Meselhy explained that the twinning agreement discussions between the Alexandria Chamber of Shipping and the Cypriot and Greek chambers will work to exchange experience and training. This partnership will also activate trade exchange between them in preparation for launching alliances among their respective chambers.

(Daily News Egypt)

November 2, 2016