UNESCO celebrated its 65th Anniversary with a cultural event which: the presentation of the new book of Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, entitled “Labouring with the Challenges of Female Identity: Insights into the Minoan Society”, which is based on Mrs Vardinoyannis postgraduate research in Archaeology in the University of Sheffield.
On December 10, 11 and 12, 2010, personalities from all over the world, politicians, activists, experts, representatives of both governmental and non-governmental organisations, businessmen, artists, etc., assembled in Luxor, Egypt in order to participate in the Global Forum against human trafficking and set the strategies, practices and methods that will contribute to the prevention and suppression of Trafficking; this modern form of slavery with millions of victims, mainly women and children, and billions of profits for the traffickers, who are committing one of the greatest and more horrible crimes against humanity.
In the course of a modest ceremony held on 14 October 2010, the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr Karolos Papoulias, inaugurated the “Marianna V. Vardinoyannis – ELPIDA Children’s Oncology Unit”, His Beatitude Hieronymos II, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece performed the blessing of the building complex and so, “ELPIDA”, The Association of Friends of Children with Cancer, fulfilled the promise made to the Greek people to build the first oncology hospital for children in Greece.
Mrs Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, President of the Association and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, could barely conceal her emotion when she addressed the attendees,
Nine months after its inauguration, the “1GOAL: Education for All” campaign was completed on September 15th, 2010. The campaign was realised in Greece under the initiative of ActionAid Greeceand the auspices of UNESCO. The heads of the campaign were the President of ActionAid Greece, Mrs Alexandra Mitsotaki and the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Mrs Marianna V. Vardinoyannis.
The 10th Annual Meeting of the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors took place in June 2010, at the UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris. It was the first official meeting of the Ambassadors with the new Director-General of UNESCO, Mrs Irina Bokova, who assumed her duties last November, following the end of service of Mr Koichiro Matsuura, the Director-General of UNESCO for 8 consecutive years.
The UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Mrs Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, took the initiative to start a campaign aiming at the sensitisation of the international common opinion in favour of Greece; the re-establishment of the name of our country in countries abroad and the reinforcement of its place internationally.
The great vision of the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation, the development of the Aswan Heart Centre into an outstanding medical institute, aiming at maintaining the health of the Egyptian population, and mainly of the most vulnerable social groups emphasising on children, is realised thanks to its many supporters.
The supporters of this vision, the Friends of the Aswan Heart Centre, are personalities of international prestige as well as businessmen, with the First Lady of Egypt, Mrs Suzanne Mubarak as a President and the leading cardiac surgeon, Sir Magdi Yacoub, as a Vice-President. Among those, there are also the UNESCO and Goodwill Ambassador,