The ELPIDA Association of Friends of Children with Cancer and the Marianna V. Vardinoyannis Foundation are providing ongoing support – through a number of actions – for our fellow human beings suffering greater hardship from the coronavirus pandemic.

On Friday, 10 April 2020, at the initiative of President Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, yet another delivery of food and necessities was made to the Social Shelters in Piraeus and Nikaia of the UNESCO Club of the Department of Piraeus and Islands, in support of homeless persons and needy families.

The ELPIDA Association of Friends of Children with Cancer and the Marianna V. Vardinoyannis Foundation opened a great loving and caring embrace for our fellow human beings hit hardest by the coronavirus-pandemic crisis.

On the initiative of President Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, on Tuesday, 7 April, food was delivered to the Holy Metropolis of Nicaea, which supports 3,000 destitute families from seven Municipalities of Attica who are registered with the Welfare Department of the Metropolis of Nicaea and, due to the coronavirus crisis,

The Municipality of Piraeus is participating in the events of the ‘Thermopylae – Salamis 2020’ Anniversary Year, as announced by the Mayor Mr Giannis Moralis, in the framework of his meeting with the President of the Honorary Committee of the Anniversary Year, Ms Marianna Vardinoyannis, on Tuesday 25 February 2020.

The Municipality of Piraeus is planning to implement a series of events in the framework of the celebrations for the 2500 years since the Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis.

These actions will be implemented in cooperation with the Executive Committee of the ‘Marianna V.

With His Eminence, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos met the President of the Honorary Committee of Anniversary Year “Thermopylae – Salamis 2020” Mrs Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, on Wednesday 12 February 2020.

Mrs Vardinoyannis thanked the Archbishop for his support in the work of ELPIDA, and informed him about the initiatives to honour the 2500 year Anniversary from the Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis, underlining that Salamis and Thermopylae were a milestone not only for our country, but for global history,

Speech by Mrs Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, President of Honorary Committee of Anniversary Year “Thermopylae-Salamis 2020”

Dear Mr Minister,

Dear Mr Governor of the Bank of Greece,

Dear members of the Honorary Committee of Anniversary Year “Thermopylae-Salamis 2020”

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour and pleasure to be here today with you. To be here with the originators and supports of such an important project, our country’s Numismatic Programme 2020,

A special event was held on occasion of the “Thermopylae – Salamis 2020” Anniversary Year, at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, under the auspices of his Excellency the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr Prokopis Pavlopoulos, titled “The many and the few: multitude and virtue”. A focal point of the battles between the Persian Empire of King Xerxes and the Greek City-States during the Persian wars was the great disproportion in numbers which was effectively overcome. The victory of the Greek cities paved the way for the Golden Age of Athens, thus allowing ancient Greek philosophy and art to become the foundation of Western Civilisation.

The President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos met withthe Board of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, on Wednesday, 22 January 2020.

“I would like to warmly thank you all for your presence at the Presidential Mansion of the Hellenic Republic, and I would like to congratulate you for the overall work of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center. I would also like to note that during these difficult times the Nizami Ganjavi International Center is on a very difficult mission, which is multi-faceted and multi-layered. Moreover, I must commend you for the subject of the Seminar you organised here in Athens:

A strong international message about the dangers of climate change and the need to protect the cultural heritage of the Mediterranean was sent by prominent figures from Greece and abroad, during the 20th High Level Meeting of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, held in Athens from the 20th to the 23rd of January 2020, at the initiative of the “Marianna V. Vardinoyannis” Foundation.

Mrs Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, President of the Foundation with her name, and founding member of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, with the Center’s Co Chair,

International Scientific Conference “Thermopylae and Salamis: Assessing Their Importance in the Modern World” – Θερμοπύλες – Σαλαμίνα 2020

The events of the Marianna V. Vardinoyannis Foundation for the 2500 year anniversary of the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis were kicked off with an international scientific conference, attended by the President of the Hellenic Republic Mr Prokopiοs Pavlopoulos and top academics from the world’s largest universities, on Monday, 20 January, 2020, at the Stavros Niarchos Hall of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Culture Center.

International Scientific Conference “Thermopylae and Salamis: Assessing Their Importance in the Modern World”

An important event to promote reading and equal access to education was held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, on Saturday, 18 January 2020, with the support of the “Marianna V. Vardinoyannis” Foundation

The event was organised in the context of the “Reading Night”, a global annual event launched in 2017 and already being organised in 32 countries across the world.

It entails a number of activities organised by international organisations, schools, libraries and agencies across the world, aiming to promote reading and disseminate the messages of humanitarianism and solidarity which are conveyed through books.