On the occasion of the anniversary of the International Convention on Childrens Rights [November 20th] and the World Day of Children [December 11th], the Foundation for the Child and the Family honored children, the hope and the future of the humanity, by awarding 12 children who each one of them gives its battle in life with will, courage, self-sacrifice and morals in the most paradigmatic way for all of us.
In the ceremony that was held at the Old Parliament Building of Athens in November 2000, Mrs. Marianna V. Vardinoyannis said about those children: They confront dynamically the adverse circumstances and they often knock down any forecast as well as they shatter any doubt. These are the children we award today. The children whose own example fill us with optimism prove that the new generation of Greece has to prove a lot more and to offer to the world community. They have been raised with values and aspirations within the Greek society where the family bonds are many and powerful and the morals are vivid. Because each one of these children reflects the way it was brought up, the aspirations that his/her parents embodied him/her, and the strength that their faith and integral character equipped them with. They are the children of contemporary Greece that prove that the virtue as an idea is deeply embodied in Greeks and that the compassion, courage, heroism, will, and accountability have not yet been lost.
The children who were awarded were: Olga Dassoura, Maria Kalpakidou, Maria Ioanna Batsalia, Apostolos Stamatianos, Ismininda-Alexandra Zoratto, Olga Florou, Anastasia and Vasso Dimopoulou, Yannis Klonaris, Stavros Berberis, Panagiotis Kokkinos, and George Fourtzis. A memorial honoring diploma and a symbolic amount of money were offered to the children.
The following people attended the ceremony and addressed a greeting: The Minister of Health and Welfare, Mr. Alexandros Papadopoulos, the Deputy Minister of Culture Mr. Giorgos Floridis, and the Mayor of Athens Mr. Dimitris Avramopoulos who also gave the awards to the children, as well as the Minister of the State Mr. Miltiadis Papaioannou, the president of the Synaspismos political party Mr. Nikos Konstantopoulos, the Deputy Minister of EPPW Mr. Athanasios Alevras and the MP Mrs. Fani Palli-Petralia.
