Megaron, Skalkotas Hall
May 6, 2019
Junior Achievement Awards Ceremony
Megaron, Skalkotas Hall
May 6, 2019
Καλησπέρα σας. Κύριε Πρόεδρε, Your Excellency Mr. President, Mrs. Kerameos, Deputy Minister Tzoufi, honored guests, students and teachers, it’s a great pleasure for me to be here to celebrate the successful completion of another Junior Achievement Greece Student Company Program and especially this year to present one of the awards.
I want to give special thanks to the Junior Achievement team, especially President Markos and Maria. I wish I had half of your energy.
I would especially like to congratulate the Ministry of Education for embracing and recognizing the work that Junior Achievement is doing in schools across this country. Bringing innovation and entrepreneurship into the curriculum helps to prepare students for today’s globally connected economy, and for me, it’s a source of great hope that so many Greek young people are interested in building the country’s entrepreneurial future. I think we saw on the stage this afternoon why it’s so important that Junior Achievement is able to continue to grow its collaboration with the Ministry around the country.
Junior Achievement’s mission to build the next generation of business leaders coincides with one of the United States’ top priorities in Greece: to support the country’s full economic recovery, and to grow our trade and investment relationship.
Some of the experiences that have most inspired me during my time in Greece are opportunities to engage with young Greek entrepreneurs and to hear the company ideas that they share in competitions like this one. I know that you are key to Greece’s future.
So I’ll finish with a quick message to our guests of honor: the young company participants that we just saw on stage this afternoon. As one of the pillars of Western civilization, Greece has led the world in entrepreneurship and innovation for thousands of years. You carry this wonderful tradition through the ages – the problem solving skills of Odysseus, and the entrepreneurial spirit of the god Hermes.
Through your participation in Junior Achievement, you have acquired additional skills in storytelling, problem solving, and business that will prepare you for future challenges and opportunities. I sincerely hope that you will use these skills to build value here in Greece and usher in a new era of opportunity and prosperity for both of our countries. Ευχαριστώ πολύ!
