Creating opportunities for Greece’s younger generations is a top priority for the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, one of the world’s leading international philanthropic organizations.
The board of directors has just announced a call to action to help create opportunities for Greece’s youth who find themselves bearing a disproportionate share of the hardships brought on by the country’s economic crisis.
The unemployment rate for young people has soared above 60%, according to official data published by the Hellenic Statistical Authority. Youth unemployment has become of the most pressing issues facing recession-hit Greece today.
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation has committed a long-term grant of €100 million to help reverse this trend.
“The situation is dire,” Andreas Dracopoulos, Co-President and Member of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Board, said in a statement. “As labor economists have consistently pointed out, contrary to any other age group, being unemployed at a young age continues to impact people throughout most of their adult lives. We need to recharge the youth and create prospects now before a generation or several are lost.”
To achieve its goal of creating opportunities, the foundation will work closely with different sectors including public, private, and philanthropy. A conference will be held in New York next year in order to bring together economists, policymakers, other foundations, NGOs, government officials and businessmen, in order to discuss and explore enterprising initiatives that can lead to job creation and growth.
According to the foundation, all promising proposals will then be implemented effectively and immediately.
This is not the first time the foundation, which was founded with an estate gift from the late Greek shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos, has responded to the Greek crisis. Two years ago, the foundation dedicated a €100m three-year (2012-2015) grant to help ease the adverse effects of the deepening crisis in Greece. Since then, and as part of the initiative, the foundation has committed grants totaling €72.1m in support of numerous not-for-profit organizations around the country.
The Foundation’s first €100m initiative was in its majority a short-term immediate relief effort, aiming to help people survive the staggering social consequences of the economic crisis. In contrast, the new initiative is strategic and long-term in nature that involves the development of new innovative solutions.
By helping Greece’s jobless youth, the foundation is also seeking to develop a paradigm, a forum and a debate on effective ways to address the issue on a much broader level.
