A well-earned distinction for the Onassis Foundation
On Tuesday, June 18, in Athens’ glittering City Hall, the municipality bestowed honor and recognition on the Onassis Foundation and its board of directors, the three close associates of the late Aristotle Onassis who, in his handwritten will, founded the public benefit foundation that bears the name of his son Alexandros S. Onassis, who met a tragically early death. It was Onassis who appointed the «Three Greeks,» as they are known abroad, as executors of his will and life members of the foundation. It was about time that the Onassis Foundation, which awards the distinguished International Onassis Prizes for contributions to culture, society and the environment, was presented with an award itself. Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos, following a unanimous decision by the municipal council, awarded the Medal of Honor and Good Works of the City of Athens to the Alexandros S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, a medal and diploma to its chairman, Stelios A. Papadimitriou, and vice chairmen, Pavlos Ioannidis and Apostolos Zambelas. The photograph shows the emotion and smiles at such recognition by the City of Athens of the foundation’s work, which has continued since 1975. Papadimitriou gave thanks on behalf of his two lifelong colleagues. He said that the opening of the Onassis House of Fine Arts and Letters, under construction on Syngrou Avenue, would give Athens a multicultural space that would enable the intellectual and artistic world of modern Greece to express itself and to create a new Greek culture, and not simply to imitate or recycle foreign achievements.
