The inaugural event of the "Connect The Dots" initiative, implemented by "The Hellenic Initiative" with the support of the U.S. Embassy in Greece and under the auspices of the "Greece 2021" Committee, took place on Tuesday, September 21, at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. The U.S. Ambassador to Athens, Geoffrey Pyatt, the President of the "Greece 2021" Committee, Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, and the ΤΗI program director, Michalis Printzos, spoke at the event.
"We thank Ambassador Gianna Angelopoulos and the "Greece 2021" Committee for your support to the "Connect the Dots" program, which is part of the U.S. Embassy's one-year-long initiative entitled "U.S.-Greece: Celebrating 200 Years of Friendship," said Mr. Pyatt and pointed out that "the collaboration of the U.S. Embassy with "The Hellenic Initiative" (THI) for "Connect the Dots" will help further develop Greece's business ecosystem."
Mrs. Angelopoulos referred to the significance of the specific project, pointing out that "economic growth, "smart" business, technology, can become the gateway into the third century of our modern life." "Greece's talented people should remain in their homeland and not be forced to emigrate to pursue creative opportunities. Our country can attract digital nomads and develop its technological ecosystem," she underlined.
On his part, Mr. Printzos noted that the initiative revealed the existence of a large talent pool in Greece and a dynamic momentum in the Diaspora that cannot be appraised only in monetary value. "The question we had to answer as an organization was how do we benefit from this tremendous know-how? How do we make the most out of this huge network? How do we bring the two worlds together?" he said.
The initiative is included in the Committee's fourth pillar of projects and events as a project that invests in the future, technology, and entrepreneurship.