Greece: Moving Forward Investment Forum - 15-16 October 2012

Greece :  Investment Forum 'Moving Forward'

Organised by the IHT and Kathimerini,  a  conference on how Greece should move forward using all the resources at its disposal, is to be held  on Monday and Tuesday 15th and 16th October 2012, at Athens' Grande Bretagne Hotel.

As Greece's economy continues to struggle with recession and its government tries to reach its bailout targets, as the average Greek person sees his standard of living dropping and his  disposable income reaching non-disposable levels, an ever-increasing number of business and political leaders agree that investments and new projects are needed to change the trend and create wealth again.

As far as we are concerned it is the only way that things can change and we are certainly looking forward to the conference.

What are the changes required?

What economic and political forces need to contribute to ensure that the Greek economy can reach financial stability and restore its image and credibility on the world stage?

What will it take for Greece to start "Moving Forward"?

We hope that the list of speakers over the two day forum will come up with answers to this exceptionally important and critical question.

The list of speakers includes Greek Prime Minister Andonis Samaras, who recently stated that:

"We need to jump-start the economy and move ahead with reforms to restore competitiveness with the support of our European partners and the vibrant communities of the Greek diaspora." 


Political party leaders, senior ministers, politicians, prominent business people, and journalists will also be participating in what promises to be a highly-productive conference.

We were particularly pleased to hear PM Samaras refer to the Greek diaspora, as we consider our Greeks Abroad an especially significant and largely untapped resource for Greece.

It is encouraging to see that some of our very dynamic Global Greeks are participating - some of the many, in Greece and abroad, who are committed to changing the perception of Greece around the world, and are working hard in this direction, hands on!

We are looking forward to hearing Global Greeks Australian Ambassador to Greece, Jenny Bloomfield, branding genius Peter Economides, Greek America Foundation's Gregory Pappas, CustomMedialabs' Manos Sifakis and German MP Jorgo Chatzimarkakis among others.

We are particularly looking forward to seeing the results of the conference and  the ideas that come out of it put into practice.

Greece has no choice but to move forward and move forward she will. 

With the structural reforms in place, the right ideas and the right people to turn those ideas into reality, Greece can perform miracles.

We've proved it before, and we will again...

YES, Greece CAN! 


Listen to the conference live here

To check out the Conference Programme and the list of participants, click here.

To contact the organisers, click here.

Γ Ι Ν Ε Τ Α Ι - IT'S POSSIBLE - G I N E T A I....

 

On Sunday evening, on one of MEGA TV's most popular programmes, Protagonistes, some of Greece's best and brightest Global Greeks discussed Greece's image with journalist/host Stavros Theodorakis and how it needs to be changed to combat the recently acquired negative stereotype of the lazy and corrupt, non-tax paying Greek who lies on the beach all day drinking coffees....

Brand Strategist extraordinaire, and Global Greek of the Year runner up, Peter Economides (Greece), Athens 2004 Opening and Closing Ceremonies' Mastermind Dimitri Papaioannou (Greece), journalist/showman Nikos Aliagas (France), MP Jorgos Chatzimarkakis (Germany) , CEO of V+O Communication creators of the Give Greece a Chance Campaign,John Olympios, along with journalist Rika Vagiani (Australia) and writer/journalist Soti Triantafyllou (USA)  discussed ways of how Greece can reverse the negative stereotype which has prevailed recently because of the economic crisis and has led to almost racist jokes, snide remarks, sneers  and odd behaviour not just from other people but from some otherwise seemingly respectable institutions such as airlines and pilots ...


Last year a cafe owner in New Zealand woke up to find this on his shop door, citing running up debts as a Greek Cultural Tradition (!!!)

Photo Source: Stelios Manousakis

A few weeks back we were appalled to read on our Twitter Feed about a so-called joke made by a pilot to the effect that ' now that we have established that our Greek passengers have paid their tickets we can take-off', or the more recent language tests forced on a Greek passport-holding passenger by an Aer Lingus agent in Spain before she and her family were allowed to board , an incident for which the airline apologised but the harm was done...

Thanks to the economic crisis in Greece and the negative and distorted image which has fed through to the international media, it means that the average Greek anywhere in the world has to fight to prove that he is not corrupt and lazy, pays his taxes and dues on time,  and lives up to his responsibilities while he enjoys his life; to fight the negative stereotype that has taken over from that same guy who was lying on the beach and was known as Zorba, a fun-loving but wise philosopher of life, who everybody loved and admired...

Anthony Quinn and Alan Bates in Zorba's Dance...

 In the days when Zorba was considered cool ...

There is a lot of work to be done by all those of us who love Greece, Greeks and non-Greeks alike, to bring confidence back to Greece and our people's belief in ourselves, and it must be done. We need to reverse that negative image!

We all need to believe that we can succeed, that we can do what it takes to turn things around.

We need to take that feeling of euphoria that we all had after the success of the Olympic Games and put it on tap... remembering how good it felt to have succeeded and made those who doubted Greece around the world eat humble-pie so to speak.

FORGET what the others say we CANNOT do, we need to set our own goals and achieve them, and if possible surpass them...it is a question of pride, in ourselves and in our people...

As Peter says, and we endorse it wholeheartedly...

We will never be Good Germans but we can be Great Greeks!

Γ Ι Ν Ε Τ Α Ι !   G I N E T A I !

IT'S POSSIBLE!    IT'S DOABLE! 

YES, Greece CAN!

If you missed Protagonistes, it is well worth taking the time to watch it: Here it is

Related Posts: 

YES, Greece CAN...despite the Memoranda 

Today, We are ALL Greek! Σήμερα, Είμαστε ΟΛΟΙ Ελληνες! Aujourd'hui, Nous Sommes TOUS Grecs,