President’s Address

To tell the story of the Onassis Foundation is to gather together a wide range of visionary ideas and activities – pursuits that are not only commercial, but moreover cultural and intellectual in nature.

The story of Aristotle Onassis’ life is marked by a series of events, some of them tragic, such as the Asia Minor Catastrophe, the Second World War, and the terrible loss of his son, Alexander.

He, however, actively engaged himself with events to bring about positive outcomes, thanks to his ability to create opportunities and mold the prevailing circumstances to his best possible advantage. He was a visionary entrepreneur, but also a man of culture and learning. A citizen of the world, and Greek to his core. It is for all these reasons that he is still remembered with warmth and love today by all, a full 45 years after his death. Aristotle Onassis is a paragon to be emulated, not just in Greece but across the world. And it is for all these reasons that the loss of his son led him, by necessity, to create this Foundation – in the name of his child, lost before he was able to fulfil his great promise and potential.

And so we too, at the Onassis Foundation, have education, culture, social welfare and entrepreneurship embedded in our DNA. We dare to take risks but always with our eyes wide open. Our minds open too in the search for new opportunities and possibilities offered by the present day.

During its first years of operation – with Christina Onassis and Professor Ioannis Georgakis as its elected presidents – our Foundation was still seeking its identity. From 1988 until 2005, Stelios Papadimitriou and his associates – Paul Ioannidis, Apostolos Zambelas and Theodoros Gavriilidis – laid down its commercial foundations, and also undertook its first major projects. The current Board of Directors is forward-looking, dynamic and active, made up of people who not only are distinguished names in their fields but also keenly engaged in the Foundation’s work. Last but not least, the Board of Directors is supported by Onassis Foundation executives who oversee the various sectors of our activities: culture, education, and health, as well as our financial and shipping investments.

Greece and the world have changed a great deal since January 1974, when Aristotle Onassis set down the declaration that established the Foundation, and placed humans once and for all at the heart of everything it does. Some things, however, never change: the need in all societies for ever more of their members to gain access to resources that improve their quality of life, for people’s power and potential to be unleashed, for the formulation of active and engaged citizens; for endeavors that, in short, contribute positively to social cohesion.

Societies are made better through collaborative action, mutual understanding and reciprocal support. One of the Foundation’s many roles is to work with the Greek State, standing firmly by its side, supplementing and aiding its efforts for the creation of conditions in which people are free to dream, to spread their wings and fly beyond the limits perhaps imposed upon them by their financial situation or social background.

These aims are achieved through the taking of action with tangible results, combining a respect for tradition with a vision for the future and an adaptability to the changing needs of the present. Achieved through more than 7,000 scholarships awarded on merit since 1978. Through more than 150,000 patient admissions and 1.5 million out-patient consultations at the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center. Through more than 5,000 collaborations with cultural organizations, museums, and Modern Greek Studies departments and centers located everywhere from Boston to Buenos Aires and beyond. Through the provision of teaching materials and computer equipment to more than 1,300 state schools and special learning centers across Greece and through training programs for teachers.

They are achieved too through the work of Onassis Stegi, which is soon to celebrate ten years of operation. Onassis Stegi remains the place where bold, restless and brave Greek artists can find the means they need to advance their work, a place where international collaborations are nurtured, a platform where the boundaries between the sciences, the arts, society, education, learning and politics are redrawn.

Onassis Stegi forms the core of our work in culture, but part of the Foundation’s mission is to closely connect the local with the global. To this end, the Foundation practices cultural diplomacy through an ongoing series of international events and collaborations. Anyone walking down Fifth Avenue in New York will spy the Greek flag flying on the corner of 52nd Street – this is where the heart of the city’s Onassis Cultural Center beats, in the heart of Manhattan. The Onassis Cultural Center New York acts as a kind of embassy for Greek cultural heritage that also boosts the visibility of contemporary Greek art, bringing together Greek and international artists and intellectuals, and working with some of the most important cultural organizations in the US, including BAM, the Public Theater, and the New York Public Library.

Core concerns driving the Foundation’s activities are open societies, free access to research and knowledge, and the advancement of Greek culture. These can all be found condensed in the form of the Cavafy Archive, acquired by the Onassis Foundation at the end of 2012 to avert the threat of its dissolution and dispersal, and to ensure the entire collection remained in Greece. Digitized and completely re-documented in accordance with internationally recognized standards, the Cavafy Archive is now open to everyone.

The Onassis Foundation always looks to the future, while keeping the true needs of Greek society in mind as they change with the times. As part of this approach, the construction of the Onassis National Transplant Center was announced in 2018 – a 100-million-euro hospital equipped with cutting-edge technology and dedicated to solid organ transplantation. The Center will also operate the first standalone transplant unit for children in Greece – the Onassis Pediatric Unit – offering first-class care in pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery. The Onassis National Transplant Center will have special provisions in place for the care of uninsured patients, making it truly a hospital for everyone. Because for us, everything is a matter of culture – particularly when it comes to healthcare.

Anyone seeking the public face of the Onassis Foundation has in fact a plethora to choose from, be they cultural, educational, or for the public good. And this is the comparative advantage of our Onassis community – it embraces a diverse series of qualities. This inclusiveness allows for a surprising range of intersections between artists, doctors, entrepreneurs, academics, shipping leaders, philosophers, technocrats and activists who end up understanding one another through the words and values that unite them – and there are more such instances of consensus than you might expect.

This all springs from a daring entrepreneurial spirit that was also the greatest merit of our founder. In accordance with Aristotle Onassis’ will, 40% of all business profits are invested in programs for the public benefit. And this is where our origins lie: in the shipping, investment and business communities that form part of the Foundation’s very DNA.

And so, we go on. Creating the conditions, seeking out the ideas, and sparking the conversations that lead to a better society for all. Providing access to healthcare, education and culture. Questioning stereotypes, inspiring public curiosity, and precipitating the crystallization of an active and engaged citizenry. Investing in human capital and in ethical entrepreneurship, offering high-quality services in socially and environmentally safe settings, and building deep and lasting relationships rooted in transparency and trust with people who want to grow and develop, to unleash their power and potential, to give something back to society. People who want to leave whatever wears them down far behind.

Dr. Anthony S. Papadimitriou

President of the Onassis Foundation