Foundation proves a powerful force for cultural development
ORGANIZATION IS IN A UNIQUE POSITION TO TRANSMIT BROAD WESTERN VALUES

STELIO PAPADIMITRIOU President of the Alexander S. Onassis Benefit Foundation

A legacy of one of Greece’s most famous sons, the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation – the brainchild of shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis – is a key driver of social and cultural change.
Established in 1975, a few months after the death of the successful entrepreneur, the foundation also holds a portfolio of investments and businesses, mainly in shipping, real estate, financial services and the media. It bears the name of Alexander Onassis, the son who died prematurely, at the age of 25, in an air crash.
Stelio Papadimitriou, President of the Onassis Foundation, which contributes 40 percent of its total income to social and cultural projects around the world, says that the organization is in a unique position to transmit the rich culture of Greece – and broader Western values – to the rest of the world.
Though a small country, Greece is crucial to the surrounding region in the Balkans and in the Middle East, where it promotes cultural and social ties with a Western flavor, he says.

THE ONASSIS International Cultural Competition has been held annually since 1997 to encourage the creation of original dance and theater pieces.

“I believe that the position of Greece is unique and it is spreading goodwill among the people and the nations,” he says. “We have a lot of things that can unite us and one of the strongest things that unites us is culture.”
The foundation has developed links with the U.S. As well as various business interests – it owns an entire tower on New York’s Fifth Avenue – occupied by the affiliated Onassis Public Benefit Foundation U.S.A. There are also deep-rooted family ties between Greece and the U.S., stretching back many years.
The foundation is able to respond quickly to events. After September 11th, the Onassis Foundation donated $500,000 to support the families of policemen and fire crews affected by the tragedy.
In terms of investments, the foundation is wise to spread its business across various sectors and countries to protect its assets and revenue stream. There is a big shipping holding, of course, while a large part of the asset base is fairly liquid and held in shares, bonds and other securities.

While the Onassis name will forever be linked with the shipping trade, the foundation is involved in a number of important real estate initiatives, both at home and abroad. It is a major investor in the creation of the Athens Olympic village, for example.
“This is a very important investment,” says Mr. Papadimitriou. “We have the commercial aspect of the village. We also have the 22 floors of the main building and all the shops around it. We also have very important investments in London. We own important buildings in Athens as well, and we plan to build a multi-purpose cultural center in the near future.”

THE AFFILIATED public benefit Foundation (U.S.A) is based at the Olympic Tower on New York’s Fifth Avenue.

Above all, it is the cultural side that the foundation is naturally interested in promoting. The foundation’s influence in the U.S. is already strong, where it supports a number of educational and arts initiatives in New York. These include a scheme to bring visiting professors from universities across the U.S. and from Greece to lecture in the city. The foundation also has close links with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it finances the Onassis Library for Hellenic and Roman art.
In addition to the Onassis international cultural competition prizes, the foundation also sponsors various non-competitive international prizes which honor those individuals or organizations whose endeavors are characterized by a dedication to human values as conceived by Hellenic culture. This means outstanding efforts in areas such as social achievement, culture and the environment. Past winners include former U.S. president Jimmy Carter in 1991 and news agency CNN International in 1992.

But it is perhaps its conciliatory role, between opposing cultures, between Western and non-Western values, that the foundation believes will have one of the most enduring effects.
Mr. Papadimitriou believes that the work of the Onassis Foundation has taken on even more significance since the tragic events of last September. He says that other countries now look to Greece as a leader in cultural
matters, which promotes core Western values. This role is now at the heart of the Onassis Foundation.
“I believe that the foundation is doing a good job in promoting and disseminating Western culture, which is a necessity more than ever before,” he says. “Greece is doing its job in maintaining a very fine and thin balance between opposing interests, but actually doing what it takes in order to assist the best interests of Europe.”