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Ελληνικά
What are the Bridges Awards
“Bridging the distance rewarding cooperation” is the motto of the new Program launched by the “Knowledge and Partnership Bridges” Initiative. It aims to highlight and reward bonds of cooperation between Greeks around the world. The Program is created expecting to provide encouragement and prominence to the skilled persons, researchers, professionals and entrepreneurs of Greek origin, to help develop a culture of collaboration and the exchange of knowledge, of ideas and of experiences for the mutual benefit of the parties involved, may they reside in Greece or abroad, to increase the openness of Greek scientific activity and entrepreneurship, broaden scientific and professional opportunities of interaction and progress for Greeks, intending to break the brain drain specifically prominent during the last decade in Greece.
Who is it for
The Program is addressed to scientists, researchers, professionals and entrepreneurs that hold Greek citizenship or are of Greek origin, as well as persons holding foreign citizenship that have lived and worked in Greece. More specifically:
Awards
Bridges for Scientific Networks
Eligible for application are researchers or scientists from around the world, who form part of a network including at least 15 members residing in 2 countries at the least (one of which must be Greece). The members of the network or networks involved must fulfill the criteria described in the call of interest.
Awards
Bridges for Business Partnerships
Eligible for application are Greek professionals or businessmen from all over the world, who work together and cooperating to produce a service or a product that has impact in Greece in some way. The business partnership must consist from at least two parties (legal entities or natural persons) and at least one of them must fulfill the criteria described in the call of interest.
Organizers
The Program is an initiative of the General Secretariat for Strategic and Private Investment (GSSPI), Ministry of Economy and Development, and it is implemented by the National Documentation Centre (EKT).
Ministry of Economy and Development
The primary mission of the Ministry of Economy and Development is the strategic and operational planning, programming and implementing of the country’s development policy with the aim of promoting competitiveness, productivity, entrepreneurship, an outward-orientation and an innovation economy, as well as the strengthening of the economy, society and regional cohesion.
The General Secretariat for Strategic and Private Investments (GSSPI) is responsible for the design and implementation of Development and Investment Laws. The General Secretariat for Private Investment and the Directorate General for Strategic Investments are under the auspices of GSSPI. The Directorate-General for Private Investments is the main intitution of the country's development policy, and the Strategic Investments Directorate-General aims to develop a national strategic investment policy and plan and organize Strategic Investments. GSSPI is the responsible public Authority of the Knowledge and Partnership Bridges initiative implemented by the National Documentation Center.
National Documentation Center
In its institutional capacity as a national infrastructure, the National Documentation Centre (EKT), at the National Hellenic Research Foundation, is responsible for the collection, organisation, availability and preservation of all Greek scientific, research and cultural output (content and data) and its dissemination, both within the country and abroad. It provides comprehensive information about research and innovation, supports participation in national and European programmes, promotes innovative entrepreneurship and exploitation of research results, and provides statistics and indicators for research, development and innovation in Greece. With its expertise in various activities involving highly skilled scientists, technological development, innovation and academic interconnection, EKT offers expertise to implement both the Knowledge and Partnership Bridges initiative and Bridges Awards, while hosting in its infrastructures bridges Awards website.
Knowledge and Partnership Bridges
Based on a plan by the General Secretariat for Strategy and Private Investment, Ministry of Economy and Development, and being implemented by the National Documentation Centre, the initiative is directed towards redressing the issue of the new diaspora of Greeks. A means of achieving this is to highlight the advantages that can derive from the networking of Greeks around the world which will have as a consequence the shaping of the country’s future in a tangible way with mutual support on a scientific, professional and business level.
Using a realistic but imaginative approach, the objective of the initiative is to bring high quality human capital of the country together and to create collaboration links between them. This networking of Greeks can strengthen the growth prospects of the country and ensure that participating Greeks become part of a joint endeavour. As part of this effort, the country’s scientific personnel living abroad can have a direct active role in the transformation of the Greek economy, forming nodes of productive and innovative international centres
