The 11th Meeting of the Corporate Members of the DIAZOMA Association titled: ‘Sustainable Development: Seeking our shared identity’, was successfully concluded on Wednesday, 07 May 2025. The event took place at Diomidis Mansion, where the Historical Archive of the National Bank is housed. The meeting was hosted by the National Bank of Greece, which is a Corporate Member of the Association.
This year, the annual meeting of the corporate members was dedicated to Theodoros Papalexopoulos, a pioneer in promoting Corporate Social Responsibility in Greece, starting with TITAN Cement Co SA. The late Theodoros Papalexopoulos had been a fervent supporter of the vision and work of DIAZOMA since 2013.
The meeting was organised as a three-module programme:
1st panel: ‘Sustainable Development with planning and accountability’.
With a focus on both economic and environmental sustainability, the panel discussed important initiatives under way in Greece. More specifically, Ms Agapi Sbokou, Vice-President of SETE (the Greek Tourism Confederation) and CEO of Phāea, presented METRON Sustainable Tourism powered by SETE, an important initiative of voluntary self-regulation in the tourism sector; Mr Vangelis Gerovassiliou referred to the Wine Museum and the innovative actions of Ktima Gerovassiliou and; the President of GSEVEE (Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen, and Merchants ), Mr Giorgos Kavvathas, spoke to the audience about the seminars being implemented by GSEVEE KEK (Vocational Training Centre). Mr Kavvathas also underlined the contribution of small enterprises to sustainable development, while he emphasised circular economy. The approach of Olympia Odos to sustainable development on motorways, presented by Ms Sophia Stamou, Director of Communication and Corporate Affairs of OLYMPIA ODOS S.A., was extremely interesting. The discussion then focused on the tools that need to be developed from the stage of designing a cultural tourism product (e.g., a cultural route) to accountability, with regard to product-user relationship/experience.
During the panel discussion, Mr Evdokimos Fregoglou, Coordinator of Development Programmes at the DIAZOMA Association, updated participants on the progress of DMMOs as an institution and the role of the Association in their design. Furthermore, Ms Popi Malapani, Head of Contemporary Culture at the Association, presented for the first time ‘KIPSELI’, the digital tool developed by DIAZOMA for monitoring cultural tourism programmes and assessing their accountability. Interventions were made by Mr Konstantinos Ioannidis, Managing Director of ELPEN S.A., Nikos Koutsianas, Founder of Apivita and Symbeeosis, Panagiotis Dais, Vice President of DIAZOMA, President of the Regional Association of Municipalities of Epirus and Mayor of Igoumenitsa, as well as Mr Sotiris Foteas, Chairperson of the Audit Committee – Honorary Member of the DIAZOMA Association, a lawyer.
The President of DIAZOMA, who moderated the panel, presented the proposal by Mr Vangelis Gerovassiliou, founder of the ‘Ktima Gerovassiliou’, concerning the need for the enterprises of Central Macedonia to take the initiative so that the ‘Alexandros’ Cultural Route be included in the planning for the next NSRF 2028-2034.
Lastly, there was a statement by Mr Panagiotis Papanikolas, President and CEO of ‘Olympia Odos S.A.’, which underlined the significance of restarting the ‘Avenues of Culture’ Programme. This is a programme so that motorways can actively contribute to accessing and promoting monuments along them.
2nd panel: ‘There is no path; we clear a path, as one, striding towards our goal’:
The second panel was dedicated to the ‘DHUB’ incubator, the DIAZOMA structure that has voluntarily undertaken to support Clusters and DMMOs of the Programmes designed in Greece following a proposal by the Association.
Along with the coordinator of the panel, respected journalist and member of DIAZOMA, Mr Pavlos Tsimas, the ‘DHUB’ incubator sponsor representatives, namely Ms Eva Lianou, General Manager at John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, Ms Ioanna Sapountzi, Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG Report Director of the National Bank and the Group, Mr Xenophon Kappas, General Manager at ‘Captain Vassilis & Carmen Constantakopoulos’ Foundation, and Ms Thalia Tsalkitzi, Director of Culture Solutions of Uni Systems, discussed the recent signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation and then exchanged ideas and proposals for the next day of the structure.
The speakers stressed the importance of evaluating Cultural Routes based on specific metrics – as provided for by the Memorandum of Cooperation – to be a guiding light for Europe as a whole. They also referred to the need for changing attitudes through an “intellectual vaccination” of local authorities, so that they adopt a holistic design approach. Lastly, they highlighted the relationship between the success of a programme, and the degree of involvement and commitment of local communities, as well as the potential contribution of Clusters and DMMOs to the sustainable development of Greece.
During the panel discussion, the Memorandum of Cooperation mentioned above was presented by the Director of DIAZOMA, Ms Maria Sofikitou, as was the new strategic vision of DIAZOMA for its digital present and future, by Mr Christos Chiotis, Head of Digital Applications for the Association.
Lastly, the 3rd panel: ‘The Power of Cooperation: The relevance of ESG metrics to the actions of DIAZOMA Corporate Members’:
Moderated by Mr Giannis Rountos, Culture and Sustainability Advisor and active member of the Association, the panel highlighted how the value created by the business world becomes even more significant and earns added value when disseminated throughout society, public space, and the economy, based on the principles of sustainability and good governance.
The public was informed about how leading companies link cultural heritage to sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, and ESG criteria. Managing Director of NEA ODOS and KENTRIKI ODOS, Mr Rodianos Antonakopoulos, highlighted its multifaceted work and the connection of culture and road safety, through innovative tools that use artificial intelligence. Ms Stavroula Aggelopoulou, Director of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Development of OTE Group, referred to initiatives that cultivate modern values, particularly for young people, through actions such as COSMOTE Chronos, COSMOTE HISTORY, and the OTE Telecommunications Museum. Mr Alexandros Katsiamboulas, TITAN Group ESG Performance Director, referred to the mission of TITAN Group and the Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Foundation, which contributes substantially towards strengthening actions in the sectors of Culture, Education, and Social Contribution, and presented the integration of ESG goals into their strategy, as well as their long-standing partnership and synergy with ‘DIAZOMA’ (e.g., the Trilogy of Attica, the Ancient Theatre of Messene, the Cuultural Route of the Ancient Theatres of Epirus). ELVAL HALCOR, represented by Mr Panos Lolos, Executive Member of the Board of Directors, focused on respect for the environment, culture, and social responsibility through its support of the ‘EVIA META’ Programme, as well as the work of the Social and Cultural Public Benefit Foundation (KIKPE) and the Michael N. Stasinopoulos-VIOHALCO Public Benefit Foundation. Lastly, the audience was informed by Mr Savvas Peltekis, CEO of TÜV HELLAS (TÜV NORD) regarding new trends in the EU on ESG criteria and sustainability reports, as well as their creative cooperation currently under way with ‘DIAZOMA’.
During the panel discussion, there was a presentation of the progress of the ‘EVIA META’ programme by DIAZOMA Director of Development Programmes Ms Maria Kourasani, during which she highlighted the substantial contribution of DIAZOMA Corporate Members and Sponsors in implementing this programme, and the relevance of its key projects (New Forest, New Road Axis, Special Urban Planning Plan) to the new institutional environment being forged around ESG criteria.
Mr Benos highlighted the catalytic contribution of the Corporate Members to Greece’s sustainable development and called on businesses to examine their impact on the Environment (E) – Society (S) – and Governance (G) more systematically, both locally and nationally. Also worth noting is the presentation by Ms Kiara Konti, Head of Sustainable Development Services and Partner at Ernst & Young, Greece.
Lastly, during the meeting, the Association warmly welcomed its new corporate members to the family, namely: Accenture Greece, represented by Ms Eleftheria Despinara, Data & AI Director | I&D lead at Accenture Greece; Boussias Media, represented by Ms Antonia Katsoulieri, CEO of Boussias Media; Kir-Yiannis SA, represented by Mr Michalis Boutaris, Vice President of Kir-Yiannis SA; Multifunction, represented by Mr Tasos Dimitriadis, Business Director of Multifunction – Computer and Technology Innovations Business Solutions, and Eurolife FFH.
The sponsors of the event were the National Bank of Greece, the Epirotic Bottling Industry S.A., Ktima Gerovassiliou, and Bodossaki Lectures On Demand.
Our warmest thanks to DIAZOMA’s partners: APG Avitech Production Group, Digiland Communication Builders, Fun Promotion for their contribution to this event.
The 11th meeting of Corporate Members of the DIAZOMA Association was presented by Ms Maria Kourasani.
The photographs of the event are available at the following link:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/141475012@N04/with/54514047848
The video of the event: (pending)
📍 For more information: [DIAZOMA website or contact email: [email protected]
