On Saturday 23/9, the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation rewarded in Berlin three young Greek cultural management professionals for the innovative ideas and initiatives they developed in Greece during the 2nd year of ''START - Create Cultural Change programme''.  The awards followed after practical training with relevant cultural institutions in Germany.

See the relevant Press Release:

The third year of the Greek-German "START - Create Cultural Change" cultural management programme has started. The opening event included reception of 30 young Greek grant holders, as well as awarding of three scaling grants to initiatives that stood out during the previous year of the programme.

On Saturday, September 23, 2017, the Palais der Kulturbrauerei in Berlin bore witness to the onset of the third year of the START - Create Cultural Change programme, which grants scholarships to young Greek cultural management professionals. During the event, 30 upcoming cultural managers from Greece were presented who, in the next two months, will complete a certification programme in Germany on international cultural management. The event was also attended by representatives of the 30 German socio-cultural centres, which will host the 30 Greek grant holders for six weeks, to offer them practical training and help them develop their own cultural initiatives in Greece.

Strengthening civil society through cultural participation

In his opening speech, Stefan Horn, an international cultural management expert and artistic director of the “Urban Dialogues” metropolitan art organisation, said that culture can play an important role as a lever of social change. He also presented ways in which local projects allow for cultural involvement and therefore encourage the population to participate in civil society.

Scaling Grants Awards

In addition, three cultural initiatives developed in the previous year of the programme received a prize of € 10,000 each. The prizes were awarded for exemplary initiatives, characterised by innovation, positive social impact and sustainability.

The prizes were received by Maria Asteriou for the project "The Grand Voice", a participatory theatre for senior citizens in Athens, Kostas Korres for the project "Ani-Mate & Meet the Other", a series of creative film workshops for children of refugees and elementary school pupils on the island of Rhodes, and Georgia Tsazi who, through the "Touch of the Past" project, established 3D printing as a cultural technology and proposed a new way of accessing cultural heritage.

For the first time this year, the prizes were awarded with the support of two major Greek institutes: The John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, which financed the awards with a total amount of € 30,000 and the Bodossaki Foundation, which offered the distinguished grant holders a workplace at the Social Dynamo Co-operative venue in Athens, as well as access to the programme of strengthening civil society organisations.

About the “START - Create Cultural Change” programme

The "START - Create Cultural Change" programme is a training and scholarship programme for aspiring cultural managers in Greece, which helps new creative minds to promote cultural initiatives that enhance social cohesion in their local communities. The START programme aims to generate new prospects in Greece for young professionals, by promoting exchange and development in the socio-cultural field and fostering social cohesion in Europe.

The START programme comprises three phases in Germany and Greece, during which grant holders transform innovative ideas into independent cultural initiatives, while acquiring entrepreneurial skills which should ensure the sustainability of their projects.

More information on the individual phases of the programme and an overview of START programmes are available on the programme's website. 

The programme is implemented through the Robert Bosch Foundation (Robert Bosch Stiftung), in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki, and the non-profit Federal Association of Socio-Cultural Centers (Bundesvereinigung Soziokultureller Zentren e.V.) and is supported by the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation and the Bodossaki Foundation.