ATHENS – The forum Project2030.gr on June 26 was organized by the Youth Organization of New Democracy, ONNED, and included Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as the keynote speaker and The National Herald contributor Anthe Mitrakos, in her capacity as publisher of Portes Magazine which promotes Greece, Greek designers, and Greek culture.

The goal of Project2030.gr is to highlight through the stories of young professionals the resources that young people need to lead in Greece in 2030.

"In Greece of 2030, today’s generations of those in their 20s, 30s, possibly the generation of today's teenagers, the young people who just passed the Panhellenic Exams, the children who want to take exams on Monday to enter model schools will lead. You will write the next page of our country and we are here to formulate those policies, so that you can finally have more and better opportunities than your parents had,” noted the Prime Minister, who was the keynote speaker for the special thematic discussion "Young People who Excel in Greece and Abroad."

The Project2030.gr Youth Forum, held at the offices of New Democracy in Moschato, was attended by young people, business founders who have crossed the country's borders and have been distinguished for their innovative ideas and business savvy.

Mitrakos spoke about her own business endeavor: "I studied Journalism, Marketing and Business Administration in Chicago, where I was born and raised and where in 2012, together with my sister Vasiliki, we started a magazine called Portes which promotes Greece. Growing up in the United States, abroad, we had a special love for Greece and we wanted to combine our studies with the admiration we have for this country and create a magazine that will transport readers to the beautiful world, the magic of Greece, and that will essentially open the doors abroad for Greece. So we started in Chicago with the aim of bringing an authentic part of Greece to the Diaspora, to the Greeks of America, and we did it by sharing stories that have to do with culture, art, but also ecology and various other things and history.”

Mitrakou continued: “Our next issue will focus on the years of the Revolution and Greek traditional costumes, we look forward to it now in August and I will be happy to share it with you. The magazine is also distributed in print through subscriptions and the profits in collaboration with the National Hellenic Student Association support small scholarships for Greeks who want to study in the U.S. and Canada. And also in this magazine we present various writers, artists, photographers, students and others who have been inspired by Greece. And since we are talking about business, and people often ask me, how difficult was it to start something like this, I will tell you that it was not easy at all.”

In his introductory statement, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also told the young people, that "the greatest concern I have when talking to young people is exactly this. That many young people tell us ‘I do not feel I will do as well as my parents or grandparents.’ And this for me personally is a very big challenge, it is a challenge that runs through all aspects of our policy.”

The Prime Minister noted: "I want to remind you that we were elected as a government with the commitment to lead the country to rapid growth and to create many good jobs for the young people of our country. The pandemic set us back, but at the same time it was the catalyst for a series of major changes that took place both nationally and at European level.”

In his conversation with the young people, Mitsotakis emphasized the importance of implementing a good idea and the value of teamwork. “Implementation requires a plan, it requires knowledge, it requires organization and, of course, it requires teamwork. This to me is perhaps the most important message to young people: we are as good as our partners. We have to learn to work, we have to learn to manage our differences in groups and in a way the composition that comes out, this collective intelligence that emerges through teamwork, makes us all better.”