October 31, 2016, in the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Greece there took place a meeting in celebration of Mr. Pantelis Boumbouras, the Chairman of the Administrative Board of the Branch of the Hellenic Foundation for Culture in Odessa and of the Boumbouras Charitable Foundation, for his contribution to the promotion of Greek culture, support of the Greek diaspora in Odessa, and dissemination of the values of Hellenism. The meeting held at the joint initiative of Prof. K. Tsoukalas, the Chairman of the Hellenic Foundation for Culture (HFC), and Mr. S. Paradeisopoulos, the Director of the Branch of the HFC, was attended by members of the Greek Government (the Minister of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction Mr. P. Kouroumplis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. I. Amanatidis, Alternate Director General of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad Mr. D. Plevrakis, and General Secretary of Culture of the Ministry of Culture and Sports Mrs. M. Vlazaki, members of the Greek Parliament Mr. A. Athanasiou and Mr. G. Stilios, the Mayor of Piraeus Mr. G. Moralis, the Mayor of Limnos Mr. D. Marinakis, as well as the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to Greece Mr. V. Shkurov.
In his speech, the Minister of Culture and Sports Mr. Aristidis Mpaltas noted the great contribution of Mr. P. Boumbouras to the promotion of development of Hellenism. He thanked Mr. P. Boumbouras “for everything he has done and continues to do and for his effort in supporting the diaspora” and awarded Mr. P. Boumbouras with a memorable prize.
The Chairman of the HFC Mr. K. Tsoukalas emphasized the role of philanthropists in the human history, while the Director of the Branch of the HFC in Odessa Mr. S. Paradeisopoulos recounted the multitude of Mr. Boumbouras’ charitable activities in and beyond Odessa and expressed his gratitude to the philanthropist for his continuous financial support to the Branch and his assistance in developing plans for activities of the Branch as to further promotion of Greece in Ukraine. Mr. Paradeisopoulos expressed his hopes that «the good deeds of Mr. Boumbouras will be followed also by other Greeks living in the countries where the Hellenic Foundation for Culture has its branches”.
Mr. Pantelis Boumbouras thanked all speakers and guests at the meeting for their kind words and assured them that he will continue his effort in promoting the Greek presence in all spheres of life in Odessa, supporting Greeks organizations and expanding the scope of activities of the Brach of the HFC in Odessa.