Knowledge and Partnership Bridges: a national initiative targeting the networking of Greeks all over the world

The national initiative "Knowledge and Partnership Bridges", which targets the networking of Greeks all over the world, was presented at the meeting for professional associations held on Wednesday 24th January 2018 at the National Documentation Centre (EKT). The aim of the meeting was, on the one hand, to exchange opinions on how to successfully exploit the initiative and, on the other, to gain support in its promotion and plan further joint actions.

Taking part in the meeting were the General Secretary for Strategy and Private Investment, Lois Lamprianidis, the Director of EKT, Evi Sachini, and representatives from the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises, the Federation of Hellenic Information Technology & Communications Enterprises, the Technical Chamber of Greece and the Economic Chamber of Greece.

The "Knowledge and Partnership Bridges" initiative, which is being implemented by EKT in collaboration with the General Secretariat for Strategy and Private Investment, Ministry of Economy and Development, aims to facilitate the best possible exploitation of knowledge and experiences of Greeks abroad and their interconnection with Greece.  The goal of the initiative "Knowledge & Partnership Bridges" is, realistically but imaginatively, to bring together the undeniably high quality human capital of the country and create ties of co-operation between those comprising it. Through the networking of Greeks, the growth potential of Greece is enhanced, while those Greeks participating in the network become part of a joint effort.

The platform for "Knowledge and Partnership Bridges", www.knowledgebridges.gr, is based on: 1) networking and subsequent successful partnerships through a network of Greek scientists, professionals and entrepreneurs; 2)information on funding opportunities in Greece and 3) the mapping of Greeks living abroad.

Interconnecting Greeks from all over the world requires the active participation and co-operation of institutional and professional bodies, especially in the branches which have been hurt by the brain drain. It was to this end that the business meeting of 24th January was held by EKT. Those attending spoke highly of the initiative and its necessity, promising to strengthen it in any way possible.

Amongst other things, it was specifically agreed to: a) survey the mobility of specialized human resources and co-operation on issues connected with the labour market; b) promote the initiative through jointly organised events throughout Greece; c) inform members of organisations so as to broaden the database of www.knowledgebridges.gr.

About the National Documentation Centre

The National Documentation Centre (www.ekt.gr) is a scientific facility for national use based at the National Hellenic Research Foundation. As a national infrastructure, EKT plays an institutional role in the collection, organisation, availability and preservation of the entire Greek scientific, research and cultural output (content and data) and its dissemination within the country and abroad.
It supports the participation of research groups in national and European programmes, promotes innovative entrepreneurship and the exploitation of research results and provides comprehensive information on research and innovation topics. It is a national authority of the Hellenic Statistical System, responsible for the production of the official statistics and indicators for research and development and business innovation in Greece.
EKT develops and operates a high value electronic infrastructure which serves national policies, provides advanced electronic services to a vast number of organisations and users, and ensures open access to authoritative knowledge for anyone from anywhere.