On Tuesday 14 May 2013, at noon, at the “Marianna V. Vardinoyannis – ELPIDA” Children’s Oncology Unit, a memorandum of collaboration between the Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital, Canada’s SickKids Hospital and the “ELPIDA” Association of Friends of Children with Cancer was signed.
This is the second major foreign hospital, after Ankara Children’s Health and Illnesses Haematology-Oncology Teaching and Research Hospital, to join the twinning program with the biggest oncology centers outside Greece, a program initiated by the “ELPIDA” Association in early 2013.
The Memorandum was signed by the President of the “ELPIDA” Association, Mrs. Marianna V. Vardinoyannis; Mrs. Cathy Séguin, Vice-President of International Affairs of the SickKids Hospital; and the Director of the Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital, Mr. Emmanuel Papassavas, in the presence of the Canadian Ambassador to Greece, Mr. Robert Peck, and his wife, Mrs. Maria Peck.
Earlier, while welcoming the delegation of scientists from the SickKids Hospital to the Children’s Oncology Unit, Mrs. Vardinoyannis expressed her joy at their presence in Greece and thanked them for their timely response to ELPIDA’s request for friendship and collaboration, saying: “It is an honor for us that you are here. We believe that your contribution to our efforts to help sick children will be immense. Our collaboration with you is a major privilege for us. We are confident that this collaboration will lead to a significant improvement in the medical services provided, and that the exchange of knowledge and experience will contribute definitively to the implementation of the next three projects we are planning: the implementation of a Bone Marrow Volunteer Donor Program; a Transplant Centre for Children; and a Center of Excellence.”
During her brief address, Mrs. Vardinoyannis expressed her warmest thanks to Canada’s Ambassador to Greece, Mr. Robert Peck, and his Greek-born wife, Maria Peck, for their crucial role in the twinning of the two hospitals: “I would like,” said Mrs. Vardinoyannis, “to publicly thank the people who began the effort towards the twinning of the two hospitals and supported it all the way to its completion. Their contribution was invaluable and their dedication to the achievement of this goal has been truly inspiring. I congratulate them on their social sensitivity and their tireless efforts to bring Greece and Canada closer socially, politically and scientifically. I have nothing but admiration for the determination and enthusiasm they showed following their very first visit to the Children’s Oncology Unit. Between then and now they have become good friends of ELPIDA and I will never forget how hard they worked to make our shared vision a reality.”
Concluding her address, as a token of friendship and gratitude, Mrs. Vardinoyannis presented Mr. Peck with the “ELPIDA” Association’s honorary diploma.
Mrs. Cathy Séguin was next to take the floor. After thanking Mrs. Vardinoyannis for her warm welcome and kind words, she said: “It’s wonderful to be here at the Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital. We are very impressed by ELPIDA’s contribution and generosity, and its passion and commitment to taking care of children with cancer. Relations between Greece and Canada have been strong for 70 years and this is a chance to carry on the tradition and to support sick kids through the collaboration between the Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital and the SickKids Hospital. We are deeply grateful to you for your hospitality and to the amazing team working at the Children’s Oncology Unit. We had the opportunity to see their work up close and the life they give to the children and their families. We hope that through this agreement we will find ways in which SickKids Hospital can support the work of ELPIDA, now and in the future.”
After the signing of the Memorandum, Mrs. Vardinoyannis invited the Canadian Ambassador, Mr. Robert Peck, to place the Canadian flag on the Peace and Friendship map, thus symbolically sanctioning the collaboration between SickKids Hospital and “ELPIDA” and the Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital.
Visibly moved, the Canadian Ambassador said: “Today is a very important day because the Children’s Oncology Unit is signing a memorandum of collaboration with SickKids Hospital, one of the world’s greatest hospitals. I would like to thank Mrs. Vardinoyannis for her cooperation, her passion and her tireless work for the children, and I would like to thank her team for a wonderful collaboration. The idea of this Memorandum was born about a year ago. For many years, SickKids Hospital has contributed greatly to the health of hundreds of thousands of children in Canada, and its footprint is now growing throughout the world. An Ambassador’s job is to build bridges and today’s signature is important because it marks the beginning of a collaboration between Greece and Canada in another sector. What could be better than for us to support children who are suffering from a serious illness! Mrs. Vardinoyanni, your commitment, your dedication and your dynamism at the helm of ELPIDA is an example, not only for Greece, but for the entire world!”
Before the Canadian scientists left the hospital, Mrs. Vardinoyannis offered them gifts, and children being treated at the hospital offered them flowers and a collage they had made especially for them.
The delegation from SickKids Hospital which visited the “Marianna V. Vardinoyannis – ELPIDA” Children’s Oncology Unit comprised Mrs. Cathy Séguin, Vice-President of International Affairs; Mr. Raymond King, Director of Business Development; Dr. Jim Whitlock, Division HeadofHaematology/Oncology; Dr. Sylvain Baruchel, Director of the New Agent and Innovative Therapy Program; Dr. Maarten Egeler, Section Head of Stem Cell Transplantation; and Mrs. Judy Van Clieaf, Director of Child Health Services.
On Tuesday 14 May 2013, at noon, at the “Marianna V. Vardinoyannis – ELPIDA” Children’s Oncology Unit, a memorandum of collaboration between the Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital, Canada’s SickKids Hospital and the “ELPIDA” Association of Friends of Children with Cancer was signed.
This is the second major foreign hospital, after Ankara Children’s Health and Illnesses Haematology-Oncology Teaching and Research Hospital, to join the twinning program with the biggest oncology centers outside Greece, a program initiated by the “ELPIDA” Association in early 2013.
The Memorandum was signed by the President of the “ELPIDA” Association, Mrs. Marianna V. Vardinoyannis; Mrs. Cathy Séguin, Vice-President of International Affairs of the SickKids Hospital; and the Director of the Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital, Mr. Emmanuel Papassavas, in the presence of the Canadian Ambassador to Greece, Mr. Robert Peck, and his wife, Mrs. Maria Peck.
Earlier, while welcoming the delegation of scientists from the SickKids Hospital to the Children’s Oncology Unit, Mrs. Vardinoyannis expressed her joy at their presence in Greece and thanked them for their timely response to ELPIDA’s request for friendship and collaboration, saying: “It is an honor for us that you are here. We believe that your contribution to our efforts to help sick children will be immense. Our collaboration with you is a major privilege for us. We are confident that this collaboration will lead to a significant improvement in the medical services provided, and that the exchange of knowledge and experience will contribute definitively to the implementation of the next three projects we are planning: the implementation of a Bone Marrow Volunteer Donor Program; a Transplant Centre for Children; and a Center of Excellence.”
During her brief address, Mrs. Vardinoyannis expressed her warmest thanks to Canada’s Ambassador to Greece, Mr. Robert Peck, and his Greek-born wife, Maria Peck, for their crucial role in the twinning of the two hospitals: “I would like,” said Mrs. Vardinoyannis, “to publicly thank the people who began the effort towards the twinning of the two hospitals and supported it all the way to its completion. Their contribution was invaluable and their dedication to the achievement of this goal has been truly inspiring. I congratulate them on their social sensitivity and their tireless efforts to bring Greece and Canada closer socially, politically and scientifically. I have nothing but admiration for the determination and enthusiasm they showed following their very first visit to the Children’s Oncology Unit. Between then and now they have become good friends of ELPIDA and I will never forget how hard they worked to make our shared vision a reality.”
Concluding her address, as a token of friendship and gratitude, Mrs. Vardinoyannis presented Mr. Peck with the “ELPIDA” Association’s honorary diploma.
Mrs. Cathy Séguin was next to take the floor. After thanking Mrs. Vardinoyannis for her warm welcome and kind words, she said: “It’s wonderful to be here at the Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital. We are very impressed by ELPIDA’s contribution and generosity, and its passion and commitment to taking care of children with cancer. Relations between Greece and Canada have been strong for 70 years and this is a chance to carry on the tradition and to support sick kids through the collaboration between the Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital and the SickKids Hospital. We are deeply grateful to you for your hospitality and to the amazing team working at the Children’s Oncology Unit. We had the opportunity to see their work up close and the life they give to the children and their families. We hope that through this agreement we will find ways in which SickKids Hospital can support the work of ELPIDA, now and in the future.”
After the signing of the Memorandum, Mrs. Vardinoyannis invited the Canadian Ambassador, Mr. Robert Peck, to place the Canadian flag on the Peace and Friendship map, thus symbolically sanctioning the collaboration between SickKids Hospital and “ELPIDA” and the Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital.
Visibly moved, the Canadian Ambassador said: “Today is a very important day because the Children’s Oncology Unit is signing a memorandum of collaboration with SickKids Hospital, one of the world’s greatest hospitals. I would like to thank Mrs. Vardinoyannis for her cooperation, her passion and her tireless work for the children, and I would like to thank her team for a wonderful collaboration. The idea of this Memorandum was born about a year ago. For many years, SickKids Hospital has contributed greatly to the health of hundreds of thousands of children in Canada, and its footprint is now growing throughout the world. An Ambassador’s job is to build bridges and today’s signature is important because it marks the beginning of a collaboration between Greece and Canada in another sector. What could be better than for us to support children who are suffering from a serious illness! Mrs. Vardinoyanni, your commitment, your dedication and your dynamism at the helm of ELPIDA is an example, not only for Greece, but for the entire world!”
Before the Canadian scientists left the hospital, Mrs. Vardinoyannis offered them gifts, and children being treated at the hospital offered them flowers and a collage they had made especially for them.
The delegation from SickKids Hospital which visited the “Marianna V. Vardinoyannis – ELPIDA” Children’s Oncology Unit comprised Mrs. Cathy Séguin, Vice-President of International Affairs; Mr. Raymond King, Director of Business Development; Dr. Jim Whitlock, Division HeadofHaematology/Oncology; Dr. Sylvain Baruchel, Director of the New Agent and Innovative Therapy Program; Dr. Maarten Egeler, Section Head of Stem Cell Transplantation; and Mrs. Judy Van Clieaf, Director of Child Health Services.