The Golden Cross of the Order of Beneficence was awarded by H.E. the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou to UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mrs Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, on Wednesday 9 September 2020, honouring her for her exceptional service to the homeland and for her philanthropy, which has been recognised internationally by the UN with the Νelson Mandela Prize 2020.
Mrs Vardinoyannis is the only Greek woman to have received this highest recognition by the Political Leadership.
The Golden Cross of the Order of Beneficence is the highest rank of the Order of Beneficence and is only awarded to women, Greek and foreigners, for exceptional services to the Homeland, for charitable actions, and for exceptional work in the letters and arts.
The medal was bestowed in a simple but very moving ceremony in the Credentials’ Lounge of the Presidential Mansion.
Before the ceremony, the President of the Republic spoke of Mrs Vardinoyannis work and contribution.
“Mrs Marianna Vardinoyannis had the opportunity in her life to make safer and more personal choices. However, she chose the path of contribution, focusing initially on children, and then on the crucial matter of human rights. I would like to focus especially on her work with the ‘ELPIDA’ Foundation for children’s cancer, which has already been operating for 30 years. As a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, she supports action programmes for equal access to education, the protection of women and girls in deprived communities, the eradication of discrimination, the protection of vulnerable people around us, and climate change. The ‘Marianna V. Vardinoyannis’ Foundation, in cooperation with the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundations, recently presented the ‘Speak Truth to Power’ Programme, aiming to familiarise the teaching community with the protection of human rights.
All these actions promote the ideals of solidarity and volunteering, and they encourage, especially young people around the world, to fight for and defend the rights and principles of social justice, for a world of freedom, democracy, and equality.
In recognition of her important humanitarian work, she was recently awarded the Nelson Mandela Prize by the UN.
I gladly accepted the recommendation of the Foreign Minister to award Mrs Marianna Vardinoyannis the medal of the Gold Cross of the Order of Beneficence in recognition of her work”.
Emotionally and with great humility Mrs Vardinoyannis received from the President of the Republic this unique distinction, she thanked her from the bottom of her heart, and she promised that she will use all her power to continue the work of Nelson Mandela, just as the President of the UN General Assembly asked her to.
“Your excellency, madame President of the Republic, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kind words! It is with great emotion, a sense of responsibility, and love of our homeland, Greece, that I accept this supreme distinction. It is a great honour for me to bestow this award to me and I can’t find the words to humbly express my enormous gratitude. I would like to thank the United Nations and each of the Member-States, for honouring me with the Nelson Mandela Prize. It is a distinction I never thought I would achieve in life. Because this award does not belong to me; it belongs to our Greece and the Greek people.
The President of the General Assembly of the UN charged me with continuing the work of Nelson Mandela and I will try to live up to his expectations. I feel lucky to have met him through the UNESCO family. Because Nelson Mandela was a charismatic leader and visionary who impacted my life and inspired me to focus on human rights and people in need.
I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart my husband Vardis and our beloved children and grandchildren, because without their support I would not have succeeded in this work.
During these trying times for our planet, I hope that Greece can remain a steadfast guardian of our eternal values and that all peoples can work together for the good of humanity.
I wish every success to your important national mission for Greece and for you to achieve your noble goals. Thank you very much”.
Through the UN’s Nelson Mandela Prize that Mrs Vardinoyannis was recently honoured with, our country is now among those recognised for its humanitarian work. Mrs Vardinoyannis’ goal is to continue to fight, so that Greece may continue to be an international example of humanitarianism. The recognition of her action by H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic, whom Mrs Vardinoyannis greatly respects, seals this effort, while also laying the foundation for cooperation between the two women in that direction.
At Mrs Vardinoyannis side during this major moment of recognition for her work, which goes beyond the borders of Greece and has received international recognition, were her children and grandchildren, who were proud and deeply moved. The fact that she could share one of the most important moments of her life with her family, which she often says “is the most valuable thing in her life”, was very important for Mrs Vardinoyannis.
Also present were the Secretary General of the Presidency, Ambassador Vassilis Papadopoulos, the Director of Protocol, Ambassador Antonia Katzourou.
It should be noted that the medal of Beneficence is shaped like a flower with five blue enamel pedals, in between which are green enamel long narrow sepals. At the centre of the flower is a picture of the Virgin Mary holding the Divine Infant. This detail greatly moved Mrs Vardinoyannis, who has dedicated a great part of her work to protecting children.
The Golden Cross of the Order of Beneficence was awarded by H.E. the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou to UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mrs Marianna V. Vardinoyannis, on Wednesday 9 September 2020, honouring her for her exceptional service to the homeland and for her philanthropy, which has been recognised internationally by the UN with the Νelson Mandela Prize 2020.
Mrs Vardinoyannis is the only Greek woman to have received this highest recognition by the Political Leadership.
The Golden Cross of the Order of Beneficence is the highest rank of the Order of Beneficence and is only awarded to women, Greek and foreigners, for exceptional services to the Homeland, for charitable actions, and for exceptional work in the letters and arts.
The medal was bestowed in a simple but very moving ceremony in the Credentials’ Lounge of the Presidential Mansion.
Before the ceremony, the President of the Republic spoke of Mrs Vardinoyannis work and contribution.
“Mrs Marianna Vardinoyannis had the opportunity in her life to make safer and more personal choices. However, she chose the path of contribution, focusing initially on children, and then on the crucial matter of human rights. I would like to focus especially on her work with the ‘ELPIDA’ Foundation for children’s cancer, which has already been operating for 30 years. As a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, she supports action programmes for equal access to education, the protection of women and girls in deprived communities, the eradication of discrimination, the protection of vulnerable people around us, and climate change. The ‘Marianna V. Vardinoyannis’ Foundation, in cooperation with the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundations, recently presented the ‘Speak Truth to Power’ Programme, aiming to familiarise the teaching community with the protection of human rights.
All these actions promote the ideals of solidarity and volunteering, and they encourage, especially young people around the world, to fight for and defend the rights and principles of social justice, for a world of freedom, democracy, and equality.
In recognition of her important humanitarian work, she was recently awarded the Nelson Mandela Prize by the UN.
I gladly accepted the recommendation of the Foreign Minister to award Mrs Marianna Vardinoyannis the medal of the Gold Cross of the Order of Beneficence in recognition of her work”.
Emotionally and with great humility Mrs Vardinoyannis received from the President of the Republic this unique distinction, she thanked her from the bottom of her heart, and she promised that she will use all her power to continue the work of Nelson Mandela, just as the President of the UN General Assembly asked her to.
“Your excellency, madame President of the Republic, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kind words! It is with great emotion, a sense of responsibility, and love of our homeland, Greece, that I accept this supreme distinction. It is a great honour for me to bestow this award to me and I can’t find the words to humbly express my enormous gratitude. I would like to thank the United Nations and each of the Member-States, for honouring me with the Nelson Mandela Prize. It is a distinction I never thought I would achieve in life. Because this award does not belong to me; it belongs to our Greece and the Greek people.
The President of the General Assembly of the UN charged me with continuing the work of Nelson Mandela and I will try to live up to his expectations. I feel lucky to have met him through the UNESCO family. Because Nelson Mandela was a charismatic leader and visionary who impacted my life and inspired me to focus on human rights and people in need.
I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart my husband Vardis and our beloved children and grandchildren, because without their support I would not have succeeded in this work.
During these trying times for our planet, I hope that Greece can remain a steadfast guardian of our eternal values and that all peoples can work together for the good of humanity.
I wish every success to your important national mission for Greece and for you to achieve your noble goals. Thank you very much”.
Through the UN’s Nelson Mandela Prize that Mrs Vardinoyannis was recently honoured with, our country is now among those recognised for its humanitarian work. Mrs Vardinoyannis’ goal is to continue to fight, so that Greece may continue to be an international example of humanitarianism. The recognition of her action by H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic, whom Mrs Vardinoyannis greatly respects, seals this effort, while also laying the foundation for cooperation between the two women in that direction.
At Mrs Vardinoyannis side during this major moment of recognition for her work, which goes beyond the borders of Greece and has received international recognition, were her children and grandchildren, who were proud and deeply moved. The fact that she could share one of the most important moments of her life with her family, which she often says “is the most valuable thing in her life”, was very important for Mrs Vardinoyannis.
Also present were the Secretary General of the Presidency, Ambassador Vassilis Papadopoulos, the Director of Protocol, Ambassador Antonia Katzourou.
It should be noted that the medal of Beneficence is shaped like a flower with five blue enamel pedals, in between which are green enamel long narrow sepals. At the centre of the flower is a picture of the Virgin Mary holding the Divine Infant. This detail greatly moved Mrs Vardinoyannis, who has dedicated a great part of her work to protecting children.
