Last Monday (20/01), in a particular festive atmosphere, IENE’s New Year’s Cake Cutting Event took place at the Divani Caravel Hotel in Athens. More than 80 members and friends of IENE participated in this annual event which is traditionally held in January to celebrate the start of the new year.Last Monday (20/01), in a particular festive atmosphere, IENE’s New Year’s Cake Cutting Event took place at the Divani Caravel Hotel in Athens. More than 80 members and friends of IENE participated in this annual event which is traditionally held in January to celebrate the start of the new year.
The event was opened by a keynote address by IENE’s Chairman Mr. Costis Stambolis, who referred to the mission and vision of the Institute as well as referring to its activities in 2019 and its strategic objectives for the period 2020/2021. Costis Stambolis stressed that IENE's research work now forms the backbone of its activities and referred extensively to the contribution and structure of its Scientific Committees.
IENE’s Deputy Chairman Costas Papamichalopoulos subsequently took the floor, focusing on the key role of the Institute as a well-established actor in South East Europe’s energy scene while also presenting IENE's goals and values.
Addresses were then delivered by several distinguished officials including the Secretary General for Energy and Minerals at the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Ms. Alexandra Sdoukou who praised the role of IENE, recognizing it as a key organization for credible information and analysis on energy issues while congratulating the Institute on its consistent and valuable contribution to public consultations. Former Energy Minister George Stathakis also gave a speech, highlighting the significant contribution of IENE during his term, and also former Energy Minister Yiannis Maniatis briefly referred to current Greek and Turkish issues. The final address was given by the member of parliament for the Kozani district, Mr. George Amanatidis who informed the audience of the government’s decarbonization plans for his district, where most of Public Power Corporation’ s (PPC) lignite power plants operate, and the role which IENE could play in advising the government, the district and PPC.
Many friends and associates of IENE were present at the event that closed with the cake cutting ceremony along with finger food and drinks. One of the two lucky coins was found by IENE founding partner and chairwoman of the Scientific Committee on Hydrocarbons Research and Production (Upstream), Mr. Tereza Fokianou and the other by Mr. Manos Nimas, lawyer and associate of Costas Papamichalopoulos at KG Law Firm.
