Gianna Angelopoulos Announces Commitment to Support Greek Youth Entrepreneurs at Clinton Global Initiative

NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ambassador Gianna Angelopoulos will support up to 25 Greek students to fully participate in the Clinton Foundation's Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) in 2014, Gianna Angelopoulos announced today at the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting (CGI).

"I believe now more than ever that young people can recapture the spirit I saw 10 years ago, when I led the Athens Olympics," Ambassador Angelopoulos said as part of her announcement at the Mobilizing Youth Around the World CGI Conversation.  Participating in the CGI Conversation were Chelsea Clinton, Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent, and Cisco CEO John Chambers.  CNN's Piers Morgan moderated the event.

Of the up to 25 students she will sponsor at CGIU 2014, Ambassador Angelopoulos said: "I will support their projects back in Greece so they may serve as examples of what can be achieved with commitment and hope."

In 2013, Ambassador Angelopoulos invited Greek university students to submit ideas for Commitments to Action for CGI U.  Out of a pool of 200 students who submitted entries, a panel of distinguished academics and Ambassador Angelopoulos selected 12 students who went on to participate at CGI U 2013 in St. Louis, Missouri.  She then funded their projects as they launched them in Greece.  One student developed the largest database of free opportunities for youth in the world.  Another has helped to increase productivity on Greek farms with GPS maps and advanced soil tests.  Another has developed a project to deliver hundreds of portions of extra food from restaurants and institutions to needy Greeks. 

"These students bring the spirit of CGI to Greece," said Ambassador Angelopoulos.  "I can't wait to see what this year's students will accomplish."

The Clinton Global Initiative is an annual event of the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation that convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world's most pressing challenges.  This year's Clinton Global Initiative is taking place between September 23 and 26 in New York City.

Ambassador Angelopoulos is the author of the New York Times bestseller MY GREEK DRAMA: Life, Love and One Woman's Olympic Effort to Bring Glory to Her Country (May 2013). The book is a revealing account of her remarkable life growing up on the island of Crete and rising to become an international thought leader. Gianna also explores the paths Greece might follow in its efforts to solve the nation's pressing economic and social upheavals.

Gianna Angelopoulos is an Ambassador of the Greek State, an active member of the Clinton Global Initiative and Vice Chairperson of the Dean's Council of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She served with distinction as President of the Greek Bidding and Organizing Committees for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. Ambassador Angelopoulos was also elected a Member of Parliament from Athens in 1989 and won re-election the following year.

SOURCE Gianna Angelopoulos