“Greece Is Changing” Initiative Launched

A group of leading Greek businessmen recently decided to take matters into their own hands and joined forces to promote full page advertisements in various European newspapers and invite Europeans to take a closer look at Greece’s path of reform to ensure its commitment to Europe.

The “Greece is changing” initiative -that runs under the slogan “Give Greece a Chance”- is a one-off public service initiative, funded by Greek businesses, and aims to present the sacrifices made, over the last three years, by every Greek citizen under the toughest austerity package in modern history and to highlight the progress that has been made.

A newspaper with the “Greece is Changing” ad printed.

Europeans are invited to see beyond stereotypes and to acknowledge that Greece is earning its chance to recover and therefore deserves their continued support.

According to reports, the ads have been published in the Financial Times, International Herald Tribune and the Wall Street Journal (European edition).

Businesses involved in the private initiative include the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), Aegean Airlines, Athens International Airport and Costa Navarino. Further information can be obtained from website: www.greeceischanging.com.

When asked by Reuters news agency if the “Give Greece a Chance” slogan seen on the advertisements “smacks a little bit of desperation,” Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Yeroulanos responded that “it’s exactly how many people in Greece feel.

Reuters reporter holds a newspaper with the “Greece is Changing” ad during a recent interview with Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Yeroulanos (left).

“Give Greece a Chance’ I think is a message that says we are about to do everything that needs to be done to get the economy back on track, but we need time to change all the things that were done wrong in the past,” he said.

When asked if the government would have backed a similar initiative, Mr. Yeroulanos said the ministry is working with the private sector to create a public-private corporation but primarily for tourism purposes.