Concordia chooses Athens for first European summit

November 21, 2016

– Concordia Europe will convene preeminent political leaders and decision makers
– Summit to address region’s most pressing social, economic, and humanitarian challenges
– Concordia is a global institution that enables public-private partnerships to create a more prosperous and sustainable future

Concordia Co-Founders, Nicholas Logothetis and Matthew Swift, have announced Concordia Europe, a Summit that will highlight the potential for effective collaboration between businesses, governments, and non-profits in addressing the region’s greatest challenges. The Summit will take place in Athens, Greece and will address topics including the refugee crisis, the Sustainable Development Goals, regional security, Brexit, and the future of the European Union. Concordia Europe will host leaders from politics, business, and non-profit organisations from across the continent and around the world.

Commenting on the launch of Concordia Europe, Matthew Swift, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO stated:

“Concordia was built on the belief that collaboration across sectors can provide immense impact to the most pressing social and economic issues of our time. As we enter our sixth year of operation, next year’s agenda will represent a great period of growth for Concordia. It is our hope that our powerful platform will continue to expand beyond the U.S., by continuing to convene great minds, advance shared value principles, and positively impact lives in communities throughout Latin America and Europe in 2017.”

At its New York Summit this past September, Concordia hosted the Private Sector Forum on Migration and Refugees, which mobilized a community of cross-sector leaders to act collectively in response to the current crisis. The Private Sector Forum was held in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Columbia University’s Global Policy Initiative, and the International Organization for Migration, featuring David Miliband of the International Rescue Committee, Mayor Giorgos Kaminis of Athens, and an announcement by George Soros of Open Society Foundations committing $500 million towards the refugee crisis. Concordia Europe will harness the momentum of those strategic dialogues and build upon discussions towards solutions in human mobility, connectivity, workforce development, transit, and resettlement, among others.

The inaugural European Summit will also expand upon recent Concordia programming narratives conducted in response to the Brexit and cross-sector priorities when looking at the future of the European Union. Sessions conducted at the New York Summit were held in partnership with the Atlantic Council and featured the participation of President Nicos Anastasiades of Cyprus, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of Malta, as well as First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Vice President Kristalina Georgieva of the European Commission, among others. Discussions encouraged regional leadership to engage citizen concerns, to prioritize structural reforms, and to evolve and adapt to the deepened interdependence resulting from globalization and the changing needs of their populations. With the recent results of the American elections, added pressures to international monetary policy and regional security will also be discussed at the upcoming European Summit.

Follow Concordia on Twitter @ConcordiaSummit and Facebook at facebook.com/TheConcordiaSummit for upcoming Summit news and highlights and further details of Concordia Europe in Athens.

Photo credit: Ben Hider/Getty Images

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