President David G. Horner announced today the official launch of The American College of Greece’s most recent public service initiative: the ACG Institute of Public Health. “We are delighted to collaborate with the Behrakis Foundation (based in Boston, MA) to offer a significant resource to benefit Greek society, further enhancing ACG’s social responsibility endeavors”.
The ACG Institute of Public Health builds on a program begun in 2010 by the Behrakis Foundation in co-operation with the Harvard School of Public Health, under the operating direction of Dr. Panagiotis Behrakis of the Hellenic Anti-Cancer Society and formerly, Associate Professor at the Medical School of the University of Athens. The primary focus has been and will continue to be reduction of smoking in Greece through a multi-faceted agenda, including: weekly education for school-age children in three cities (Athens, Thessaloniki, Tegaia); research and scholarly publications; presentations by prominent speakers on a variety of topics related to tobacco and/or other health issues; conference sponsorships (typically without fees); production of public service/information material.
The Institute is located in The American College of Greece’s historic building in Plaka, which also houses the ACG Institute of Diplomacy and Global Affairs. Both Institutes fall under the responsibility of Vice President, Claudia Carydis, Office of Public Affairs.