Best of Diaspora Greeks awarded 'Argo' prize by Greek President

In the presence of the President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos, the newly created ARGO prize was awarded to eight diaspora Greeks who have distinguished themselved in their respective fields, during a ceremony held in the Athens Concert Hall on Thursday evening.

The initiative is the creation of the "Network of Greeks of the European Union" based in Brussels, who conceived the ARGO prize as a way to raise awareness of successful Diaspora Greeks and their works.

The eight prizes will be awarded each year to outstanding Greeks who are not involved in activities that get worldwide coverage and whose achievement are therefore not known at home.

The eight individuals awarded in 2019, the inaugural year for the prizes were:

• Mary Katrantzou, fashion designer (UK) - Entrepreneurship prize
• Auxentios Kalagos, cardiovascular surgeon and professor (Switzerland) - Humanitarian Contribution prize
• Katerina Stefanidi, Olympic medallist (US) - Sports prize
• Maria Themeli, professor of medicine (Netherlands) - Innovation prize
• Athena Kousteni, astronomer specialising in space exploration (France) - Science Prize
• Yorgos Lanthimos, film director (US) - Culture and Arts prize
• Andromache Karakatsani, Supreme Court judge (Canada) - Contribution to Public Affairs prize
• Konstantin Filippou, celebrity chef (Austria) - Gastronomy prize