HELLENIC RESOURCES

Hellenic Resources Institute - Hellenic Resources Groups

Vol.1 No.1

Hellenic Resources Institute (HRI) is a non-profit organization founded to tap into the intellectual capability of Greeks abroad in order to help Greek public policy decision-makers reach better informed decisions.

HRI's most important rule is the maintenance of a multi-partisan stance. Intellectual capabilities stem from people of all political ideologies and orientations.

Our goal is to organize and coordinate "working groups" to examine key issues of concern to Greek public policy makers. The final products of the groups' studies are channeled to public policy decision-makers in Greece who are interested in the examined issues.

HRI is composed of three permanent bodies: The Executive Body (EB), The Advisory Assembly (AA), and The Board of Trustees (BT). The Hellenic Resources Groups (HRGs) could be ongoing but, most frequently, are dissolved after the end of their studies.

The practical goal of HRI is the creation of groups for the study of a particular issue that concerns Greek public policy makers. HRI has been quite successful in this area of the organization, since there are already 7 working groups in existence at present.

The titles of the groups and their activities are as follows:

1) Visits of Greek Public Policy Makers

2) Foreign Press Articles

3) International Studies in Greece for the 1990s

4) Athens Stock Exchange

5) Analysis of the Census Organizations in the US (Massachusetts) at the State or Local level and relevance to Greek problems

6) Health Care Planning and Policy

7) Information Science and Technology Policy

There are several ideas which could be transformed into working HRGs such as:

The collection and assortment of all graduate theses written about Greece in all the universities around the United States or even the world.
The collection of information regarding the feasibility and costs of installing a computer network in the Greek Parliament so that public policy makers have easier access to the records of the parliament's meetings.
The examination of the taxation system in the United States and its comparison to the Greek one; implications of the Greek system for its black economy and recommendations for improvement.

HRI also provides forum in selected universities for prominent Greek public policy decision makers who visit the United States. HRI, along with the Harvard Hellenic Society, organized the speech of Mr. Ioannis Varvitsiotis from the New Democracy party on February 7, 1994, at JFK School of Government. The title of the speech - which was attended by a lot of people from the Greek community of Boston - was "Greece and the Development in the Balkans."

On another note, the marketing subcommittee has organized presentations in various academic institutions in the Boston area in order to inform students about the existence and goals of HRI. The organization needs help in the subcommittees of the Executive Body such as in HRG Coordination, Marketing, Fundraising, Advisory Assembly Coordination, and Legal Matters. If you are interested in helping, please contact Marina Papatsoni at (617) 789-4908, Nikos Patsis at (617) 859-5777, or Pavlos Yeroulanos at (617) 661-9727.

It is an exciting period for HRI and we, the members of the Executive Body, need all the help, both financial and moral, we can get from the Greek community abroad.

Note: If you have questions regarding the content of this newsletter, please contact Dimos Arhodidis at (617) 497-8822