HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

New Program Underwrites Four KSG Scholarships

The Socrates Kokkalis Program, a three-year, $1 million investment to support the transition to democracy now under way in the Balkans, East-Central and Southeastern Europe, will underwrite four scholarships to the Kennedy School of Government, as well as research in contemporary issues affecting the region.

The Socrates Kokkalis Program honors the vision of its benefactor, a prominent Greek businessman, Socrates Kokkalis. Founder and chairman of Intracom, S.A., a leading telecommunications and electronics firm in the Mediterranean, Kokkalis is committed to supporting recent democratic and economic reforms in East-Central and Southeastern Europe and to assisting in the development of prosperity in the Balkans.

"Postwar Balkan countries face enormous hurdles to lasting stability. The Socrates Kokkalis Program opens doors for individuals committed to seeing democracy and market economies flourish," said Kennedy School Dean Joseph S. Nye Jr. "The program will tap into one of the School's strengths: the intersection of international security affairs and technology policy. I can't think of a better fit. We are grateful to Mr. Kokkalis for supporting a new level of outreach, research, and scholarship in this important and vital region."

"With Kennedy School expertise we can infuse the next generation of leaders with strong economic and political skills, which in turn can help them achieve lasting stability in the region," said Kokkalis. "Greece, as the area's oldest and strongest democracy, is intensely interested in the development of open and democratic societies in the Balkans."

The Socrates Kokkalis Program will fund four scholarships for residents of Greece, Hungary, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, and Yugoslavia to pursue degree and executive programs at the Kennedy School to develop leaders trained in economics and politics with a special emphasis on new technologies. In addition, the Socrates Kokkalis Program will support conferences, workshops, academic meetings, and lectures, and will publish policy papers aimed at the development of trans-Balkan political and economic cooperation.