The European Public Law Organization welcomed the Club of Rome Hellenic Chapter to its Athens premises for a special event honouring Prof. Spyridon Flogaitis, Director of the EPLO, for his longstanding contribution to public law, governance and the advancement of a modern Greece.
During the ceremony, Prof. Flogaitis was named an Honorary Member of the Club of Rome and received the Hellenism Vision 2050 Award, in recognition of his significant contribution to fulfilling the vision of a modern Hellas.
The evening brought together representatives of the Club of Rome Hellenic Chapter and the EPLO, including President Kelly Marinakis and President Aggelos Karmaniolas, and was introduced by Giannis Politis, EPLO Spokesperson, and Prof. Ioannis Katsogiannis, Director of the Institute of Sustainable Water Management and Water Law of EPLO and member of the Club of Rome Hellenic Chapter.
Accepting the distinction, Prof. Flogaitis stressed that the achievements recognised by the award were not his alone, but the product of the many people who have worked alongside him over the years. His words reflected an idea deeply rooted in the EPLO itself: that lasting institutional change is a collective endeavour, built through cooperation, shared purpose and strong institutions.
Turning knowledge into action
The discussion surrounding the honour also looked towards the future, highlighting the complementary roles of science, law and public institutions in responding to the great challenges facing society.
Science can identify the problems and provide the knowledge needed to understand them. Law can transform that knowledge into responsibility and political accountability, while strong institutions are needed to turn it into action.
This common ground provided the foundation for a Memorandum of Understanding between the EPLO and the Club of Rome Hellenic Chapter, signed during the evening to establish a framework for future cooperation between the two organizations.
There was particular symbolism in the setting. The Club of Rome and the EPLO have their origins in Italy and Greece, while the EPLO's Athens premises stand between the Ancient Agora and the Roman Agora, places closely associated with the evolution of civic and public life.
From that historic setting came a distinctly forward-looking message: environmental science, law and governance must work together if knowledge is to become action and if we are to build a future that is just, sustainable and human-centred.
The evening therefore celebrated not only an individual distinction for Prof. Flogaitis, but also the values that have shaped his work and the EPLO: international cooperation, strong institutions and the conviction that ideas ultimately matter when they are translated into practice.
