BUSINESS: 532 PRACTICES
Alpha Bank Group
The Alpha Bank Group is one of the leading Groups of the financial sector in Greece. It offers a wide range of high-quality financial products and services in the domestic and international market and has one of the highest capital adequacy ratios in Europe.
Alpha Bank, with the valuable contribution of the Municipality of Athens and with the aim of contributing to the social and cultural life of the place, promoting culture as well as saving and spreading the Greek spirit, designed the Corporate Social Responsibility program "The damages that hurt" with the aim of restoring and maintaining sculptures and monuments located in emblematic areas of the country's central cities. The reason for the program was the state of all the sculptures in the center of Athens, which have suffered extensive damage and vandalism, mainly in recent years.
The Program aims to protect and restore historical monuments and works of art, which have suffered significant damage in order to resolve, as far as possible in the long term and with the best quality result, an important social problem in the field of culture, but also of the urban everyday life. Supporting the culture of everyday life, combined with historical memory, creates valuable legacies for the future.
The program is part of the wider strategy of the Municipality of Athens to remove the visual pollution that hid the city. The aim of the collaboration with the Municipality of Athens is an extensive conservation program of these works, so that they can be returned to time and to the citizens "purely" in terms of aesthetics, values and symbolism so that they "shine" through time as an artistic and conscious wealth.
Citizens of urban centers and visitors.
2013-2022
In 2013, Alpha Bank designed the Corporate Social Responsibility program "The damage that hurts" which is carried out in collaboration with the Bank's Art Collection, the Municipality of Athens and with the contribution of groups of conservators specialized in sculptures.
The Bank has assumed the role of "custodian" for the Greek monuments located in the urban fabric, as it protects and restores historical monuments and works of art, which have suffered significant damage due to the adverse daily life of the city center, all kinds of interventions with tags, slogans, breaks, additions, overlays. This phenomenon is found in many parts of the city, in the center and in the neighborhoods, with the result that its character is being altered.
The works that have been restored and conserved under the program are crafted by important sculptors such as:
Lazaros Sochos, Thomas Thomopoulos, Dimitrios Filippotis, Lazaros Phytalis, Fokion Rok, Michalis Tombros, Antoine Bourdelle, Vasos Falireas, Thanasis Apartis, Giannis Pappas, Thodoros Papagiannis and others.
A key feature of the program is that the maintenance of the projects is carried out in accordance with the most modern specifications, while there is also a provision for protection against possible future interventions.
On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution, the program "The damages that hurt" focused on the preservation of Hadrians and busts of heroes of 1821, inviting the Athenians to discover them and remember the stories of our heroes again.
At the same time, the condition of all the sculptures that have been preserved from 2013 to the present day is being monitored and continuous cleaning and protection operations are carried out.
The beneficiaries of the program are the residents of the city, the citizens of the country, but also all visitors. The Program combines social contribution, sustainability and social resilience, while at the same time contributing to the further cultural, social and economic development of the country.
The preservation and protection of our cultural heritage is a key element of the sustainable development of the place. The protection of the Works of Art and Memory found in the open spaces of our cities contributes to the improvement of our quality of life. It has also been proven that the state of conservation of outdoor monuments and the possibility of restoration and reuse of historic buildings are directly linked to the revitalization of a city's center, tourism related to cultural heritage, and even to the value of properties located in areas that have cultural heritage monuments.
An important element offered by the program is the direct and live way to raise awareness among citizens who circulate in the center of Athens, in order to contribute themselves to the protection of outdoor sculptures and other historical monuments in their cities.
The starting point of the program is the Corporate Social Responsibility of the Bank but also the strategic effort of the Municipality of Athens to upgrade the quality of life in the city and the daily life of residents and visitors. However, the program is also an innovative way of cultivating individual responsibility and sensitivity, as the identification and highlighting of the value of the sculptures contribute to the restoration of their teaching value, i.e. to enable citizens to realize their importance. The restoration of teachability then leads to sensitivity, individual and social.
At the same time, through the program, an original, open call is made to the citizens of Athens, to visit the squares and sidewalks of the city where the sculptures are located and to remember again the stories of our heroes. It was perhaps one of the few opportunities, during the 2021 lockdown, for citizens to come into direct contact with our history and cultural heritage, and in the conditions of the pandemic, participating in the "dialogue" and celebrating its anniversary Revolution, it was limited to digital or television screens.
In more detail, in the city of Athens have been restored and preserved: 6 sculptures in Syntagma Square, 3 statues in the grounds of the National Historical Museum, 7 sculptures, 2 monuments and 2 fountains in the propylaea of the University of Athens and the National Library. The bust of Jean Moreas, the work of the French sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, located in the National Garden and an exact copy of it was placed in the place of the original, which was transferred to the Gallery of the Municipality of Athens. The bust of Emmanuel Xanthos in Kolonaki Square, the "Daughter in Ecstasy" by Michalis Tombro in Fokionos Negri, the "Little Girl" by Antonio Sochos and the bust of Queen Olga in Evangelismos Park. The Athens Conservatory and the exterior of the Numismatic Museum building.
From October 2020 to February 2021, the restoration work was completed on the brass Hadrian of Makrygiannis on Dionysios Aeropagitis (work by Yiannis Pappas), on the marble bust of Emmanuel Xanthous in Kolonaki Square (work by Thomas Thomopoulos), on the brass bust of Georgakis Olympiou in Koukaki (the work of Theodoros Papagiannis), the full-length marble sculpture of Konstantinos Kanaris in Kanari Square in Kypseli (the work of Lazaros Fitalis) and the bronze bust of Athanasios Petimezas in Galatsi (the work of Nikolaos Sochos).
The history of Alpha Bank, evolving over the last three centuries, is intertwined with Culture. Through its Collections, the Art Collection, the Numismatic Collection and the Historical Archive, it actively participates in the rescue and dissemination of the Greek Spirit, as well as in the promotion and access of all to culture. At the same time, it supports cultural actions and cultural institutions, while designing and implementing Social Responsibility programs, where responsibility is put into action for the protection and promotion of culture. Through the Program "The damages that hurt" the Bank's commitment to the rescue and dissemination of culture both to its Customers and to the general public becomes evident, a fact that characterizes it and makes it stand out in the Greek business for its unceasing offer in a field where our country has a rich and important history, but unfortunately does not have the support it deserves.
