Establishment of a National Model Centre for Dementia and Related Disorders | Protovoulia ’21
The John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation is joining forces with 10 other public benefit foundations – members of Protovoulia ’21 – and the National Bank of Greece to establish the National Model Centre for Dementia and Related Disorders. The donation agreement was signed on Thursday, 1 October 2026, on the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons, in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, marking the official launch of the project's implementation.
The renovation of the premises, procurement of equipment, and the Centre's first two years of operation will be funded through a collective donation of €4.49 million by the following members of Protovoulia ’21 participating in the initiative: the National Bank of Greece, the Marianna V. Vardinoyannis Foundation, the Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Foundation, the Captain Vassilis and Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation, the Public Benefit Foundation for Social and Cultural Affairs (KIKPE), the Athanasios C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation, the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, the Athina I. Martinou Foundation, the Bodossaki Foundation, the TIMA Charitable Foundation, and the Onassis Foundation.
The National Model Centre will be developed and housed in a 724 sq. m. ground-floor facility in Peristeri, in a building made available by the Holy Metropolis of Peristeri. It will provide a comprehensive range of care services, including cognitive empowerment, occupational therapy and music therapy; prevention, diagnosis and systematic monitoring; counselling support for family members and caregivers, including through telemedicine; and training programmes for healthcare professionals, caregivers and young scientists. In parallel, the Centre will develop quality standards and evaluation methods to support the continuous improvement of dementia care facilities across Greece, while also promoting volunteering, public awareness and educational initiatives for Civil Society.
The National Model Centre for Dementia is expected to commence operations in September 2027, following the completion of renovation works, procurement of the necessary equipment and staff training. It will then enter a pilot phase, with the transition to full operation scheduled for spring 2028. Once fully operational, the new facility will provide services free of charge to up to 160 beneficiaries per day, including patients and caregivers, and approximately 5,000 annually.
The establishment of the Centre is the result of a collaborative effort involving 11 public benefit foundations, the National Bank of Greece, the State, Local Government and the Church, united by a shared vision of creating a reference point for dementia care in Greece. The principal implementing body will be the Health Units S.A. (AEMY S.A.), ensuring the Centre's institutional integration into the public healthcare system and the long-term sustainability of the initiative.
"First and foremost, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the foundations which, in collaboration with the State, are setting in motion today, as we have seen in this presentation, something truly unique: our country's first model centre for dementia and related cognitive disorders. Our aim is to provide knowledge, services and best practices to similar facilities operating throughout Greece. At the same time, the Centre will promote research and raise public awareness more broadly. We must combat the stigma that unfortunately surrounds a disease which is becoming increasingly prevalent in our time and is also linked to demographic trends, not only in our country but across Europe as a whole," the Prime Minister emphasised during the event.
"I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing us to this point today, precisely because the State has managed to work together with Civil Society, as represented by the foundations, the local Church and the Municipality. And I would say that, since this is a challenge that concerns us all, it must also be addressed by all of us. We have demonstrated in practice that this collaboration can yield very tangible results," noted Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
"We have an opportunity to transform the landscape of dementia care through prevention, early detection, therapeutic intervention and something I consider particularly important, as it is often a request expressed by families themselves: the training of informal caregivers who support people living with dementia," stated Alternate Minister of Health Irini Agapidaki.
"Having visited similar facilities in the Netherlands, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, I believe that this Centre will be developed to the highest standards. It will be second to none — indeed, I would say it will be even better," emphasised Ioannis Manos, Advisor to the National Bank of Greece and Coordinator of Protovoulia ’21.
Watch the event marking the signing of the donation agreement for the establishment of the National Model Centre for Dementia and Related Disorders:
