On Tuesday, December 9th, the awards ceremony of the Pan-Hellenic School Race «Running for Peace 2025» took place at the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, in the «Jacqueline de Romigny» Hall.
Continuing the successful events «Run for EY» (2023) and «Run for SYN» (2024), the event was implemented in the context of the European Week of Sport #BeActive (23-30 September 2025) and the 12th European & Panhellenic Day of School Sport. It was co-organised by the National Olympic Academy (ETHNOA), the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC), the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sport and the European Programme #BeActive.
A total of 383 schools from all over Continental and Island Greece participated in this year's relay. The students and teachers, through their creations in the categories of video, photography, motto and banners, sent a strong message for Peace, emphasizing the importance of action.
The members of the Evaluation Committee D. Tabakos, O. Dontis, S. Augustis, D. Kereres, A. Kaperoni, D. Karakasis, A. Kasoumi, V. Yiannopoulou, D. Pheasantou and A. Charalambidou worked on the proposals of the school units. The Secretary General of Sports, George Mavrotas, thanked the members for their contribution to the process.
The President of ETHNOA and two-time Olympic champion, Demosthenes Tabakos, referred to the issue of this year's relay and the importance of participation:
«This year we have chosen the theme of Peace, something we all seek around the world. Peace is the foundation of every virtue and every value, so that any Olympic and universal human value can be established and cultivated. We know that learning is achieved through the active participation of the student, so we have given the opportunity to students from schools in Greece to actively participate and through creation to offer us what we will see today.
In addition to the winning schools, other participating schools will be honoured by lottery, because, as in sport, whatever the position of an athlete, his or her value is based on the participation itself».
The event was coordinated by the Coordinator of Programmes and Actions of ETHNOA, Ann. The awards were presented by Olympians, Paralympians and Champions, including: Christina Zachariadou, Alexandros Yakupovich, Panagiotis Giannakis, Nikos Linardos, Christina Kaltsa, Sofia Simantiri, Anna Charalambidou, Dimitris Mougios, George Afroudakis, George Chalkidis, Alexis Albanos, Ioanna Bouziou, Maria Tsouri, Nikos Skiathitis, Maria Christoforidis, Kallinikos Kreanga, Anna Duntounaki, Aghi Kasoumi, Yannis Kostakis, Maria Prevolaraki, Voula Zygouri etc.ά.
The event was held in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Yannis Vroutsis, the Deputy Ministers Nikos Papaioannou and Kostas Vlassis, the Secretary General of Sports George Mavrotas, Dimitris Bourantonis of Higher Education, Yannis Papadomarkakis of Primary/Secondary Education and Special Education, and Olga Kafezopoulou of Vocational Education, Training and Lifelong Learning.
Also present were the Secretary General of ETHNOA Dora Pallis and the member of ETHNOA Kostas Koulouvardis, the President of the IOA Prof. Charilaos Tsolakis, the Vice-Regional Head of the Olympic Ideal of Attica and member of the Board of the Hellenic Gymnastics Federation Vasiliki Millousi OLY , the Service Secretary of the Ministry Yannis Vlasis, the Head of the Directorate of Physical Education of the Ministry Dimitris Kerres, as well as a number of representatives of sports bodies.
The president of AEK Athens International Football Club, Marios Iliopoulos, who referred to his future support for the project, was present, as well as representatives of Federations, such as Panagiotis Tzovolos, president of the Hellenic Table Tennis Federation, who supported the schools' awards by offering ping pong tables, the Secretary General of the Greek Handball Federation, Kostas Stamatiadis, the member of the Paralympic Committee and Public Relations Officer of the National Sports Federation for Disabled Athletes, Evangelos Kakossaios, the President of OSEKA, Takis Kaloudis, and the National Coordinator of the #BeActive programme, Dionysis Karakasis.
The action took place with the kind support of the IOC's Olympic Solidarity.
Awarded Schools by Category
Best Video
1st Prize: Primary School of Agioi Deca (Region of Crete)
2nd Prize: Primary School of Chora Andros (Aegean Region)
3rd Prize: Primary School of Zaros (Region of Crete)
Best Photo
1st Prize: Primary School of Kalliana, Corinthia (Peloponnese Region)
2nd Prize: 25th Primary School of Chalkida (Region of Central Greece)
3rd Prize: 6th Primary School of Chios (Region of the North Aegean)
Best Banner
1st Prize: Primary School of Tsotylion Kozani (Region of Western Macedonia)
2nd Prize: Folegandrou Primary School of Chora (Region of South Aegean) & Special Vocational High School of Arta (Region of Epirus)
3rd Prize: 5th Kindergarten of Ioannina (Region of Epirus)
Best Moto
1st Prize: Agios Georgios Primary School (Region of Central Greece)
2nd Prize: 3rd Experimental General Lyceum of Komotini (Region of Ancient Macedonia & Thrace)
3rd Prize: 3rd Primary School of Argos Orestiko (Region of Western Macedonia)
Awards
The school units that participated in the Panhellenic Dog Race were awarded commemorative diplomas and a baton.
The prizes for the schools that excelled were:
- 1st Prize: One Ping Pong table
- 2nd Prize: Sports equipment from BE ACTIVE HELLAS
- 3rd Prize: Sports equipment from ETHNOA
