In honor of the memory of the Vice-President of the Foundation, Marilena Laskaridis, the magazine Nautical Chronicles, as part of the “Efkranti Awards”, established the “Marilena Laskaridis” award for excellence in maritime culture and assistance to Greek maritime heritage and tradition. Since 2016, every year, the Foundation’s committee has awarded a personality or organization that has distinguished itself in this field. This year, the personality who was presented with the “Marilena Laskaridis” award was chosen by the public, following a relevant invitation. This year’s award is of particular importance, as it marks ten years since the death of Marilena Laskaridis and 30 years of the Foundation’s contribution to education and culture.
This year, the “Marilena Laskaridis” award was granted to Aikaterini Mylonidou, Librarian in Charge and Cultural Manager in the Municipality of Dion Olympus, at the Municipal Libraries of Litochoro and Leptokaria, for her contribution to the Municipality’s actions, selflessness and dedication to the work of the library and the wider community.
For 24 years of continuous contribution, Aikaterini Mylonidou is the organizer, the guide and the soul of the Litochoro Library, organizing educational programmes for teachers and students, actions for the good of the community, such as clothing collection, programmes for the environment, summer reading and creativity campaigns, Erasmus+ programmes, as well as volunteer activities for the local community and schools in the area.
In 2019, she was presented with the “Librarian Award for Systematic and Effective Promotion of Children’s / Young People’s Literature and the Cultivation of A Love of Reading” by the Greek Section of IBBY – The Greek Children’s Book Circle as part of the annual awards organized by the Circle, on the occasion of World Children’s Book Day.
He is a member of the Union of Greek Librarians and Information Scientists. She is the mother of two children.
In her person, we honor her dedication, contribution, volunteerism and overall a life’s work towards the community, values directly intertwined with the work of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, through the shining example of Marilena Laskaridis.