Thank You for a Magical SNF Nostos 2021!

In a topsy-turvy year, SNF Nostos by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) was just what we needed to reconnect with each other and re-ground ourselves in our shared humanity. We were thrilled to be able to host SNF Nostos in person again at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), and seeing you all there and experiencing it together was incredibly rewarding. All told, more than 70,000 of us joined the five-day celebration from August 25 to 29, 2021.

The SNF Dialogues on Humanity-AI Symbiosis, held in collaboration with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, and the SNF Nostos Conference on Humanity and Artificial Intelligence brought together audiences and experts from across disciplines and around the world. Together, we got our minds moving to explore how we can ensure that the inevitable progression of AI ends up benefiting humanity.

Burna Boy, Bomba Estéreo, ΜΕΛΙSSES, Fotini Velesiotou, Good Job Nicky, and many other renowned artists electrified audiences with performances that channeled a year and a half of pent-up creative energy. Young people from all over Greece came together for the first SNF Nostos Hackathon and a Minecraft-based creative building challenge. Our guides to all of this were our dynamic SNF Nostos Young Presenters, taking us behind the scenes to meet speakers and performers over social media and providing highlights on television.

People from more than 60 countries came together to enjoy 8 days and 30 online events at the Summer Nostos Festival: RetroFuture Edition.

From Athens to Crete, from Malaysia to Canada, people from more than 60 countries came together—virtually, of course—to enjoy wholesome summer fun and join in illuminating discussion at the online Summer Nostos Festival RetroFuture Edition. The SNFestival, organized by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), took place last week from June 21 to 28, but if you missed out, you can still catch the exciting events.

This year’s SNFestival was different from any other, since we couldn’t meet up in person at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) in Athens, as we have each of the past five years. Nevertheless, in the midst of crisis, the Festival still created space for moments of joy, of catharsis, of discovery, and of togetherness with a diverse group of artists, musicians, performers, thinkers, and attendees. It was a testament to all that unites us; wherever in the world we live, whatever language we speak, in the end, we can laugh at, be excited by, worry about, and enjoy the same things.

This first online edition of the SNFestival presented more than 60 artists and speakers in 30 events, including the SNF Conference, the SNF Dialogues hosted in collaboration with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, the charitable Virtual SNF Run, concerts, performances, and kids’ programs.