Important events and lectures were organized by the Kokkalis Foundation, among which are the inauguration of the Professor Petros S. Kokkalis Hellenic Center for Neurosurgery Research, Kokkalis Foundation Chairman Mr. Socratis Kokkalis receiving the 2008 Phidippides Award by the Board of Directors of New York’s Hellenic Public Radio for his contribution to Hellenism, the event on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and lectures by the Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Mr. Egemen Bagis, the European Union’s High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Mr. Javier Solana, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mr. Ahmet Davutoglu, the Director-General of UNESCO and former Foreign Minister of Bulgaria Ms Irina Bokova, the President of the Republic of Croatia Mr. Ivo Josipovic, the U.S. assistant secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Mr. Philip H. Gordon and more.