The Pharos Alliance, dedicated to revitalising and sustaining Modern Greek language in Australia, has announced that its President, Professor Joseph Lo Bianco, will undertake an official visit to Greece from 17–26 September 2025.
Professor Lo Bianco will open the ELLME-25 Conference hosted by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in conjunction with the Greek Applied Linguistics Association in collaboration with specialists in early childhood education, multilingualism, and language policy.
He will also lead a policy literacy workshop for professionals and community representatives, highlighting how strong language policy can secure multilingual futures in both Greece and Australia.
Following his engagements in Thessaloniki, Professor Lo Bianco will travel to Athens for a series of meetings with senior officials.
A highlight of the visit will be a special event on 23 September where he will deliver a guest lecture to the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), including an international seminar organised by NKUA Research Institute Multilingualism and Language Policy, devoted to the work of the Pharos Alliance, under the auspices of Professor Emerita Bessie Dendrinos. It will also celebrate the European Day of Languages and the Athens University Centre for Research on Multilingualism and Language Policy.
Pharos expresses its gratitude to its esteemed colleagues in Greece for this recognition and significant effort to showcase its work.
The NKUA event, hosted by the Dean Professor Evdokia Karava, will formally welcome representatives of the Hellenic Ministry of Education as well as senior university authorities. The program will feature sessions as outlined below. Keeping in mind that AEST is 7 hours ahead of Greek time, Australians can follow proceedings at this link: https://youtube.com/live/rXghGF722CI
- 10:30–11:00 (Melb time: 5:30-6:00pm) – Multilingualism and Language Policy: Picking up where we left off. Speaker: Bessie Dendrinos, Director, Research Institute for Multilingualism and Language Policy (EIPOL)
- 11:00–11:45 (Melb time: 6:00-6:45pm) – The importance of policy making for regulating and promoting languages by considering social, cultural, and political implications. Keynote speaker: Joseph Lo Bianco (University of Melbourne and Pharos Alliance president). Introduction: Bessie Mitsikopoulou
- 12:15–13:30 (Melb time: 7:15-8:30pm) – Panel on the Pharos Alliance. Panellists: Joseph Lo Bianco, Irini-Tsamadou Jacoberger, Spiros Moschonas, Rea Delveroudi, Eleni Sella, Stephie Nikoloudis. Coordinator: Maria Iakovou
“I am excited and humbled by this recognition from two of Greece’s leading universities in Athens and Thessaloniki and delighted to see the participation of Ministry of Education officials,” Professor Jo Lo Bianco said.
“This represents a significant acknowledgement of the Pharos Alliance’s efforts to ensure a vibrant place for Greek language studies in Australia. While we are all volunteers who meet regularly to support Greek in Australia, we are guided by research studies on the best way to secure a permanent place for the Greek language and Hellenic culture in the diaspora.
“The support we are receiving in Greece underscores the growing partnership between Greece, the diaspora and education professionals in safeguarding the future of Modern Greek.”
