The Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HACCI) Victoria hosted its annual Christmas party at the stunning, island-inspired venue, Olympia, in Oakleigh. The event was a celebration of the organisation’s achievements and a testament to its commitment to empowering the Greek Australian community, particularly women.
At last month’s HACCI Excellence Awards Gala, HACCI Victoria Board Chair Fotini Kypraios handed over the rotating HACCI National Federation Chair to Western Australia’s Dr Elena Limnios.
Ms Kypraios described the past year as a period of “tectonic shifts” for HACCI Victoria. She highlighted the addition of new board members Helen Kapalos, “probably the most famous Greek woman in Australia,” and marketing expert Mia Fileman. She also acknowledged the departure of long-standing board members Alex Ninis, Alex Christou, and Arthur Baoustanis.
Monash Business School Professor Christou told The Greek Herald of the importance of diversity and inclusion in any healthy organisation. Apart from his work with HACCI, he has served on the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia’s Women Leadership Committee.
“HACCI Victoria has an equal number of men and women on the board, and we are incredibly proud of Fotini Kypraios,” he said.
Professor Christou is one of a growing number of Greek Australian men who are abandoning the macho migrant stereotype to take a stand against gender-based bias.
“If we want to reverse the trend of increasing gender-based violence, every member of society has a role to play,” he said, adding that there has been a shift with more senior leaders supporting the cause of gender-based violence prevention in recent years.
Other guests included Eleftheria Gkoufa from the Benaki Museum, who will return the Hellenic Museum’s long-term loan to Greece, Food for Thought Network advocates Dorothy Hatzopoulos and Christina Roma, and strategic advisor Penny Sahinis, mentor to prominent figures like Dr Angelia Grant, a leading Australian macroeconomist and G20 Sherpa.
Entrepreneur Alexia Fragedakis and Martha Oplopiadis, a leader in engineering and advocacy for women in STEM, reflected on the roles their fathers played in their success.
“We’re just two girls from Coburg that did good,” Alexia said, reminiscing about growing up with Martha in the neighborhood.
“We came from a family of hard-working immigrants. More than that, our parents didn’t just say ‘you’re girls so just sit there, look pretty and you’ll be taken care of.'”
Martha nodded, acknowledging the huge influence her father had on her life choices.
Apart from giving women a space to thrive, HACCI is also helping youth. Ms Kypraios said the Young Professionals Network mentoring program is on track to reach 500 people. She added that lifelong relationships develop between mentors and mentees.
The HACCI Membership offerings were also launched this year.
“It’s the best way to open HACCI to every professional, to every entrepreneur, to every business in our community, and bring them in,” Kypraios said regarding the revised membership options.
Membership offerings may help, but what is already bringing them in is HACCI’s values and inclusive identity.
*All photos by Georgia Gouvalari Photography.
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