More than 70 students from the Greek School of Canberra, aged from five to sixteen, along with their teachers, had the opportunity to enjoy a tour of the Embassy of Greece over two days last week and meet with the Ambassador of Greece to Australia, Georges Papakostas.
“The Ambassador, His Excellency Georges Papacostas, was kind enough to host the kids, for a tour of the embassy premises and gift them with a book about Greece as well as a map of the country. He also challenged the kids to locate on the map the part of Greece that their families originate from.
“The Ambassador and the teachers gave the students a historical insight on the artefacts in the Embassy, from the head of Poseidon to a model of an ancient Greek battle ship – which was a favourite among the kids. We then discussed about the Greek flag and the story behind it and Mr Papacostas spoke about the beautiful sites of Greece.
“It was a great two days and the Greek Orthodox Community and Church of Canberra as well as the parents of the Greek School, greatly appreciate the Ambassador’s time and effort. A special thanks goes to Gizmos Cafe, that provided all the dinners for the kids – they heard of what we were doing and were all too happy to support,” Principal of the Greek School and President of The Greek Orthodox Community of Canberra, John Loukadellis, told The Greek Herald.
“The Embassy is a large building and home to numerous replicas of archaeological artefacts. As the ‘OXI Day’ 80thAnniversary is fast approaching, we thought this visit would be a great opportunity for the kids to further connect with their history and culture,” Greek School of Canberra Lead Teacher, Anastasia Constantine, said.
“The younger ones were impressed by the duplicate of a ‘triiris’ and the older ones with the help of the Ambassador -who made sure to spend time with each and one of the kids- enjoyed locating their ancestral towns on the map.
“We are grateful for the support of the parents and the wider Community. We are all united with the common goal to pass on the Greek spirit and the love for our language, culture and religion to our younger Greeks,” concluded Ms Constantine.
