It was that time of the year again when members of the Hellenic Lyceum of Sydney gathered at the Grove Conference Centre for their Annual General Meeting (AGM).
But in an exciting turn of events, the Lyceum changed the meeting up a little bit this year to reflect celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution of 1821.
Over 60 new and existing members gathered to discuss the Lyceum’s future plans and finances, including representatives from the Athenian Association of NSW, the Kytherian Association of NSW, the Dionysus Theatre Company, the White Pearl Foundation and the St George Philoptochos Rose Bay.
All the guests were greeted at the door by four Greek youths dressed in the traditional costume of an Evzona (for the two boys) and an Amalia (for the two girls).
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Three paintings of Greek Revolution heroines by artist, Angela Kiki, were also on display throughout the AGM, with Angela later taking the time to explain how these women contributed to the Struggle.
“We wanted to give our AGM the flavour of 1821 and being a woman’s organisation, we want to place emphasis on the role of Greek women during the Revolution,” President of the Hellenic Lyceum of Sydney, Liana Vertzayias, tells The Greek Herald.
Adding to this revolutionary “flavour,” was a special talk from Elfa Moraitakis, CEO of SydneyWest Services, who spoke about the organisation’s work supporting migrant woman with a number of issues they face today.
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“Elfa was our special guest speaker because she related nicely to what the Hellenic Lyceum was known for when it first started – Greek women acting as social workers to help migrants who had just arrived from Greece,” Mrs Vertzayias says.
The proud President herself concluded the event by reciting a poem from Percy B. Shelley called “Hellas” and inspired by the Hellenic Spirit.
This year, the Hellenic Lyceum of Sydney is celebrating its 70th anniversary on July 18, and they are also holding a preview of their upcoming major exhibition to mark the 1821 Greek Revolution this Sunday, March 14 at 3.30pm at the Kogarah Church Hall (16 – 20 Belgrave Street, Kogarah). Everyone is welcome.
