Melbourne’s Imvrian community watches on as Athens hosts Pan-Imvrian Conference

The Pan-Imvrian Conference began on Saturday, September 28 at the Cultural Centre “Hellenic World” of the Greater Hellenism Foundation in Athens, honouring the islands of Imvros and Tenedos.

Marking the significant day, Melbourne’s Imvrian community also joined in on the event, hosting a broadcasting event at Mentone.

The conference comes 101 years after the Treaty of Lausanne, 30 years after the last Pan-Imvrian Conference and 10 years after the opening of Greek schools in Imvros.

Keynote speaker Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew opened the conference declaring, “The future of Imvros depends on those who save this spirit in their hearts, as a valuable endowment, as a culture, as a compass for the present and the future. Where the Imvrians kept this spiritual culture within themselves, Imvros lives, since its truth and morals are lived, rooted in the being of real people.”

The Patriarch praised the contribution of the two Imvros associations, Athens and Thessaloniki, expressed thanks for the interest shown in his birthplace of Imvros and Tenedos, but also his gratitude to the President of Greece Katerina Sakellaropoulou, who was in attendance, “for her noble support.”

Special video messages were played from across the world, one of which was from Melbourne’s Imvrians.

Other moving speeches made on the people, history and future of the islands included that of a young graduate of the Greek minority schools on Imvros, Konstantina Mpakali.