Greece’s Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, is set to return to Australia this weekend to mark the one-year anniversary of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia’s “living museum” Our People Their Stories at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.
The interactive museum, dedicated to preserving the lives and memories of Greek migrants, was inaugurated last October by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew during his historic visit to Australia.
At the time, the Patriarch praised His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia for launching a “unique program” and commended those involved, including Markellos Petropoulos, for their work in bringing the initiative to life.
The project stems from a Memorandum of Understanding signed in April 2023 between Mendoni and Archbishop Makarios, formalising cooperation on documenting the personal stories of early Greek migrants in Australia.
The MoU states the program “aims to highlight the journeys of our people, the battles they fought to settle, raise families, and succeed in an unfamiliar land, while keeping strong ties to the homeland.”
This will be Mendoni’s second official visit to Australia in recent years, following her trip in April 2022 for the opening of the exhibition Open Horizons – Ancient Greek Journeys and Connections.
