The Pharos Alliance aims to revitalise the teaching and use of Greek in Australia. Among its diverse activities, it organises seminars on raising children bilingually, supports Greek story times at local libraries, and advocates directly with Australian and Greek government officials to press for more support for Greek.
To promote public understanding of its work and seek feedback from the public, the Pharos Alliance has decided to hold regular Open Meetings. The aim is to spread knowledge of the work, achievements and challenges that face the Pharos Alliance team, who are all volunteers committed to improving the situation of the teaching, learning and use of Modern Greek in contemporary Australia.
On the evening of Wednesday, May 28 at the Greek Centre in Melbourne, Victoria, 30 people braved the cold and windy weather to meet with the Pharos committee and debate the challenges ahead.
Opening the meeting, Pharos president Emeritus Professor Joseph Lo Bianco AM, noted that everyone at Pharos was delighted that on May 15 at the NSW State Parliament, Pharos NSW was launched.
He noted that “we have always been conscious of the need to collaborate across borders, and this NSW initiative is wonderful. We have written to congratulate our friends and colleagues in NSW and look forward to a long and productive collaboration with them, and to supporting similar efforts across the country.”
In a lively and engaged meeting many voices were heard.
Coralie Kouvelas of the Yarra Plenty Library Services spoke passionately about expansion of Greek story time in libraries and better use of their resources, and how “Greek must be maintained”. She was applauded by the meeting which resolved to support all such local initiatives.
A couple of NUGAS representatives, Jamie Gallos and Martha Stamatopoulos, along with several students from La Trobe University’s Modern Greek Studies program, spoke equally passionately about their approach to maintaining the language, and their enthusiasm for its promotion.
Alongside Louisa Tsourdalakis, former LTU Greek language student, and current students Paul Dounias and Calista Mitsas, Alexander Gerasimidis gave an absorbing account of his recovery of fluency in Greek, speaking so eloquently that he generated a round of great applause. He also endorsed the Pharos approach of working with families – “that’s a great place to start,” he noted.
All participants expressed their gratitude for the scope of the Pharos work, but recognised that without resources it will be hard to maintain a ‘pre-school to post-school’ focus. All the students paid tribute to the leadership and dedication of the coordinator of the La Trobe Greek Studies program, Dr Stavroula (Stephie) Nikoloudis.
Regarding the promotion of Greek in the home it was noted that Pharos will be holding its third Raising Greek English bilingual children seminar, on June 8 (registration and details below).
Theo Markos initiated the longest discussion which was concerned with the urgent priority of expanding Greek language offerings in public schools, where they continue to languish, and the critical need for robust bilingual programs. It was agreed that promotion of Greek should be coordinated in a hub system, so that students will be able to start primary schooling from early childhood exposure to Greek and continue in the language through their entire education career. This remains a major objective for Pharos going forward.
Other ideas to come from the meeting include immediate support for Greek story time at Thomastown, Lalor, Mill Park, Mernda areas, using Tik Tok as a promotional tool, and expanding Pharos’ social media presence.
Participants all declared that the meeting was productive. One person said, “It’s great to come to meetings where we discuss practical issues in a united way. Let’s do more.”
Professor Lo Bianco thanked all participants for making the meeting “a huge success” and promised to hold other Open Meetings and to take the discussion back to the Pharos committee for action.
You can attend the next session of Raising Children Bilingually on June 8 to learn more about the role of the home in bringing up Greek English bilinguals. The seminar is free of charge, and open to all. Register: http://www.mgtav.asn.au/seminar—language-in-the-home.html
For further queries, or to get the Strategic Plan and other resources, please email at pharos.au@gmail.com
