Greece and Turkey on Wednesday issued a joint statement regarding the fourth round of meetings on the Positive Agenda between both countries, AMNA.gr has reported.
The meetings came as Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Konstantinos Fragogiannis, and his Turkish counterpart, Ambassador Burak Akcapar, also met in Ankara, Turkey.
In a statement, Greece’s Foreign Ministry said that during the meeting, a detailed update was given about the progress achieved on the 25 topics of the Positive Agenda list.
Topics included things such as cooperation and enhancement in the fields of entrepreneurship, tourism, energy, transports and telecommunications, maritime affairs, ICT, education, social security, health, and environment.
Κοινή Δήλωση Ελλάδας-Τουρκίας μετά την 4η Συνάντηση Θετικής Ατζέντας
“It was noted that many items have been successfully concluded,” the Greek Ministry said in its statement.
According to the Ministry, the meeting set the framework for the finalisation of the relevant agreements that could be signed during the next high-level meeting.
“In view of the significant progress made in this active and ongoing process, the two sides have agreed to explore additional items of cooperation in the context of the Positive Agenda,” it said.
Greece will hold general elections in May, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a television interview on Tuesday.
No exact date was given for the polls.
Mitsotakis’ term officially ends in July, ahead of which a second ballot may be needed if the first vote fails to produce a majority or a multi-party coalition.
Mitsotakis has apologised for a delayed plan to install safety systems across Greece’s 2,500 kilometre rail network. He said visiting the crash scene was “tough,” but that he did not consider resigning.
“I aim to win elections again and I believe that we will eventually succeed,” he said.
This announcement came as train services in Greece resumed on Wednesday for the first time since the deadly rail disaster three weeks ago.
Trains restarted in Greece on Wednesday.
National and suburban train services restarted only along limited sections of the rail network, with additional train and station staff and compulsory speed reduction points at areas where the potential for a collision is considered higher.
Full services will resume on April 11, including railway transportation between Athens and Greece’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki.
Poet, writer and performer Koraly Dimitriadis is well known for capturing controversial topics within Australia’s Greek community through film and poetry.
That’s why when we heard about her upcoming Koralation Party on Sunday, March 26 and the premiere of her film Yiayia Mou, we just had to reach out. This is what she had to say.
Tell us a little bit about ‘Yiayia mou.’ What is the film about?
The film is of my poem Yiayia mou published in my book, Just Give Me The Pills, and I will be launching the illustrated edition of this book on the night of the Koralation Party. I wanted to capture the migrant experience with this poem, one that spans the generations – my grandmother’s story of being forced to marry my grandfather, the story of my mum and aunts who were sent to Australia to be married, and my story of how I was raised to perceive marriage as success but how it ended in divorce. I wanted to highlight the intergenerational trauma of women not having control over their own lives and bodies.
‘Yiayia mou’ was filmed in the ancient theatre of Paphos where nobody has performed before. What was that experience like for you?
It was an interesting experience. Firstly because I got to work with Cypriot American actor, director, cinematographer Ellpetha Tsivicos, who I had only ever met digitally during COVID-19 during my festival, No I am not washing your dirty plate arts festival. It just so happened she would be in Cyprus when I was there so it felt like “it was meant to be,” that these two Cypriot second generation women were coming together from opposite sides of the world to tell an important story: the heartbreak and pain of our grandmother’s, who sacrificed so much.
Walking on the ancient theatre, the ground itself was harsh, little prickly things kept getting stuck on my dress. The terrain itself needed navigating – the land felt angry. Like there were stories there that needed to be shouted. I tried to use that anger in my performance, to work with it and I’m very happy with the result. I am so grateful for the support I received from the Cypriot government, the Department of Antiquities, the University of Sydney and Dr Craig Barker, who manages the archaeological excavations in the Paphos Theatre.
The film also includes shots on the Limassol foreshore, and those are by my daughter – so that’s four generations in one film – very epic and exciting!
Koraly Dimitriadis.
The film will premiere at your Koralation Party this weekend. What can people expect from this event?
The event itself will have a few exciting elements. Apart from celebrating my birthday, I will be launching the ten year anniversary edition of Love and F–k Poems, which is a bestseller for the Australian poetry genre, as well as the illustrated edition of Just Give Me The Pills. There will be a 40 minute film screening, as the event is a bar/cinema, it’s a very cool venue. I will be screening the films I have made that originate from these two books, including two premiers, Yiayia mou and It I were a man. The films have a strong language warning so although you can bring children, some have an R rating.
You’re well-known for capturing controversial topics through film and poetry. Where does this passion come from and what is the value of using these creative mediums?
My writing stems from a place of honesty. I think my writing is so honest because for a long time I wasn’t honest with myself and I was living my life according to what others expected of me, living my life according to what I thought I was “supposed to do.” My art is my liberation. I write about these things to heal myself, and to heal and help others. Nothing makes me feel happier than when someone tells me my art helps them. It’s the best feeling in the world because I heal myself and I heal others.
What’s next in the pipeline for you?
I have a few unpublished books, a novel, a short story collection and two poetry books so stay tuned – there is a book coming out next year. More to come on that.
Hellenic spirit took over the City of Canterbury Bankstown in south-west Sydney on Tuesday as part of early celebrations for Greek Independence Day on March 25.
Over 60 people turned up to the Earlwood Senior Citizens Centre at 10am to watch as the Greek flag was raised proudly outside the building.
Flag raising ceremony. All photos copyright: The Greek Herald / Andriana Simos.People at the flag raising ceremony.
Everyone then moved indoors for formal proceedings in front of a number of official guests including Member for Canterbury, Sophie Cotsis MP; City of Canterbury Bankstown Councillor and Deputy Mayor Clare Raffan; Councillor Barbara Coorey; Councillor Jessie Nguyen; the Manager of Community and Cultural Services at Canterbury Bankstown Libraries, Garry Starr; the Co-ordinator of Programs and Partnerships at Canterbury Bankstown Libraries, Renata Rekiel; many other Councillors from the Canterbury/Budjar Ward; author and historian, Leonard Janiszewski; and photographer, Effy Alexakis.
Official guests including the Deputy Mayor (right) and Sophie Cotsis MP (second from right).Everyone enjoyed the celebrations.Members of the Bankstown Greek Older Women’s Network.
Deputy Mayor Raffan gave a small speech and attempted to speak Greek with the words ‘Zito i Ellas, Zito Australia.’ She also praised the contribution of the Greek diaspora to Australia.
“It is timely we acknowledge this special milestone not only for Greek Australians living in our City, but for all Greeks living in Australia,” the Deputy Mayor said.
Greek Independence Day display.Posing for photos with the resident teddy bear.Books by Leonard Janiszewski and Effy Alexakis.
“The Greek community has added much to our nation’s history and success. It has shown extraordinary initiative in working with council to strengthen the multicultural fabric of our community and drive our local economy.”
This speech was followed by traditional Greek dancing performances by the Bankstown Greek Older Women’s Network. Afterwards, a morning tea was served before Mr Janiszewski gave a lecture on the first Greeks in Australia and Greek Australian history more broadly.
Enjoying morning tea.Morning tea.Everyone enjoyed the celebrations.Greek dancing performances.More Greek dancing.Leonard Janiszewski giving his lecture.
The celebrations concluded with the singing of the National Anthems of Greece and Australia by primary students from All Saints Grammar School at Belmore.
All Saints Grammar School students.Singing the national anthems.All Saints Grammar School students.
*All photos copyright The Greek Herald / Andriana Simos.
Vicinity Centre’s inaugural Greek Independence Day Festival will be held at Oakleigh Central on Saturday, March 25.
The Greek Independence Day Festival will be a celebration of culture and community, live music, traditional dance, cultural performances, exclusive retailer promotions, and the debut of a pop-up market within the centre, showcasing local businesses specialising in Greek food, Ouzo tastings, crafts and more.
Oakleigh Central has, for over four decades, served locals and visitors as a venue for fresh food and essential services, and as a wonderful community meeting point.
Inaugural Greek Independence Day festival to be held at Melbourne’s Oakleigh Central.
Oakleigh Central’s Centre Manager, Christine Hill, said: “We are so proud to host this celebration for the community, which brings together the very best of local Greek culture; food, dancing and family fun.”
“This date has become an important pillar of our events calendar and our local retailers, customers, and wider community are going to really love it,” Ms Hill added.
Southeast locals, members of the Melbourne Greek community and Melbournians who love a true community festival, are invited to be a part of the festivities at Oakleigh Central, 39 Hanover Street, Oakleigh from 9am to 5pm on Saturday, March 25.
For more details and to discover the full program of experiences, those interested can visit the Oakleigh Central website.
There are six children of Greek heritage performing in the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre until April 16.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical which tells the biblical story of Joseph, who was the twelfth and favourite son of Jacob.
The main cast stars Paulini as The Narrator, Euan Fistrovic Doidge as Joseph and Trevor Ashley as Pharaoh.
The six young Greeks in the children’s cast are Aria Calabro, Jeffrey Dimi, Katia Englezos, Nina Gallas, Aleia Tiliacos and James Valanidas.
Aria Calabro, Jeffrey Dimi, Katia Englezos, Nina Gallas, Aleia Tiliacos and James Valanidas.
10-year-old Aria tells The Greek Herald she loves being part of the cast this year in her first professional musical and especially performing in the historical Capitol Theatre.
“I’ve absolutely loved starring in Joseph. It’s been such as fun and exciting experience!” Aria says.
“I’ve made some beautiful friends along the way and I’m really going to miss the thrill of performing in the Capitol Theatre before a live crowd when the show closes next month.”
Joseph has been seen by more than 200 million people worldwide in over 80 countries, and has toured the world for over 30 years.
The Pallaconian Brotherhood of Melbourne and Victoria “Leonidas,” is going to host a public lecture at 7pm on March 29 by Emanuel J. Comino OAM on the topic of the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.
Emanuel J Comino is the founder and Chairman of the International Organising Committee – Australia – For the Restitution of the Parthenon Sculptures (IOC-A-RPM) and is also the Vice-Chairman of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Australia Day Honours List in 1985. He was also invited to speak about the case for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles at the Hague in the Netherlands in 2003.
Mr Comino was involved in the Kytherian Association of Australia, was also a founding member of the Pan-Hellenic Soccer Club (now Sydney Olympic FC) and he was the President and secretary of the Greek Orthodox Church of Kogarah. Moreover, he was a community liaison officer in the Kogarah police district, a member of the Southern Sydney Health Services board and President of the Australasian Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA).
Mr. Comino and The Kytherian Association
Supporters of the Brotherhood and members of the public, as well as representatives of Greek Australian cultural organisations and the Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Emmanuel Kakavelakis, will be present at the event.
After a short welcome by Pallaconian Youth President Miltiadis Paikopoulos, Emanuel will begin his lecture, and if time allows, there will be an opportunity for questions to be asked at the end.
The lecture will be held on Wednesday, March 29 at 7pm at 253 Albert Street, Brunswick, 3056.More information can be found in the Facebook page of the event.
The Hellenic Art Theatre is bringing its new comedy The Matchmaker & The Miser to The Greek Theatre – Mantouridion at Marrickville, Sydney from Friday, March 24 to Sunday, April 9.
The Matchmaker & The Miser is about the age-old conflict of love and money. Menios is a miser, his obsession with money spells disaster for all those around him, including his two children, Elle and Petros.
Elle is passionately in love with the penniless Angelos, but her father has arranged for her to marry a wealthy old man. Meanwhile, Petros loves the young, impoverished Marianna. In a further twist, Menios has asked Matchmaker Efterpe to assist him as he intends on marrying Marianna himself.
With the help of Menio’s artful servant, Koltsidas, and Efterpe, Elle and Petros plot against their frugal father.
More details:
Adaptation of Moliere’s play, ‘The Miser’ by Thanos Zikas.
Directed by Stavros Economidis.
Performed in Greek, with English Surtitles.
Cast: Stavros Economidis, Dennis Messaris, Dimitris Perdikis, Marion Anthi, Leonidas Ellinas, John Daviskas, Evelyn Tsavalas and Athanasia Costa.
24 March – 9 April 2023
Fri & Sat @ 7.30pm | Sun @ 5pm
Greek Theatre – Mantouridion, Building 36, Addison Road Community Centre, 142 Addison Rd, Marrickville.
Nearly 100 multicultural leaders came together last night at a virtual forum to discuss the historic First Nations Voice to the South Australian Parliament following its introduction in February.
The Attorney-General and SA Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Kyam Maher, spoke about the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the lengthy consultation process and the Voice to Parliament legislation.
This was followed by a Q&A session with both ministers. Attendees included multicultural leaders from more than 40 organisations.
“South Australia is leading the nation in our delivery of a First Nations Voice to Parliament. It was an honour to present to leaders from South Australia’s multicultural communities and answer their questions about our historic legislation,” Mr Maher said.
The Attorney-General and SA Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Kyam Maher. Photo: www.nativetitlesa.org
“It was pleasing to see South Australia’s diverse multicultural communities come together to show their support for First Nations people.
“We encourage as many South Australians as possible to come out and show their support for the Voice to Parliament at the special sitting of Parliament on March 26 which will be an historic day for our state and the nation.”
SA’s Voice to Parliament will become the first of its kind in Australia. Under the model, the State First Nations Voice will consist of representatives from Local First Nations Voices, and will have the ability to address either house of Parliament on any specific Bill that is of concern to South Australia’s First Nations People.
The Bill is the result of months of work, including two extensive rounds of consultation with Aboriginal communities, people and organisations which was conducted by First Nations Voice Commissioner Dale Agius.
SA Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Zoe Bettison MP. Photo: portlincolntimes
SA Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Zoe Bettison MP, added: “We have already had significant interest and support from our multicultural community members for the South Australian Voice to Parliament.”
“I am very pleased that last night we gave our multicultural communities the opportunity to meet with our government and the Attorney-General so that they can familiarise themselves with the Voice to Parliament and then take it back to their communities,” Ms Bettison added.
Greek minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, who is responsible for infrastructure and transport, discussed a possible collaboration with the European Commission over the official investigation of what caused the Tempi railway tragedy, Ekathimerini has reported.
The collaboration will also work towards building a safer railway framework and Greece will receive technical assistance from the EU Commission in developing the railways’ capabilities and structural organisation.
This news comes after Gerapetritis held meetings in Brussels with Cohesion and Reforms Commissioner Elisa Ferreira, Transport Commissioner Adina Valean, and Bjoern Seibert, who is the office director of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Good discussion with Greek 🇬🇷 Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis on overhaul of the rail system following the tragic accident in February.
I welcome the open spirit of cooperation & offer our 🇪🇺 technical assistance on all aspects of the reset: safety, reliability & competitiveness. pic.twitter.com/8ZGc8nabv8
He said that contracts must be completed by the end of September 2023 on the Athens-Thessaloniki main axis, and shared his hopes that automatic braking systems (European Train Control System, ETCS) will also be completed by that time.
Staffing of the railways with specialised workers, and enriching the country’s recently created air and rail accident investigation authority with specialists, will also be topics of the Greece-EU collaboration.
Finally, Gerapetritis said Greece will officially request that both the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and the European Commission become actively involved in the investigation regarding the causes of the rail tragedy.
