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Apokries: The start of carnival season in Greece

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Apokries: The start of carnival season in Greece

Every year in Greece, people prepare for the carnival season, known as Apokries, where they can dress up in disguise, wearing costumes and masks.

The carnival season is a time for freedom of expression and dates back to Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of wine, fun and fertility.

Apokries, which means ‘abstaining from meat,’ traditionally begins ten weeks before Greek Orthodox Easter and reaches its peak the weekend before the first day of Lent, which is on March 3 this year.

Apokries in Greece.

A number of parades are held across Greece which attract thousands of locals, both young and old, as well as tourists.

At certain local carnivals, like that of Tyrnavos, fertility and the phallus are celebrated. The biggest carnival however, is that held in the Greek city of Patras.

Source: The Athens Centre

Elon Musk hugs Cypriot who camped outside Twitter office for three months

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Elon Musk hugs Cypriot who camped outside Twitter office for three months

A popular YouTuber from Cyprus called Fidias, also known as Fifi Panayiotou, finally met billionaire Elon Musk after spending three months waiting outside Twitter headquarters.

Fidias has a goal to hug the top 100 celebrities on the planet for a YouTube video, with Musk ranked number 99 on the list.

After three months, the YouTuber was about to give up but a tweet from Musk agreeing to the hug prompted him to wait.

Fidias posted a video on YouTube where he can be seen embracing Elon. In the video, he said: “I want to say thank all the people that convinced you [to hug me].”

Since the video’s premiere on January 24 this year, the hug between Fidias and Musk has amassed over 5 million views.

The Cypriot YouTube star launched his channel in 2019, creating prank and challenge videos. Since then, he has garnered more than 1.5 million subscribers.

Chris Nikou re-elected to Executive Committee of the Asian Football Confederation

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Chris Nikou re-elected to Executive Committee of the Asian Football Confederation

Football Australia Chair, Chris Nikou, was re-elected on Wednesday to serve on the Executive Committee of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for a further term of four years.

Nikou, together with Football Australia Chief Executive Officer James Johnson, were in Manama, Bahrain on Wednesday, February 1 to attend the 33rd AFC Congress where the quadrennial elections have taken place.

The AFC Congress, which is held annually and brings together the 47 Member Associations that comprise the AFC, included on the agenda elections for the position of AFC President and positions on the AFC Executive Committee (including the AFC Vice Presidents and Asia’s representatives on the FIFA Council).

“I am honoured to have been re-elected for another four-year term and thank my colleagues across Asia for their support and trust that they have placed in me once again,” Nikou said.

“I take the responsibility that comes with a position on the AFC Executive Committee very seriously and very much look forward to continuing to support the on-going development of our great game across the entire Asian football community.

“Since joining the AFC in 2006, Australia has worked closely with our fellow Member Associations in Asia. We have exchanged significant knowledge and expertise and collaborated strongly through our representation on various AFC committees. In doing so, we have added to the ongoing growth and development of Asian football and delivered a range of development programs across the Confederation.

“I am committed to continuing and increasing Australia’s engagement with Asia through my position on the AFC Executive Committee, which also provides us with a platform to further strengthening our ties in the region.

“Equally important is that through the Executive Committee, we have an avenue to express Australia’s views on different matters, hear from other Member Associations about what’s important to them and cordially cooperate with the Asian football community to continue to drive the vision of the AFC forward – that Asia be the world’s leading football confederation.”

The AFC Executive Committee is responsible for implementing the AFC’s statutes, the decisions of the AFC Congress, as well as ratifying decisions made by AFC’s Standing Committees.

Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, the incumbent AFC President, was re-elected unopposed for a further four-year term as AFC President.

READ MORE: Chris Nikou and James Johnson help Greek community kick off South Melbourne FC season.

Greek efforts lead to inclusion of Ukraine’s Odesa on UNESCO World Heritage List

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Greek efforts lead to inclusion of Ukraine’s Odesa on UNESCO World Heritage List

Greece’s diplomatic efforts have played a part in the inclusion of the historic city centre of Odesa in Ukraine being included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

According AMNA, while the decision was the outcome of coordinated efforts, the Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement that it “took the lead, as a member of the [World Heritage] Committee, in coordination with Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy and Japan.”

The Ministry said it immediately responded “to Ukraine’s request for the city’s protection, especially under the current war conditions prevailing in the region.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed the UNESCO decision.

“I’m grateful to partners who help protect our pearl from the Russian invaders’ attacks,” he tweeted.

Odesa is often described as Ukraine’s “pearl of the Black Sea.” Since the Russian invasion, Ukrainians have rushed to try to protect the city’s monuments and buildings with sandbags and barricades.

The city was also added to the list of world heritage sites in danger, which UNESCO says “gives it access to reinforced technical and financial international assistance” to protect or, if necessary, rehabilitate it.

Source: AMNA.

Certificate of Attainment in Greek Language exams to be held at Macquarie University

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Certificate of Attainment in Greek Language exams to be held at Macquarie University

The examinations for the Certificate of Attainment in the Greek Language in Sydney will take place at Macquarie University, the certified examination centre (61006) by the Center for Greek Language (CGL).

The Certificate of Attainment in Greek is the only official state certification, which confirms the knowledge of Greek as a foreign/second language at six levels, corresponding to the levels of the Common European Framework (CEFR). It is recognised by all member states of the European Union, but also by NESA (New South Wales Education Standards Authority).

Registering steps:

Step 1: Check language levels and exam dates.

Step 2: Pay online the exam registration fee equivalent to the candidate’s exam language level: https://payments.mq.edu.au/onestopweb/GREEKEXAM

Step 3: Complete the online candidate application form, ensuring the name you enter matches the identity.

Information about the documents of the candidate can be found here

Free online Greek Language exams’ Sessions:

Macquarie University organises free online seminars to support teachers and students, in view of the Greek Language Certification exams by experienced teachers from the Greek Language Center (GLC) in Thessaloniki, the Macquarie University’s Modern Greek Studies Program and Sydney schools.

NSW Government announces boost for multicultural domestic support groups

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NSW Government announces boost for multicultural domestic support groups

Multicultural groups will receive an extra $2 million in funding as part of a record investment by the Liberal and Nationals Government to address domestic and sexual violence.

NSW Minister for Women’s Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence, Natalie Ward, said the funding will ensure faith and community based response services can assist more people than ever before.

“Domestic violence does not discriminate and every victim survivor should be able to receive the help they need regardless of their background,” Mrs Ward said.

“We know there are victim-survivors in multicultural communities who are reluctant to seek mainstream support because of their visa status, the absence of a trusted social network in Australia, linguistic gaps and cultural barriers.

“These grants will increase the capacity of our response services across NSW and provide more targeted support for victim survivors in multicultural communities.”

Eligible faith and multicultural community based applicants can apply for a one-off grant from a minimum of $20,000 up to $150,000.

Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure said it was important to provide multicultural groups with the tools they needed to respond to violence in culturally inclusive and responsive ways.

“Domestic violence is a global issue, it is not isolated to any one community or any one group,” Mr Coure said.

“NSW is the most culturally diverse state in all of Australia and we need our first line of response to reflect that.

Minister Coure and Minister Ward talking about new program to support community organisations fight Domestic Violence. Source: NSW Government

“We know from past learnings that a one size fits all approach doesn’t work, and so it is in our best interest as a state to equip our multicultural communities with tools and resources to address these issues.”

These grants build on a range of existing supports provided by the Government to support domestic violence victims, including:

  • Waiving the Rentstart Bond Loan eligibility criteria for people leaving domestic violence;
  • Providing access to both the First Homer Buyer Choice and First Home Buyer Assistance schemes to victim survivors;
  • Facilitating the immediate termination of a tenancy to escape violence;
  • Providing 24/7 support via the NSW Domestic Violence Line to help victims find a safe place to stay, or transport for them and their children; connecting them to police, courts, lawyers and counsellors; and help with a safety plan;
  • The ‘Right To Ask’ scheme where people can find out if their partner has a history of domestic violence offences;
  • $20 million over two years for up to 200 additional electronic monitoring devices;
  • Liberal and Nationals Government are committed to reviewing all sentences for domestic violence related offences in NSW;
  • A re-elected Liberal and Nationals Government will fund a specialist Domestic and Family Violence List across three local courts and fund a surge of an additional five magistrates to ensure cases are heard earlier.

The NSW Liberal and Nationals Government is investing record funding of over $700 million in intiatives to support Women’s Safety including:

  • $426.6 million to expand the Core and Cluster initiative, to deliver and operate new women’s refuges that will support up to an additional 2,900 women and children escaping domestic and family violence each year. This is the largest funding commitment ever made to the domestic violence sector;
  • Landmark laws to criminalise coercive control in intimate partner relationships
  • Nation-leading affirmative consent laws, which commenced on 1 June 2022.
  • Grant applications will open on 13 February and close on 27 March.

Funds will be released in June 2023 following the grant assessment and approval process and must be expended by 30 June 2024. Ongoing or recurrent funding is not available.

Competition reveals potential designs to transform vacant block of land in Sydney

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Competition reveals potential designs to transform vacant block of land in Sydney

At 114 William Street in Woolloomooloo, there is a vacant block of land owned by the government and consisting of at least 3,000 square meters of prime real estate. Until today, the place was only occupied as a random outdoor carpark for workers of the area.

But a design competition launched on Tuesday night by Street Level Australia, an urban lobby group, presented ideas for how to transform it, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

The winning design. Photo: The Sydney Morning Herald

The contest, called Sydney is Beautiful, received 13 local and international entries. Each one presented a new vision for William Street.

M.J.Suttie, a Sydney-based architectural practice, was the winner. The project presented a seven-storey, neoclassical sandstone structure fronting William Street and a fresh image of Palmer Street as a pedestrian boulevard running north to the Domain, where a new public plaza, and a museum, the Institute of Traditional Urbanism, would be.

Richard Economakis. Photo: architecture.nd.edu
Photo: streetlevelaustralia.org

One of the competition judges, Architecture Professor Richard Economakis from the University of Notre Dame in the United States, described the winning entry as “a holistic vision of urban growth.”

“There’s a clear understanding of what the block is and what the street is… it’s a good height for William Street,” Mr Economakis added.

“It incorporates an inner open space, the courtyard… and proposes the same sort of system going forward for filling in the urban fabric.”

Second prize was awarded to an entry by Winston Grant-Preece. Mr Economakis described it as the “most Sydney” of all the ideas.

The architects also reimagined Palmer Street as a pedestrian boulevard leading to a new public plaza. Photo: The Sydney Morning Herald.

The government did not solicit, approve or oversee the competition, and there is no suggestion any of the designs will ever see the light of day.

When The Sydney Morning Herald asked Transport for NSW about the Woolloomooloo “ghost block” for a story in 2021, it said the land was no longer needed for operational purposes and its future use would be reviewed.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

New Thessaloniki museum to showcase treasures from metro excavations

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New Thessaloniki museum to showcase treasures from metro excavations

A new museum in Thessaloniki, Greece will host part of the 300,000 artefacts discovered during the excavation of the city’s metro, the Greek Ministry of Culture recently announced.

The museum will be built at the intersection of Thessaloniki’s metro tracks at the Fountain Station and will become a space for educational and scientific research.

Greece’s Culture Minister, Lina Mendoni, said its purpose is to show how the 300,000 artefacts stand as living proof of Thessaloniki’s long history.

Thessaloniki’s Fountain Square, where the new museum will be located, is one of the most famous meeting points in the city. Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture

“The permanent exhibitions of this museum will showcase how the city evolved through time with findings related to its ancient infrastructure, buildings, public utility networks and structural engineering,” Mendoni said.

According to the approved architectural plan, the central museum exhibition concept will include two distinctive showcase areas: one for findings outside the city’s ancient walls and one for those discovered within them.

A drawing of the entrance of the museum. Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture.

The museum’s central display will house part of the ‘Decumanus Maximus’ found at the Hagia Sofia station, and include the bath mosaic discovered at Venizelou station, both which can not be repositioned at their original sites.

The new museum is in an area of over 6,000 square meters and will run parallel to Thessaloniki’s second museum to host metro excavation finds at the Pavlos Melas metropolitan park in western Thessaloniki.

Source: Greek Travel Places

Cypriot President thanks Greece for helping contain Turkish revisionism

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Cypriot President thanks Greece for helping contain Turkish revisionism

A few days before the first round of the presidential elections in Cyprus, the country’s outgoing President, Nicos Anastasiades, visited Greece, Ekathimerini.com reports.

Anastasiades, who will not be running for President in the elections, held meetings at the Maximos Mansion in Athens on Wednesday, where he spoke with Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and thanked him for his support in containing Turkish revisionism.

Cyprus is split into two parts after Turkey invaded the island in 1974, when a coup by supporters of unity with Greece, failed. It is divided into the Greek-Cypriot south and the Turkish-Cypriot north.

According to Ekathimerini.com, Anastasiades also met with Greece’s President Katerina Sakellaropoulou during his visit.

During their meeting, Sakellaropoulou said Greece is committed to seeking a fair and viable solution to the Cyprus problem.

Anastasiades and Sakellaropoulou. Photo: Ekathimerini.com

“Turkey’s intransigence and aggressiveness will not deter us from steadfastly supporting the UN secretary-general’s efforts to find common ground so that negotiations can resume,” she said, while outlining the need for any peace deal to be aligned with UN resolutions and EU law.

Later, an agreement was signed by the Greek Education Minister and the Cypriot Education, Sports and Youth Minister on the topic of mutual academic recognition of university degrees.

Anastasiades then joined Mitsotakis on a visit to Mati, where works are taking place for the creation of a Memorial Park donated by the Republic of Cyprus.

Source: Ekathimerini.com

Second pilot found dead after Greek fighter jet crashes in Ionian Sea

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Second pilot found dead after Greek fighter jet crashes in Ionian Sea

31-year-old pilot, Major Stathis Tsitlakidis, has been found dead two days after the F-4 Phantom fighter jet he was flying crashed in the Ionian Sea in western Greece on Monday.

The two-seater fighter jet crashed in the sea during a training exercise and the body of the co-pilot, 29-year-old, Lieutenant Marios Touroutsikas, was located shortly afterward.

The search for Maj. Tsitlakidis continued for days, involving helicopters, patrol boats, navy divers and an unmanned submersible.

But according to a statement from the Hellenic Air Force, analysis of evidence from the crash site confirmed that Maj. Tsitlakidis died in the accident.

Greek authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash. The airmen had reportedly issued a distress signal and were in the process of abandoning the aircraft when it went down.

Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and main opposition leader, Alexis Tsipras, sent their condolences to the family of Maj. Tsitlakidis on social media. 

“The news of the loss of Maj. Tsitlakidis has compounded our national grief. The Air Force and all of Greece are in mourning and we honour them,” Mitsotakis wrote on Twitter.

The funeral of Lt. Touroutsikas will be held at the Profitis Ilias Church at 10.30am in the Greek city of Tripoli on Thursday. The pilot will be buried at the Agios Ioannis Pikerniou cemetery later that day.

Mitsotakis and Greece’s President Katerina Sakellaropoulou are expected to travel to Tripoli on Thursday morning to attend the funeral.

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