The Australian High Commission in Cyprus has announced that the biggest collection of Indigenous Australian art will go on display in Cyprus next year.
The art exhibition, which is a collaboration between the Australian High Commission, Cyprus’ Deputy Ministry of Culture and Cathrine-art, is being held to celebrate 50 years of bilateral diplomatic relations between Australia and Cyprus.
The exhibition titled From a Continent to an Island will be showcased from 20 January – 18 February 2023 at The Centre of Visual Arts and Research (CVAR) – Severis Foundation in old Nicosia, Cyprus.
Professional photography for catalogue. Photo: The Australian High Commissioner, CyprusA piece of Indigenous art that will be showcased in the exhibition. Photo:The Australian High Commissioner, Cyprus
To further commemorate the milestone, the Australian High Commissioner in Cyprus also organised professional photography of almost 70 Indigenous art pieces.
Crystal blue waters, a constant 28-degree heat radiating from the sun, emus walking the streets and swimming with turtles.
This is the picture 27-year-old lawyer Alex Mandis paints of Western Australia. It is a picture he says is starkly different to Sydney’s inner west where he lived up until August this year.
Whilst the scenery has changed, Alex’s dedication to working with and helping Aboriginal peoples navigate the criminal legal system has remained constant.
“At its core, my job is all about giving others an opportunity,” Alex tells The Greek Herald.
“A lot of the people I have worked with and work with have never had any real support in their lives.
“I think as a lawyer, you have to be passionate in trying to better people’s lives.”
Making the move from the Sydney suburb of Redfern to the rural town of Carnarvon in WA earlier this year has opened Alex’s eyes to the realities rural and Aboriginal communities face every day.
Alex taking in the WA scenery. Photo supplied.
‘They’re kids’:
Alex currently works as a criminal lawyer with Aboriginal Legal Services (ALS) – Australia’s first Aboriginal legal service and the continent’s very first free legal assistance service.
When asked what aspects of his work he finds most confronting, Alex concedes that matters concerning domestic violence and sexual assault are on the list, but working with children rises to the top.
“Working with kids is definitely the most difficult part of the job. They’re kids. They’re pretty innocent,” Alex says.
Despite international pressure, a child as young as 10 can be imprisoned in Australia, being forced to serve their sentence in juvenile detention centres alongside other young offenders aged 10 through to 18.
Out of 132 total prisons in Australia, 17 are for children. WA, the largest state in the country, is home to one of them – Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre.
Earlier this year, national coordinator of The National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project (NSPTRP) Gerry Georgatos told TGH that 75% of the children detained in Banksia Hill are Indigenous.
He said the statistic was not dissimilar to a “reprehensible” national trend which sees Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the most imprisoned people, from a racialised lens, globally,
Despite accounting for around 2% of Australia’s population, Aboriginal people account for around 30% of those incarcerated in Australian jails.
Alex being admitted as a solicitor. Photo supplied.
Specifically referring to the children in juvenile detention, and in particular Banksia Hill, Alex says: “These children are not evil villains and they’re definitely not mastermind criminals of the underworld.”
“A lot of them are influenced by their peers around them. It’s no different to many of us who look up to and model our behaviour on that of our older cousins, brothers or even aunties and uncles,” the Greek Australian adds.
“I’ve seen young kids through the court system, as young as ten, engaging in burglaries and pretty, pretty serious offences. But they don’t know anything else.”
“There are some kids who would rather be in prison than at home, so it’s really important to look into their home lives and discover ways to improve that.”
“You’ve got to be a little bit open minded and not try to boil people down to one action.”
Alex says one of the greatest challenges he faces in dealing with Aboriginal children as young as 10 years old, is to combat their distrust in the legal system. It is something, he says, which becomes most evident during client interviews where defence lawyers are typically viewed as ‘the other side’ as opposed to those capable of facilitating pathways to justice.
“It’s really hard to get information out of them because they’re nervous and that largely stems from their distrust in the justice system,” he explains.
“I think people forget that there is a lot of intergenerational trauma with Aboriginal clients. Some people argue that the Stolen Generation happened a long time ago, but we are talking about people in our grandparents’ generation.”
Alex says local efforts and the strong presence of Aboriginal elders helps these kids build ties with their community and culture to keep out of trouble.
‘There’s actually a lot of cultural crossover with us’:
Making the move to such a rural part of Australia, one would assume it would be a huge culture shock for Alex, but he says that the Greek community has more in common with these rural, Indigenous communities than people think.
Alex says that even though cultural practices may differ, the importance of core values and ethics are something that should be focused on and instilled at a young age.
“I think the core messages and the core things that are in the Greek community – family, tradition, pride in culture, you know, language – is so reflective and I think it’s just a mirror in the Aboriginal communities,” Alex says.
“We’re all close with our yiayias and pappous, and in these houses a lot of grandparents raise the kids, their nephews and nieces in these houses.
“The incredible focus on culture in the Greek community is one that is celebrated throughout the year in various ways with Greek concerts and music, celebrations by our schools where we aim to carry our traditions and pass them on to the next generation.”
Alex says we should be encouraging the Aboriginal community to do the same.
“We get to go down to Sydney Harbour and we have our festivals and celebrations like the 25th of March, and we all love that, and we all think that’s great,” he concludes.
“Why shouldn’t we push the Aboriginal community to celebrate their community and culture as well?”
In a statement on social media, organisers of the event confirmed Kyrgios had pulled out and said Alex de Minaur would move into the number one men’s position for Team Australia.
Krygios reportedly suffered an injury in Dubai and won’t play until the Australian Open gets underway.
The Australian Open is due to get underway on January 16.
Greek Australian Mark Bouris has bought a major stake in The Club of United Business (CUB) with an aim to outperform the male-only exclusive clubs, The Australian Financial Review has reported.
CUB, a space for entrepreneurs to network and build relationships with fellow leaders, launched its first club in Sydney’s Potts Point followed by one in Melbourne CBD. It has also added a new venue in Sydney’s CBD with plans for another venue in Parramatta and Brisbane’s CBD.
Mr Bouris said that unlike Sydney’s elite Australian Club – whose members include former prime ministers John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull and which voted to continue its male-only status – CUB is inclusive of women.
“I don’t think those clubs are relevant today, they are cosy, comfortable and a little bit elitist,” Mr Bouris told The Australian Financial Review.
“Women want to be able to talk to men. They want to be able to talk to whoever solves the problem. Women are pretty practical and, by the way, guys are becoming more that way too. They don’t care where they get the advice from, they just want the advice.”
Out of 1000 members in CUB, one third are women and include powerful women such as Showpo founder and CEO Jane Lu.
In CUB, members predominantly run a business in industries such as law, consulting, fashion, marketing with a revenue of between $1 million and $50 million. All members are selected and invited in so long as they meet seven figure revenue. Membership costs $9900 a year.
Waverly Council’s Mayor, Paula Masselos, has warned beachgoers that “draconian measures” are being considered for the remainder of the holiday season after Bronte Beach in Sydney was trashed with rubbish on Christmas Day.
A crowd ranging between 15,000 and 20,000 people left the public beach space with abandoned picnic rugs, plastic, alcohol bottles, discarded clothing and nitrous oxide canisters.
Cleaners, paid for by Waverley Council, were at Bronte from 11pm on Christmas Day until 5am on Boxing Day cleaning up the mess, with local residents joining the clean up too.
People at Bronte Beach on Christmas Day. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald / Instagram.
Mayor Masselos told The Sydney Morning Herald she would be talking to police, rangers, other officers and councils, “to look at what we might be able to do to deal with this kind of situation” in the lead up to New Years Day and Australia Day.
Mayor Masselos said with New Years events and Australia Day coming up, she did not want to resort to ticketed events and banning parties, but is considering it.
Our parks, beaches for all to share. This means consider others and do the right thing. Leaving this mess is not OK. pic.twitter.com/RsmP58FDX0
“[A ticketed event] is really hard to manage. It doesn’t stop [the problem of] what to do with all the rubbish left,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald.
The Greek Australian Mayor said the beach was for everybody and that she wanted people to enjoy themselves in their first proper summer in years without any dreadful consequences.
“We want to ensure people come enjoy themselves but we aren’t left to clean up a dreadful mess. It’s extremely antisocial, extremely rude and very aggressive,” the Mayor said.
Small Business Victoria and the Victorian Multicultural Commission recently collaborated last week on a multicultural business forum with the multicultural business sector.
With close to 100 business owners and stakeholders from a diverse range of multicultural businesses across Victoria attending, the event offered a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the supportive network for Victorian small businesses.
Bill Papastergiadis was part of a panel of speakers for the forum where he was wearing a number of hats in the panelist role – as a Commissioner of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, as the President of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) and importantly, as an employer and business owner in his capacity as the Managing Partner of the Melbourne office of leading law firm Moray & Agnew.
Other panelists included Light & Glo Designs Creative Director, Suji Sanjeevan, and Executive Director of Small Business Victoria, Ylva Carosone.
This panel discussion was followed by a networking event to engage and showcase Victoria’s multicultural business sector.
In opening, Ms Sanjeevan said: “We live in a vastly multicultural society and acknowledging its worth, the value diversity brings to the table is front and centre.”
The forum was an invaluable opportunity for two-way learning between State Government and business representatives, with a number of attendees commenting that there is a real need for the State Government to continue to connect multicultural business, particularly through more frequent and more representative events.
A commitment to action by the State Government is needed to assist with supporting chamber and trader organisations with tailored communications and supports – for example to assist groups such as newly arrive migrants, young people, or specific industry types.
Victorian Multicultural Commission Chairperson, Vivienne Nguyen, commented that one of the most important aspects of the forum was to gather insights on key issues from the stakeholders of so many in the multicultural business sector.
“This objective was well and truly met through a frank and robust discussion” Ms Nguyen said. “Rest assured – this is not once off – there is more to come.”
Panelists reflected on the challenges faced by multicultural businesses, and all businesses over the last few years of COVID disruptions.
“The impact of lockdowns had a profound effect in weakening resilience in many people – we all noticed increased frustration, over reactions, dwelling on problems – caused by loneliness and isolation,” Mr Papastergiadis commented.
There was discussion about the importance of focusing on engagement and reconnection in rebuilding resilience in employees.
“The way forward to rebuild the resilience is through meaningful engagement – with each other as individuals, with our workplaces, with our business communities, our broader communities, and with the whole world again in a global sense,” Mr Papastergiadis said.
The discussion also covered forecasted trends and opportunities for 2023. Some of the biggest trends identified in business for 2023 were the need for ongoing adaptation to a world that has permanently changed the way it does business.
“It’s a new landscape which required all of us to change – historically and pre-COVID in professional services firms, people were in their office every single day – now we have embraced new flexible ways of working,” Mr Papastergiadis explained.
“This has not had any negative impact on productivity but does have its downside, namely a significant effect on training, collaboration, and in building resilience through contact and expression of feeling.
“The world is not going back to how it was, and we are all working in different ways but as humans some fundamental things have not changed – the essential need for engagement is one of our key drivers, and connection to a productive workplace is key to this.”
Another topic covered was those opportunities that are now available as a result of the seismic changes the world has gone through.
“All of the biggest opportunities for 2023 are going to be capitalised on by those business who are able to innovate – the world is changing rapidly, and there are great opportunities for nimble businesses in 2023 to be able to take advantage of a quickly changing environment. Not every decision has to the 100% perfect – but complete inaction is always a poor start,” Mr Papastergiadis said.
Reflecting on the success of the forum, and particularly the connections made both through discussions and the networking event, Mr Papastergiadis said: “Building business connections in a post-COVID world is best facilitated through participation in organised interaction, which is the job of all of us who took part in this important new multicultural small business initiative.”
“Businesses should be creating organised prompts for reconnection because Working From Home affords less organic opportunities for interaction. Through these initiatives, businesses will be able to reactivate their organisational culture after the hibernation of lockdowns,” Mr Papastergiadis concluded.
Greek tennis players have arrived in Western Australia ahead of the inaugural United Cup which will be held in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney from Thursday, December 29.
Together with Tsitsipas, athletes Michail Pervolarakis, Stefanos Sakellaridis and Petros Tsitsipas form the men’s team. The women’s team consists of Sakkari, Despina Papamichael, Valentini Grammatikopoulou and Sapfo Sakellaridi.
Valentini Grammatikopoulou, Despina Papamichail, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Thanasis Manekas of Team Greece walk along the beach at Parakeet Bay in Perth, Australia. Photo: Paul Kane/Getty Images for Tennis Australia.
On Tuesday morning, WA’s Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism, Roger Cook, welcomed some of the Greek players to Rottnest Island.
Team Greece enjoyed some Rottnest crayfish and posed for selfies with the world famous quokkas and koalas. Tsitsipas couldn’t hide his enthusiasm, admiring WA’s beautiful nature from a helicopter and posting pictures on social media.
The United Cup, an ATP-WTA event presented in partnership with Tennis Australia, offers USD $15 million in prize money and up to 500 Pepperstone ATP and 500 WTA rankings points.
Brisbane, Perth and Sydney will host the group stage from Thursday, 29 December to Wednesday, 4 January 2023.
Bulgaria will join Greece and Belgium in Group A in Perth. Kazakhstan will join Poland and Switzerland in Group B in Brisbane.
Group winners in each city will play off for one of three semifinal spots.
Three City Champions will advance to the United Cup Final Four in Sydney to be played at Ken Rosewall Arena from Friday, 6 January to Sunday, 8 January.
Tsitsipas said he’s looking forward to a possible semi-final stage qualification to be able to play in front of the Greek community in Sydney.
“There’s a big, strong Greek community in Sydney. I always have a lot of fun when they come around and support me in my matches,” Tsitsipas told the United Cup website.
“I think this is going to be a very important aspect of us playing there. We’re going to get great Greek support and a very ambient court whenever we’re out there playing.”
Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Tuesday that Turkey intends to continue prospecting for hydrocarbon in the Mediterranean, and any natural gas discoveries made off the coast of Cyprus should be shared with the Turkish-occupied north of the island.
“Even though Block 6 is not in Turkey’s jurisdiction, it would be wrong to view Cyprus as consisting of only one side,” Donmez said, referring to one of the more promising areas of exploration in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone.
“Everyone living on the island of Cyprus has the right to benefit from such resources. We consider that any transactions made on the assumption that there is only one party are not fair.
Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez.
“It is in this context that our Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its statements that the rights and interests of our compatriots in northern Cyprus should be protected.”
These statements come as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday the finding of a new natural gas reserve of 58 billion cubic meters (bcm) in the Black Sea.
Donmez confirmed Turkey will be ready to deliver the first natural gas from its Black Sea field to the national grid by end-March.
Archbishop Makarios of Australia has shared a message of faith for Christmas this year.
Full Message:
Venerable brothers, fellow Bishops and my beloved children.
Most people who refer to the feast of Christmas focus their attention on the fact that God became human in order to make us good.
A basic presupposition for a human person’s progress, the word ‘Theosis’ is repentance, which means a return to God, whom we have denied by choosing with our actions to move away from Him.
The birth of Christ, however, brings to our thinking another reality. Not only is the human person thought to return and to repent, but God’s return to the world is also signalled.
God returns to the life of humanity in a surprising and paradoxical way because it is a fact that we humans have expelled Him, we have banished Him from our lives.
God was the great stranger. We did not give Him any room to be present. On the occasion of today’s beautiful day, for His birth, I ask you to accept the return of Christ into the world and into your life.
Our Orthodox faith is not an ideology, a cultural phenomenon or a simple element of our national identity, that is not based on the presence of the incarnate crucified and the resurrected Christ.
Do not fall into the trap of this world which has created religions full of ideas and cultural elements, but devoid of the presence of God.
We have a living faith and a living God. We want God in our lives. He’s the one whom we desire. He’s the one in whom we believe. And He’s the one in whom we have placed our hope.
If, therefore, you experience some trials, if you have sorrows and difficulties, believe in the power of Christ and do not beg for happiness by knocking on the wrong doors. Do not lean on the wrong people.
Believe in Christ, allow Him to dwell in your heart. Then you and Christ together, alone, will realise the great miracle of change in your life.
NSW Minister for Multiculturalism, Mark Coure MP, has issued a message for those celebrating Christmas this year.
Full Message:
Merry Christmas to everyone in New South Wales celebrating this year.
Christmas is an incredibly significant time of year for many of us — a time for family and friends, a time for charity, and a time of faith.
As many of our communities gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, we also mark a moment for spiritual reflection.
Christmas is a time we reflect on the work that Jesus Christ would accomplish: peace between those who believe in his name and great guidance for those seeking his wisdom.
In the spirit of Christmas, I look forward to celebrating what makes NSW a multi-faith success — our shared dream for a bright future built on the goodwill of a united community.
Over the Christmas holidays, I wish you and your families a happy, safe and healthy festive season.
