Football NSW has announced the appointment of experienced football administrator, John Tsatsimas, as the organisation’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
The former Newcastle Jets and Western Sydney Wanderers (WSW) CEO joins the NSW Member Federation at an exciting period of growth and rejuvenation for the sport, following the recent release of the Football NSW Strategic Plan 2023-2026.
Boasting an extensive understanding of the NSW and Australian footballing landscape, Tsatsimas was humbled by the opportunity to lead Football NSW.
“I am incredibly honoured to be appointed CEO and am eager to begin engaging and working collaboratively with the various stakeholders that form part of the wider Football NSW family,” he said.
“The organisation is guided by an outstanding Board who brings a diverse array of talents and experiences, while sharing a deep love for the game. Just as importantly, they have an aligned vision for where the sport needs to move towards.
“It is vitally important that football in NSW remains aspirational, inclusive for all, and that Football NSW, as a governing body, is constantly progressing.
“I look forward to working closely with the staff, Chair Gilbert Lorquet, and the Football NSW Board to ensure we can make significant progress off the back of some exciting times ahead for the sport.”
Football NSW has announced the appointment of experienced football administrator, John Tsatsimas, as the organisation’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Football NSW Chair, Gilbert Lorquet, was thrilled with the new appointment.
“John is an innovator and a visionary, and I am delighted he will be joining Football NSW as the new CEO,” he said.
“He will add tremendous value as a leader, building on our purpose of facilitating the best experience for all, and delivering on our mission to lead and support the growth of football across all cultures and communities,”
Tsatsimas’ passion for football started at an early age with Parramatta City Football Club, before undertaking a range of playing, coaching and administration roles with various Associations and NPL NSW clubs.
In addition to ten years at the WSW, including time as the Foundation General Manager, Chief Operating Officer and CEO, Tsatsimas has also spent time in a consultant role with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), adding to his all-encompassing knowledge of the game.
Replacing outgoing CEO Stuart Hodge, Tsatsimas will commence his new role on Monday, 5th December 2022.
The Greek government said on Monday it will replace Ark of the World’s administration amid a barrage of sexual abuse allegations against the well-known children’s charity.
“The allegations are serious, particularly as they concern the extremely sensitive issue of children that have been removed from their family environment,” Greek government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said after the meeting.
Greek government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou spoke after the meeting.
“These allegations must be fully investigated… The case is in the hands of justice.”
So far, there are three allegations of sexual abuse and four of beatings. The Ark of the World, which hosts scores of children in five facilities, has denied the allegations.
The 49th anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic Uprising was commemorated on Sunday, November 20 with a special event at the Greek Community Club in Lakemba, Sydney.
Organised by the Greek Orthodox Community of New South Wales (GOCNSW) and the Combined Universities Greek Association (CUGA), the commemoration event was attended by a number of official guests.
This included the Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Ioannis Mallikourtis; Georges River Council Mayor Nick Katris; the Vice President of GOCNSW, Nia Karteris; the Secretary of GOCNSW, Michael Tsilimos; Associate Professor Anthony Dracopoulos from the Department of Modern Greek Studies at the University of Sydney; as well as other representatives of Greek communities across Sydney and many university students.
The commemoration began with a minute silence followed by the national anthems of Greece and Australia. A wreath laying ceremony was then held at a special cenotaph set up at the front of the stage.
Afterwards, a video titled ‘One week diary of the Polytechnic – by Yiannis Ritsos’ was displayed and this was followed by two speeches from the Consul General and Mr Tsilimos. Associate Professor Dracopoulos also gave a small presentation.
Throughout the event, there were also a number of poem recitals from students of the Community’s schools, as well as the Hellenic Society of the University of New South Wales (Hellsoc), Sydney University Greek Society (SUGS), UTS Hellenic and the Macquarie University Greek Association (MUGA).
The NSW Federation of Community Language Schools held its annual gala dinner at the Grand Ballroom of the Bankstown Sports Club in Sydney’s south west on Saturday, November 19.
The event was a chance to celebrate Community Language Schools in NSW, as well as the volunteers who make these schools a success.
Hundreds of teachers were amongst the 550 people who attended the dinner on the night, along with a broad range of Parliamentarians and community leaders.
This included the NSW Labor Leader, Chris Minns MP; the NSW Minister for Multiculturalism, Mark Coure MP, representing the NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet; the NSW Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism, Steve Kamper MP; Parliamentary Secretary for Wollongong and the Illawarra, Peter Poulos MLC; the High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus in Australia, Antonis Sammoutis; the CEO of the Federation, Michael Christodoulou AM; and the President of the Federation, Lucia Johns; among many others.
On the night, Mr Coure announced a grant of $400,000 to support the work of the organisation in 2023.
The Minister said the funding was a partnership between the Federation and Multicultural NSW and comes on top of $9.9 million already committed to support the 3000 voluntary teachers who run classes in 400 locations around the state for 33,000 children studying over 60 different languages.
“Learning a second language is a priority if we are to become a truly global destination. I look forward to students embracing greater opportunities in language education because it is the vehicle which drives culture, tradition and heritage for generations,” Mr Coure said.
President of the Federation, Ms Johns, welcomed this announcement for further support from the NSW Government for the organisation’s work.
The NSW Labor Leader, Mr Minns also spoke on the night and announced a revision and comprehensive approach to community languages for security of tenure. Mr Minns said Labor will address the discrepancy of funding per capita in NSW when compared to Victoria.
Both the Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism, Mr Kamper, and the Member for Lakemba, Jihad Dib, threw their full support behind Mr Minns’ announcement on the night.
“It’s in our DNA to educate and work with ethnic communities. Multiculturalism started with the Labor Party,” Mr Kamper said.
“So we’re really proud… we’ve got a great vision to underpin long-term and solid support and solid funding [for community languages].”
After all these announcements, the night concluded with a number of different cultural dancing performances and mingling among guests.
Dr Georgios Patoulis, Regional Governor of Attica, was engrossed in phone conversations for the duration of speeches given by former minister Martin Foley for the Australian Labor Party and David Davis for the Liberals at the gala of the Hellenic Medical Society of Australia (HMSA) at the Grand Hyatt on Saturday.
Clearly distracted, all was made clear when he took the floor to address the room. “A short while ago, Vassilis Kikilias, Greece’s Minister of Tourism, assured me that, according to the Minister of Finance, there was budget for a Greek National Tourism Office (GNTO) to be created in a few days, here in Melbourne, here in Australia. Finally,” he said.
Beginning his speech with the promise of EOT, he ensured everyone in the room hung onto his every word with more offerings, more promises of collaborations, ending with the announcement that a summer school would be offered to medical students and young doctors from around the world, including Australia, courtesy of the Greek government.
MC George Donikian said he wasn’t keeping score, but he hinted that Dr Patoulis may have had it covered when it came to holding an audience.
Greek National Tourism Organisation
Speaking to The Greek Herald, Dr Patoulis explained why finally, after close to nine years of campaigning, Melbourne is finally getting EOT representation.
“I should say personally that I, as the Regional Governor of Attica, in collaboration with [Greek Community of Melbourne President] Bill Papastergiadis, we had pressured the Tourism Department and, with Greek National Tourism Organisation President Angela Gerekou received a promise over the last month,” he said. “It all became possible because Mr Kikilias got the go-ahead that this will be in the budget.”
Mr Papastergiadis was overjoyed at the news that a Greek representative will finally be posted at the furnished office at the 15-storey Greek cultural centre which has been ready for years. “Our hard work has borne fruits,” he told The Greek Herald, pleased that Melbourne would be getting an office at a time when other cities around the globe already enjoyed having GNTO offices to offer info and campaign for greater bilateral trade and tourism with Greece and their perspective countries.
“It’s great that Minister Kikilias has announced an office of EOT in Melbourne and presumably at the Greek Community of Melbourne building.
“This has been an initiative of the GCM for over eight years. I have met with three consecutive Greek ministers of Tourism and pitched the idea of EOT being in our building with the GCM offering the space free of charge. It’s important for the GCM to make such offers given the support Greek governments have given to our organisation over the years.”
Summer school for medicos
HMSA President Marinis Pirpiris could not be happier with the way the Greek delegation’s visit turned out.
“If you’ve been following social media it has been jam-packed, jam-packed,” he said.
“We’ve signed an agreement between three universities. It is the first agreement that Melbourne University Medical School has signed with a Hellenic Institution so we now have a cooperative agreement between the University of Melbourne, the National Kapodistrian University in Athens and the University of Patras and I very much look forward to the interaction and the exchanges.”
He told The Greek Herald that he felt humbled to have been part of the brokering of such important projects. Pointing to the announcement of a Summer School on the island of Kos from 16 October to 23 October 2023, he pointed to how it had been welcomed by the Australian government and medical schools.
As testament to this, Mr Davis said, “I welcome the decisions to sign memorandums of understanding, to sign agreements, to cooperate and collaborate internationally, particularly with the university of Melbourne – I am a mother and I think that this directly and sharply reflects Victoria’s strengths as a biomedical research centre.”
Mr Papastergiadis, whose own daughter will benefit from such a summer school, said, “We will be seeing students in Melbourne having the chance to work and learn in the birthplace of Hippocrates, while equally, students and researchers from Greece will be able to come to a city that boasts 13 world leading medical research institutes, employs 4,500 of the best minds in Australia.”
For Dr Pirpiris and Dr Patoulias, the Summer School, in the English and Greek language, will further strengthen ties with the next generation of Greek Australian doctors, too often swallowed up by the mainstream. It’s yet another experience bound to make them feel proud of their Greek heritage.
Maria Vamvakinou MP, who became a grandmother that night, said that organisations such as the HMSA show how the second generation of migrants have continued the success of their parents.
“My parents and the parents of every person in this room constituted this workforce and they were successful, and they thought about many things and one in particular was the desire to give their children a better opportunity,” she said. “They were aspirational people who worked hard. They didn’t have the education they had today but they were committed to educating their children.”
Mr Foley said that such exchanges of information between doctors is a win for Greece, Australia, the world. “This is a time when we need particularly our medical professionals, our public health experts to reach out globally because we are coming out of a pandemic,” he said, adding that this week is the third anniversary of the first reported COVID case in Wuhan.
The 110th anniversary of the liberation of the Greek island of Lesvos from the Ottoman Empire was marked on Sunday, November 20 by the Lesvos Culture Club – Palesviaki Enosis of Melbourne and Victoria.
About 200 people attended the commemoration event at the Club’s hall in Bayswater.
The event began with a trisagio service to honour all those who lost their lives during the battle for Lesvos’ liberation, followed by a wreath laying ceremony by members of the Lesvian community and other local Greek organisations.
The President of the Club, John Karanikolas, gave a speech on the day and spoke about the historical battle for Lesvos, as well as the current challenges that face the island’s inhabitants.
The evening ended with a traditional Lesvos feast, as well as music by conductor Stan Fournarakis and singer Doukissa.
Medical experts of Greek heritage arrived in Melbourne, Victoria this year for the Hellenic Medical Society of Australia (HMSA) and Hellenic Diaspora World Congress from November 17 – 19.
The Hellenic Medical Society of Australia and Hellenic World Diaspora Congress 2022, which was hosted at the Greek Centre in Melbourne, was the result of a common vision between global medical Hellenic societies, inspired by the practice of the father of Western Medicine, Hippocrates of Kos.
The world congress featured presentations from Australian and international speakers and included an interactive dialogue between leaders from diverse academic fields in medicine and science.
The focus of the meeting on Thursday 17th November was the provision of community supports to some of the most vulnerable sectors of our community Fronditha Care and Pronia sharing some of their unique insights into the issues affecting these individuals. The meeting was led by the President of Fronditha Care Jill Taylor and President of Pronia Kris Pavlidis.
On Friday 18 November the Congress held its official opening, where Mr George Koufogiannis, Conference Scientific Convenor of Conference Board Member of the Hellenic Medical Society of Australia welcomed the honoured guests.
Prof. Marini Pirpiri, Chair of the Congress said in his welcoming speech “The Hellenic Medical Society of Australia and Hellenic World Diaspora Congress 2022, which was hosted at the Greek is the result of a common vision between global medical Hellenic societies, inspired by the practice of the father of Western Medicine, Hippocrates of Kos.
“Meetings between doctors with Hellenic background provide Hellenes with the ability and means to improve health policies and contribute to the development of a global scientific community which aims to improve the health and wellbeing of all patients, regardless of their individual unique opinions and beliefs. We are honoured to be hosting the Global Doctors Hippocratic Institute, which has helped develop a common vision for a new global health dialogue through commitment, passion, and vision.”
Bill Papastergiadis, OAM, President of the GCM stated in his opening speech “It was a historic day for Greece and Australia with the execution of the MOUS between the University of Melbourne and the Universities of Athens and Patra. Cross cultural education has taken a massive leap forward and we are proud of that the GCM along with Prf. Marinis Pirpiris has helped facilitate this outcome.
“There are many reasons why these Agreements have been executed in Melbourne, including the fact that Melbourne is recognized as one of the world’s top 4 medical research centres with up to $4 billion spent annually on medical research. Such Agreements will allow our students to learn and be taught in the birthplace of Hippocrates, while facilitating the opportunities of Greek students to come to Melbourne, which boasts 13 world leading medical research facilities”.
Hon Steve Dimopoulos MP took the stand saying that: “It’s great to be here at the opening ceremony at the conference, bringing together great minds from Greece and Australia to discuss their latest advancements. This Congress, is a way of strengthening the bonds between our communities. There’s a shared history that people have talked about, creating networks, paving the way and creating healthier lives for our citizens and the people who we represent”
Maria Vamvakinou MP was welcomed to the stand “it’s a privilege to be here. Australia is known in the world of innovation in various fields of science, medical, technology and all sorts of other technologies. As a country that largely punches above its weight, we are a large landmass with a small population and we have exceeded expectations with great cutting-edge technology, especially in medical and scientific research and innovation, and this is an area which is very important to us. An area where many distinguished scientists and doctors of Greek background living in Australia have made significant contributions, and this should be something that we should be very proud of and we should be very proud of it in the context of our multicultural community.
The Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Mr. Emmanuel Kakavelakis also welcomed the idea of forging a strong partnership between both Greek and Australian Medical Institutions. “It’s a great privilege and a pleasure for me to assist in this event. The Greek Community is thriving in this city due to the charismatic leadership of Dr Pirpiris and Bill Papastergiadis, OAM and the Australian Government for providing the appropriate policies that allow, multicultural societies to thrive”.
Then Hon Sally Capp Lord Mayor took the stand “It is wonderful to be here. We know that in Ancient Greece doctors moved the health conversations from divine intervention to address health issues to more modern concepts of Medicine and we thank you very much for that. We are grateful to our Greek Medical Community here in Melbourne and Greece in forming the memorandum of understanding that was singed yesterday which represents are ongoing and deeper broader work will do together”.
Ms Georgie Crozier Shadow Minister of Health in her speech said “We are very proud to be here today. It is about coming together and sharing your ideas, sharing the innovation that you all know and experienced. You are bringing together your ideas and the Greek Community has helped so much, and it is a very proud community, you should be very proud of what you have continued to contribute, and I have no doubt that the Congress will be very productive.”
Mr. Georgios Patoulis, the Governor of Attica, President of the Athens Medical Association and President of the Doctors Hippocratic Institute talked on the significance of collaboration and further spoke on the impact that Hippocratic Philosophy has had on the scientific advancement of modern western medicine.
He went further saying: Collaboration of Greek doctors everywhere towards a new philosophy of medicine, that would explore the values of the Ethic of Medicine guided by the teachings of Hippocrates allowing us to jointly “create” a New Medical Perspective of Ethics and Philosophy, which will address wisely and reflect upon future challenges in the medical field. Thank you for giving us the chance”.
Also Jane Gunn Dean of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences took the stand “I feel that we are on a point of great collaboration and an opportunity that is so necessary for the future of Medical Science and Health Wellbeing. I think together we have to mobilize forces to make sure the Health and Medical research is strong, and we must be absolutely resilient.”
The Hellenic Medical Diaspora World Congress 2022, which was organised by the Hellenic Medical Society of Australia and the Global Doctors’ Hippocratic Institute concluded their proceedings on Saturday 19 November, with a ball at the Grand Hyatt, which raised funds for PRONIA and Fronditha Care.
The official party included:
Mr Georgios Patoulis (President of the Athens Medical Association, President of the Global Doctors Hippocratic Institute and Governor of the region of Attica, Congress President)
Mr Emmanuel Kakavelakis (Consul General of Greece, Melbourne)
Mr Marios Themistocleous (General Secretary Ministry of Health, Hellenic Republic)
The Hon Steve Dimopoulos MP (Member for Oakleigh, Minister for Tourism, Sports and Major Events, Minister for Creative Industries – representing The Hon Daniel Andrews MP, Premier of Victoria)
Ms Georgie Crozier MP (Member for Southern Metropolitan Region, Deputy Leader of the State Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health, Shadow Minister for Ambulance Services – representing Mr Matthew Guy MP, Leader of the State Liberal Party)
The Hon. Martin Foley MP (Member for Albert Park, Former Minister for Health and Ambulance Services)
Ms Maria Vamvakinou MP, (Member for Calwell)
The Hon. Michael Sukkar MP, (Member for Deakin)
Lord Mayor Sally Capp, (City of Melbourne)
Professor Jane Gunn, (Dean of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melb.
Professor Georgios Antonakis, (Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Patra)
The Victorian Labor Party has announced that if re-elected it will commit $400,000 in funding over the next four years to support the Oakleigh Greek Glendi.
The Oakleigh Greek Glendi attracts over 30,000 people every year and is a celebration of cultural diversity with an emphasis on Greek culture through music, performance and food.
The Victorian Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Steve Dimopoulos MP, said a re-elected Labor Government will support the Glendi.
“We’re proud of our diversity. Our multiculturalism. It’s why we’ve supported festivals across Victoria,” Mr Dimopoulos said on Facebook.
“A re-elected Labor Government will support our Glendi – celebrating Melbourne’s vibrant and proud Greek culture.”
The Oakleigh Greek Glendi is managed and presented by The Greek Orthodox Community of Oakleigh & District and Oakleigh Grammar.
On November 23, 2022, the 2nd The Greeks Are Back Conference will be held in Athens, with the participation of Greek senior executives working for large multinational companies abroad.
The Greeks Are Back is an initiative organized by Public Affairs and Networks and has as its centerpiece an annual conference of Greek senior executives working abroad, in which they discuss and put forward specific proposals for the improvement of the attractiveness of Greece as an investment destination.
For the second time in a row, high-level executives of major foreign companies are coming to Greece, in a structured Conference, to share their experiences and suggestions on how Greece can enhance its position as an investment destination.
The Conference will include discussions in plenary and in six working groups, which will focus on investment prospects in: Sustainable Development & Circular Economy, Recovery Fund, New Economy, Efficient State, Real Estate, and Health.
The proposals of the working groups and plenary session will be made available in a concise paper titled “Initiative for Foreign Investments in Greece – 2022” which will be distributed to the government, the political parties, the parliament and other institutions.
The Conference will be attended by Minister of Finance, Christos Staikouras, Minister of Development and Investments, Adonis Georgiadis, General Secretary of Economic Diplomacy and Openness of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of Enterprise Greece, Ioannis Smyrlis, Head of the Economic Office of the Prime Minister, Alexis Patelis, and President of SEV hellenic federation of enterprises, Dimitris Papalexopoulos.
Also, Kimon Angelidis, Chairman FMTC, and Stathis Tzikakis, CEO of Sitecore, will address greetings.
The CEO of the organizing company Public Affairs and Networks and founder of The Greeks Are Back initiative, Andreas Yannopoulos, said: “Greek senior executives in major international companies around the world will once again, for the second year in a row, lend their expertise to the 2nd The Greeks Are Back Conference. Coming to Athens for two days and devoting significant time away from their busy professional schedules, these executives will formulate specific public policy proposals that can enhance the attractiveness of Greece as investment destination. We owe them warm thanks and sincere recognition for their important contribution!”
The 2nd THE GREEKS ARE BACK Conference is supported by diaNEOsis and Enterprise Greece as Strategic Sponsors, Polygreen, Performance Technologies, Accenture, JTI, CPA Law/KPMG, AbbVie as Sponsors, The Coca-Cola Company and Eurobank as Supporters, as well as AEGEAN as Air Transport Sponsor.
*The Greek Herald is a media sponsor of The Greeks Are Back conference
The NSW Government has announced Community Language Schools will receive a $9.9 million funding boost to support students and continue their contribution to the rich tapestry of multiculturalism in NSW.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said community languages schools across the state are vital part of our thriving multicultural community.
“NSW is the most culturally diverse state in the country, and we are proud to embrace the many languages and cultures that contribute to our society,” Mr Perrottet said.
“We have 565 language schools helping connect more than 33,000 students with their heritage and strengthen communities through learning a language.”
Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said community languages are hugely important in allowing communities to stay connected to their heritage and helping them develop their skills in that language.
“It is so important we are providing families with community languages schools to help with their continuing development of their heritage language,” Ms Mitchell said.
“The funding will help operate the schools and provide professional development to the dedicated volunteer teachers. We will also be helping the schools undertake a digital transformation, allowing them to reach more people.”
Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure thanked the more than 3,000 volunteer teachers in community languages schools, which teach 63 different languages to students in the out-of-school hours program last year.
“It takes the dedication of our invaluable teachers and community language advocates to make sure that the languages from around the world are preserved and celebrated here in New South Wales,” Mr Coure said.
“Above all, these teachers pass on the gift of language to new generations, connecting them to culture and heritage while promoting community harmony.”
Around 8 out of 10 of community languages schools hold their classes in a NSW Government public school, with the Department of Education subsidising the cost of using the facilities.
The funding is distributed to community organisations and groups who meet specific criteria to support the operations of the schools and their teachers.
