The day has finally arrived for those who’ve waited through a year of COVID-19 pandemic interruptions for the Olympic Games.
The 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games will kick off its opening ceremony at 9pm AEST tonight, Friday 23.
Greece’s national team will follow in the Olympic tradition of leading the parade of athletes in the opening ceremony and fly the blue-and-white flag in the closing ceremony.
The Olympic Hymn, the official anthem of the Olympic Games, will ring out around them, as it has since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
The Olympic Hymn is a choral cantata composed by Greek opera composer Spyridon Samaras, with lyrics by the Greek poet Kostis Palamas.
Why does Greece lead the opening ceremony and why does the Greek flag fly during the closing ceremony?
The gestures displayed in the ceremonies acknowledge ancient Greece as the origin nation of the Olympic Games.
The ancient Olympic Games began at least 2,797 years ago in 776 BC and lasted until 393 AD in the UNESCO World Heritage site of ancient Olympia in the western Peloponnese area of Greece.
Where to watch the Tokyo Olympic Games in Australia:
The Tokyo Olympics will be broadcast in Australia on free-to-air TV on Channel Seven, 7two, and 7mate, as well as on steaming service 7Plus.
The Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony will start at 9:00 pm AEST on Friday, July 23, and run until about 1:00 am AEST on Saturday, July 24.
The closing ceremony will conclude the Games at 9:00pm Sunday, August 8, until 12:00am Monday, August 9.
Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra, and Hobart (AEST) are one-hour ahead of Tokyo (JST) so Australians won’t have to stay up late to watch most events.
When people first walk into Advanced Health Medical Centre in the Sydney suburb of Bankstown, they are always amazed by the variety of medical services on offer. Not only do they have access to General Practitioners (GPs), dentists, physiotherapists and radiologists, but they can also speak to these medical practitioners in a variety of languages such as Greek, Arabic, Vietnamese, Chinese and English.
Dr Peter Voutos and Dr Con Keramianakis are the newest additions to the Centre and with over 30 years of experience as GPs, the local Greek community are flocking to them for treatment.
“The Greek population is very, very prominent in our view because I mean there’s about 25,000 to 27,000 Greeks in the Canterbury-Bankstown region… and Dr Voutos is the biggest Greek doctor in Australia and he has about 7,000 of those patients,” Clinical Lead at the Centre, Dr John Barlow, tells The Greek Herald.
Dr Con Keramianakis (left) and Dr Peter Voutos (right).
“We also have Dr Con who was a lead skin cancer doctor from the country and he’s now located in our centre and they are going to work together to service the Greek population.
“The response has been pretty phenomenal. It’s been quite positive because, in hindsight, alot of these new patients weren’t really getting the best health care outcomes in the community and when you put a Centre with quality doctors and a quality operation, they come and it’s amazing.”
The Centre opened its doors to multicultural communities in the Canterbury-Bankstown area four months ago and Dr Barlow says it’s main aim was to change the face of the healthcare market in the area and provide medical information in a culturally sensitive way.
“Most of the practitioners, doctors and surgeons [in the area] were quite old, quite outdated, quite costly and poor practice was done in terms of health outcomes,” Dr Barlow says.
Advanced Medical Health Centre in Bankstown.
“We built a centre which was multifaceted… and then sort of had the mindset of getting different GPs and different cultures into it. That has allowed us to attract a diverse bunch of people and bring them into one centre and sort of change that cultural stigma of Bankstown for example being an Arabic-dominated area or an Australian-dominated area and they couldn’t intermingle or intermix.”
With the help of Dr Voutos and Dr Keramianakis, as well as other doctors at the Centre, they are managing to break this cultural stigma at a time when the Canterbury-Bankstown area needs it the most.
Residents from this region are currently under strict COVID-19 restrictions due to a recent outbreak in New South Wales and government departments are working hard to get COVID-19 health messages out to multicultural communities in their own language.
Dr John Barlow, Clinical Lead at Advanced Health Medical Centre in Bankstown.
The Centre is also doing its part with Dr Barlow saying their linguistically-diverse GPs are able to administer both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines in a safe space.
“We’re one of the only providers of the COVID vaccine in the Canterbury-Bankstown region and we’ve got the centre to do so. We’ve got nearly 1,500 square metres of medical space available and it’s an opportunity where people can come in, not feel like they’re affected by COVID-19, there’s enough space, there’s enough seating, we’re fully COVID compliant,” Dr Barlow concludes.
It’s clear that Bankstown’s Advanced Health Medical Centre really is set to change the face of medical care in the region.
All unvaccinated restaurant and tourism workers in Greece will have to be regularly tested for COVID-19.
It’s an extension of a previously announced mandate to make those working in Greece’s tourist hotspots to test for COVID-19 twice a week.
“Our aim is that our country continues to send the message that it has been and will remain a safe tourist destination,” Greece’s Deputy Citizen’s Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias told a weekly briefing.
Greece is currently in the midst of a Delta outbreak while trying to lift restrictions and eventuate a partial revival of its crucial tourist industry over its summer season.
The announcements follow a pending nighttime curfew and music ban imposed in response to reported COVID-19 cases which are spreading quickly on Mykonos.
Minister Hardalias said the situation in Mykonos has slightly improved and that authorities will decide on extending or lifting the measures in the next coming days.
Alexis Tspiras, a former prime minister and head of the Opposition, said that restrictions enforced in Mykonos sent “a very bad signal” for Greece as a tourist destination.
With a population of 11 million, Greece has inoculated about 45% of Greeks. After ordering the vaccination of healthcare and nursing homes staff, the government urged school teachers on Thursday to get the shot in time for the start of the school year in September.
Greece reported 2,604 cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 469,042 since the pandemic broke out last year. Some 12,875 have died of COVID-related complications so far.
NSW Minister for Multiculturalism Natalie Ward and Dr. Jan Fizzell spoke to multicultural media on Wednesday about the vaccination rollout and targeting COVID-19 messaging for ethnic communities.
On their agenda was getting everybody in the country vaccinated as soon as possible once supply becomes available.
“We’re not placing any limits on anyone in this country getting vaccinated,” Minister Ward told the virtual congregation, noting that she would be “advocating strongly” for everybody to have access to the vaccine.
Dr. Fizzell reiterated that “anyone who is currently in Australia is eligible for a vaccine”, noting that NSW Health’s concern is getting Australians inoculated safely.
“The Australian government has made clear that … there are some particular centres, like the state vaccination hub and some Commonwealth vaccination hubs, where you don’t need a Medicare card.”
She says NSW Health “will have more special clinics available in places like refugee services and community services” once supply becomes available.
Please check the NSW Government website regularly, and follow the relevant health advice if you have attended a venue of concern or travelled on a public transport route at the same time as a confirmed case of COVID-19. https://t.co/pqkRdfh3cR
Answering a question from the Greek Herald, Minister Ward said, “…[NSW] Health has been very keen on rolling out vaccination hubs wherever possible and we are working on trying to get that into communities as soon as we can.”
“But again, we’re restrained by simply the volume of vaccinations that we are given by the Federal government but we’re very keen to get more of those. They are coming, they are not far away I’m told. We have the hubs there and … as soon as we get those doses, we’ll be getting them into arms as soon as possible.”
“We’re trying to do that with people who are there who can translate as we’ve seen in some of the hubs in southwest Sydney and we’re trying to get our multicultural liaison officers out there as well …”
“That’s on the horizon, we’re absolutely working very hard towards that.”
— NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service (@mhcsnsw) July 21, 2021
The primary concern of reporters was to seek clarification from NSW Health over the procedures of inoculation for certain groups, including community workers in NSW’s Hunter region, people living with mobility impairments, and children.
On vaccinating children, Dr. Fizzell says the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) will be examining trials in North America before prioritising kids who are most at risk to get vaccinated, and added that GPs will start to offer in-home vaccination once supply becomes available.
Dr. Fizzell said the lockdown has deterred NSW from seeing an “exponential growth” in cases, despite the number of those infectious while out in the community higher than ever.
Minister Ward says the NSW government relies on ethnic media outlets and communities to help convey vital health messages.
Australia’s regulatory agency for therapeutic goods has approved the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 12 and 15.
Health Minister Greg Hunt announced to the Seven Network that the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has moved to lower the eligible cohort for the vaccine to include everybody 12-years-old and over.
Health Minister Greg Hunt made the announcement to the Seven Network (Photo: NCA NewsWire/Sarah Matray)
Though the vaccine has been approved for this age group, they won’t be included in the rollout for some time and will wait in line until the rest of the adult population has had the chance to be vaccinated.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is “well” into conversations on prioritising children with underlying health conditions who are at more risk of serious illness to receive the vaccine.
“Our plans are in place to roll out what is more likely, on the early advice I have, is that they will fast-track vaccines for 12- to 15-year-olds for the immunocompromised children or those with underlying health conditions,” Minister Greg Hunt said.
“If ATAGI gives a second green light for the immunocompromised and kids with underlying medical conditions they would be immediately added to what’s called phase 1b, they would immediately be able to access the Pfizer [vaccine].”
The ATAGI will also review data from the US, where the vaccine has been made available to all children, when it is received in August or September.
The TGA is yet to publish the approvals Mr Hunt said were confirmed overnight.
At a time when Australia’s greatest athletes are playing on the Olympic stage, we remember where they started. The grassroots sports, or community sport, which remains one of the greatest representations of Australian sporting culture.
There are many people in the community who have dedicated their life to the progression of community sport, to ensure it survives the global COVID-19 pandemic. George Voyage OAM is one of these people.
A second-generation Greek Australian, Voyage was born in 1952 to a Castellorizian father and mother, with his father emigrating to Australia after WWII while his mother emigrated with her family in 1919.
“Mum was born here and she’s got two brothers, both of whom played league football for Hawthorn. They’re probably the first Greek Australians to play league football, play AFL,” Voyage said to The Greek Herald.
As probably observed in the name Australian Football League (AFL), Voyage’s parents weren’t very familiar with Aussie staple upon first arriving to Australia. However, it didn’t take long for them to become familiarised with Aussie culture after establishing a restaurant in Melbourne.
“My dad, when he came, immersed himself in Australian life, as did tens of thousands of the young men and women who came to Australia at that time. And they tried to become part of society,” Voyage said.
“So once dad had met my mother…. he’s just come from Europe and Mum’s two brothers are playing for Hawthorn. So, of course, Dad’s going to be involved in that straightaway.
As many say when it comes to sport, it runs in the blood. This was the case for George, who immersed himself in Australian football from a teenager. In 1970, while finishing his schooling at Caulfield Grammar School, he joined Old Boys Football Club as a player in the under 19 team.
Playing an outstanding 240 games, eventually finishing his playing career in 1997, George eventually became a coach. He then went on to become part of the board and is now President of the VAFA, the Victorian Amateur Football Association.
According to George, the VAFA is the biggest football competition in Australian rules. The Melbourne-wide football competition currently has approximately 14,000 adult players, of which around 10,000 are men and approximately 4,500 are women. The Association will be celebrating their 130th anniversary next year.
While community sport is a way of getting exercise and engaging in physical activity, George recognises that it’s so much more.
“I’ve always had an interest in the amateur ethos and the amateur environment that we that we have,” George said.
“I’ve always liked people playing sport for the sport side of things, not for financial gain. Because I think sport is more than just the sport itself.”
“It’s a community, it’s comradeship, it’s engagement with people, respect for people and joining with people of all different ages and backgrounds.”
“For example with football, you could be in the crowd, a blue collar worker, for example, and you’re standing next to a high court judge, for example, at the same venue. At the same table, having a drink together after the match.
“It brings people together. And that really appeals to me.”
And at a time when it’s more important than ever for people to come together as a community, George says there is plenty of opportunity for government involvement to help sports grow.
“We’ve had an explosion in the number of females that are playing, yet the facilities are far behind what they need to be for women,” George said.
“For example, we need better lighting, we need better infrastructure to cope. Amateur clubs have got no way of finding huge money that’s required to build new buildings and infrastructure to support that.
“So it’s a never ending task.”
In 2021, George Voyage received an Order of Australia medal for his work with amateur sport in Australia, specifically with his involvement with the VAFA and cricket.
“I was really humbled and really honoured to receive that. I was taken aback because I’ve enjoyed every moment of it,” George concluded.
“They’re both sort of bastions of our society in Melbourne. So if you can imagine, the VAFA is a really big organisation and to work my way through and be president, that’s a great honour.
“And then for cricket, I’ve been involved for a long time at those two prestigious clubs (St Kilda Cricket Club and Brighton Cricket Club) and it’s a great honour to be recognised for volunteer work at all stages of being a volunteer.
“I guess that’s also representative of thousands of other people like me that selflessly donate their time.”
The Central and Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network (CESPHN) have developed a suite of videos from general practitioners (GPs) in the central and eastern Sydney region to convey the COVID-19 message to stay home, get tested and get vaccinated in a number of languages.
Dr James Giallussi, who owns a family medical practice in Rosebery, is doing his part for Sydney’s Greek community by sharing the messages in Greek.
In the video, Dr Giallussi can be heard asking people to only leave their home for four main reasons and to get vaccinated.
“Sydney is on high alert for COVID-19 and the Sydney lockdown has been extended. The only reasons you should leave home include shopping for food, medical care, exercise, or essential work and education,” Dr Giallussi says.
“You can leave home to get a COVID test or get vaccinated. Masks must be worn when indoors, except at home. You should not have visitors to your house. This includes family members outside of your household.
“Everyone in your family should get tested if anyone has COVID-19 or has come into contact with someone with COVID-19.”
Dr Giallussi joins a number of other GPs in the CESPHN region who can be heard speaking in English, Arabic, Korean, German, Tamil, Bengali, Serbian, Bahasa, Mandarin, Afrikaans and Uyghur.
Perth Glory FC has confirmed that 19-year-old midfielder, Sofia Sakalis, has signed a long-term deal with the club and will be on board for the Westfield W-league 2021/22 season.
The Australia Under-17 and Under-20 representative has previously represented Melbourne City, for whom she debuted in 2017/18.
“I’m super-excited to be joining Perth Glory and working with Alex [Epakis – head coach],” Sakalis said, according to a press release.
“His vision and the style of football he wants to play really excited me and I’m eager and ready for a new challenge and a new environment that will allow me to grow into the player I want to become.
Sakalis has previously played for Melbourne City.
“I think Alex is building something exceptional and his long-term vision has really re-ignited my passion for the game.”
The head coach said he is thrilled to have Sakalis on board for 2021/22 and is confident she will make a major impact in purple.
“With Sofia, those who have tracked the women’s game over recent years will be very familiar with her attacking talents and overall ability as an attacking midfielder,” Epakis said.
New Perth Glory signings Sarah Cain and Sofia Sakalis.
“Having been involved in Melbourne City’s W-League set-up since the age of 13, making her W-League debut at 15 and representing Australia across various youth levels, it is clear that she has great qualities.
“Sofia has committed for the next few seasons to our project and is really looking forward to playing a big part in helping the team work towards our goals, as well as evolving and further developing her own game.”
Sakalis will be joined by 21-year-old midfielder Sarah Cain, who also signed with Perth Glory and is on board for the Westfield W-League 2021/22 Season. Cain made six appearances for Melbourne City in what was her maiden W-League campaign last year.
Global business leader, Andrew Nicholas Liveris AO, has been named the Kastellorizian of the Year for 2021.
In announcing the award of Kastellorizian of the Year 2021, the President of the Kastellorizian Association of Victoria (KAV), Mr Nik Spartels, said that Mr Andrew N. Liveris, a well-known businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist on a global scale, has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the international Greek community, including the Australian Greek community, the Kastellorizian community, and the Australian community.
The four criteria for the award are that the nominated person must be of Kastellorizian descent; have demonstrated excellence in their field of endeavour; must have made an outstanding contribution to the Kastellorizian, Greek and/or Australian community; and be an inspirational role model for Kastellorizians.
Andrew Liveris. Copyright by World Economic Forum swiss-image.ch/Photo Moritz Hager.
Mr Liveris is the co-founder and continuing Global Chairman of the Hellenic Initiative (THI), a non-profit organisation mobilising the Greek Diaspora to invest in the future of Greece, as well as to help the destitute.
Mr Liveris is obviously a man who looks to the future, and in Australia he, and his wife Paula, contributed $13.5 million to the University of Queensland to support the establishment of the Andrew N. Liveris Academy for Innovation and Leadership.
The Andrew N. Liveris building is nearing completion and will provide the environment and programs to deliver its objectives: a pipeline of effective and creative leaders for the digital era, with the capacity to contribute to a sustainable future.
Mr Liveris has worked with a number of US Presidents.
Andrew and Paula have also pledged to raise many more millions of dollars to support the University of Queensland’s ‘Not if, When’ philanthropic campaign.
With well over forty years of global leadership as former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Dow Chemical Company and the former Executive Chairman of DowDuPont, his career has encompassed roles in manufacturing, engineering, sales, marketing, and business general management around the world.
In 2014, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for services to international business. He currently holds several directorships with major international companies. He has been awarded four Honorary Doctorates, counselled three US Presidents, and has received extensive honours and prestigious awards.
In his willingness to advise, impart and share his philosophy, knowledge and breadth of experience, he has become an international advocate to government, business, academic and non-profit sectors in his quest to maximise economic health (material and non-material) and future prosperity.
Andrew has remained loyal to his Greek/Kastellorizian roots and his Australian roots. He has personally supported projects in Darwin, where he was born, and in Queensland where he attended University. He has contributed to infrastructure projects on Kastellorizo, and through The Hellenic Initiative champions projects to assist the Hellenic Republic.
Although he has received many awards and accolades for his achievements and private benevolence, being named Kastellorizian of the Year is close to his heart. In pre-COVID times, the Liveris family regularly visited Kastellorizo to connect with their heritage. The importance Andrew places on his Kastellorizian heritage is reflected in this quote from a recent interview:
Mr Liveris and his wife, Paula.
‘I’m a product of immigrants, of courageous but impoverished people. I believe where we come from is, in a sense, who we are and where we are going. I think you prepare your future by using the memories and the lessons from your past. Your history shapes you. We are, after all, creatures of our environment and the legacy we’ve been given is most definitely a large part of our environment, so we have to care about that. A big piece of that is caring about the traditions and the cultural heritage that shaped you into who you are.’
Andrew Liveris was born in Darwin. His father and paternal grandparents were born in Kastellorizo. He married Paula in Brisbane, and their three children were born in Sydney, Hong Kong and Thailand. His main place of residence is now the United States.
The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Council of Australia (FECCA) is inviting multicultural community groups to apply for funding to conduct their own communication activity on COVID-19 aimed at keeping their communities safe.
FECCA is working with the Federal Government and other organisations to fund Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) groups to provide important COVID-19 health messages to their communities.
Under a Commonwealth-funded Small Grants Fund, FECCA will work with CALD community groups to assist them in delivering critical health information and advice on the coronavirus pandemic and vaccination rollout.
FECCA Chief Executive Officer, Mohammad Al-Khafaji, said the program will support culturally appropriate and relevant information on COVID-19 and the vaccination delivery.
“The most effective way to deliver these important messages, is a community led response. We must support and equip them,” Mr Al-Khafaji said.
“The funding program will deliver grants for community groups to undertake and lead targeted communication activities on COVID at the grass roots level.”
The Small Grants program aims to achieve the following:
Foster community involvement and participation;
Overcome barriers to accessing information on COVID 19 and the vaccination program;
Provide opportunities for the community to identify local issues and respond to them;
Encourage communities that have a hesitancy about the vaccines; and
Encourage partnerships among community organisations in this space.
Multicultural communities are invited to apply for grants of up to $5,000. Further information can be found at www.fecca.org.au/smallgrants.
