Search
Home Blog Page 1395

Darwin GleNTi returns with a bang in 2021 and is set to mark Greek Revolution bicentenary

Andriana Simos
-
0
Darwin GleNTi returns with a bang in 2021 and is set to mark Greek Revolution bicentenary

After the devastating cancellation of Darwin’s biggest Greek festival, GleNTi, last year due to COVID-19, it’s back with a bang in 2021 and is definitely not going to disappoint anyone who attends.

This year, celebrations are scheduled to start on June 5 in Raintree Park, one week out from the actual GleNTi festival, which is organised by the Greek Orthodox Community of Northern Australia.

And what’s first up on the schedule? A soccer grudge match, of course!

Fierce Football NT rivals and Grecian-based clubs, Darwin Olympic and Hellenic, will play for match points in the first ever GleNTi Cup on Tuesday, June 8, with the winners to be crowned and presented on GleNTi weekend.

READ MORE: The Darwin GleNTi’s 32 year history has been showcased in a stunning video timelapse.

Darwin’s biggest Greek festival, GleNTi, last year due to COVID-19, is back with a bang in 2021. Photo: Georgia Politis Photography.

President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Northern Australia, Nicholas Poniris, told NT News that the rival match is important as sport is a big part of the Greek culture.

“All sports and athletics is [a big part of the Greek culture] so it’s really important for us to have two Greek teams here and to have something that they can play towards every year and make it really a worthwhile competition in terms of that particular match,” Mr Poniris told the media outlet.

“It’d be like a State of Origin I guess but the Greek version of local soccer in Darwin.”

This sporting rivalry will be followed up by a concert on Wednesday, June 9, with international Greek singer, Dimitris Basis. The concert, Mr Poniris says, will mark the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution this year.

READ MORE: Greek community rejoices as Darwin Greek festival to go ahead in 2020.

People from across Australia attend the GleNTi. Photo: Georgia Politis Photography.

“The concert is to showcase the Greek Independence, a 200-year evolution of the Greek Independence… Dimitris Basis is going to be the singer who’s performing them all,” Mr Poniris says.

“Our GleNTi band is a top notch group of musicians that we get together each year… so we’ve got the best performance in the country coming out to Darwin.”

With the 2021 GleNTi celebrations fast approaching, Mr Poniris adds that if people from across Australia want to attend, they should book their accommodation as soon as possible because hotel bookings at places such as the Mantra on the Esplanade and the Darwin City Hotel are all filling up quickly with GleNTi visitors.

“We’ve got a heap booked out, over 500 hotel rooms, just of guests coming,” Mr Poniris told NT News.

The 2021 GleNTi celebrations will run from Saturday, June 5, until the GleNTi festival on June 12-13.

Source: NT News.

STEM student, Philippa Tsirgiotis, wins prestigious scholarship from Adelaide’s Flinders University

The Greek Herald
-
0
STEM student, Philippa Tsirgiotis, wins prestigious scholarship from Adelaide’s Flinders University

Advanced projects by 10 outstanding Flinders University students will receive vital support from this year’s Playford Memorial Trust Scholarship program.

Among them is young gun and Greek Australian, Philippa Tsirgiotis, who’s biomedical and civil engineering project will advance with an Honours project based at Tonsley.

During a workplace internship, fifth-year student Philippa prototyped a novel device for shoulder rehabilitation in collaboration with Global Movement Pty Ltd. She has been invited to continue this partnership for her Masters project this year, which will involve further development and testing of the device.

Philippa at the award ceremony with Senior Lecturer from Flinders University, David Hobbs. Photo: Twitter / David Hobbs.

Ms Tsirgiotis will perform a trial of the device with patients suffering from shoulder pathologies and study users’ muscle activity during rehabilitation.

Playford Trust scholarships and awards aim to help students make the most of their studies, achieve their potential and contribute to South Australia’s knowledge, skills and research base.

The program’s priority areas include advanced manufacturing and new technologies, health sciences and enabling technologies, environmental sciences including water, energy and climate change, mining and resource development, and agriculture, aquaculture and food production.

Playford Trust chairman and former SA Premier, Dean Brown, thanked industry, government and university partners – and the enthusiastic response from students.

Advanced projects by 10 outstanding Flinders University students will receive vital support from this year’s Playford Memorial Trust Scholarship program.

“This is our highest ever level of funding, which is an impressive achievement given the disruption and uncertainty caused by COVID-19,” Mr Brown says.

Established in 1983 in honour of SA’s longest-serving Premier Sir Thomas Playford, the program has supported more than 600 students in the past decade alone.

This year, the Trust and its partners are investing more than $700,000 to support about 100 new and continuing university and TAFE students during 2021. This includes more than 30 studying for undergraduate degrees, 33 Honours students and 17 PhDs – many of whom hail from regional South Australia.

Exterior of Saint Nicholas Shrine glows after being clad with same marble as the Parthenon

Andriana Simos
-
0
Exterior of Saint Nicholas Shrine glows after being clad with same marble as the Parthenon

Saint Nicholas Shrine, the long-awaited church that is being constructed to replace the original St Nicholas Church at Ground Zero in Manhattan, has begun to “glow” after being clad in the very same Pentelic marble as the Parthenon, atop the Acropolis in Athens.

Pentelic marble, carved out of the ground from the quarries at Penteli, north of Athens, is a fine-grained calcitic marble. It is white, but has a unique golden tinge that makes it appear as if it is alive.

The ancient quarry on Mt. Pentelicus is protected by law and it is used exclusively to obtain material for the Acropolis Restoration Project — except for the Shrine at Ground Zero.

Exterior of Saint Nicholas Shrine glows after being clad with same marble as the Parthenon. Photo: Tribeca Citizen.

The radiant, cream-coloured light of the marble of the Parthenon has now formed part of the new walls of the shrine, and this will reflect a warm ambience outward toward those who stand on the hallowed ground of Ground Zero, where nearly 3,000 people perished in the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.

“Unlike the Parthenon, Saint Nicholas will not be a mountain of marble, but rather a monument of memory,” His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America said in a letter on the progress of the Shrine’s rebuild.

READ MORE: Exterior of shrine at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church to be ready by September 11.

The construction is due to be complete on September 11, 2021.

“Its glow will be a candle lit to dispel the hatred and inhumanity that was behind 9/11, and to remind the world that the Light of Christ, the Light of the Resurrection shines on, overcoming all darkness.”

Archbishop Elpidophoros then went on to discuss the process of getting the marble to the United States in the first place, stressing how it had to be “conveyed” all over the world before reaching its final destination.

READ MORE: The small Greek Orthodox Church that still grapples with the aftermath of 9/11.

“We begin in Attica, where the marble has been quarried from the very same vein as the Parthenon marble, which is white with a faint tint of yellow, making it shine with a golden hue under sunlight,” Archbishop Elpidophoros says.

The Shrine’s new dome will be clad in Pentelic Marble.

“Then this marble has travelled to Austria, for its fabrication into the panels that will adorn the exterior of the building and give it that unique glow. From Austria, the panels went to Minnesota, to be assembled into their unique configuration with glass.

“And from Minnesota, to New York and the site of Saint Nicholas for the installation… A journey of over 6,700 miles!”

From the pictures we’ve seen of the shrine rebuild so far, it seems the effort was worth it!

READ MORE: Construction underway for Greek Orthodox church destroyed in 9/11 attacks.

Controversial paratrooper event marking 80 years since Nazi invasion of Crete cancelled

The Greek Herald
-
0
Controversial paratrooper event marking 80 years since Nazi invasion of Crete cancelled

Outrage by Cretan politicians and ordinary citizens on the island of Crete, Greece, has led to the cancellation of a controversial event by a paratroopers association that was planning to “honour” the 80th anniversary of the Nazi invasion of Crete.

The so-called European Paratroopers Association announced on social media recently that it was planning an event in Chania sometime in May to pay their respects to “the bravery of the German paratroopers.”

“It has been exactly 80 years since the III Reich Elite Troops jumped and conquered the island of Crete. We will never forget their valor,” the event poster stated.

According to some media reports, a number of Greek people were also set to participate in the event as there are at least three on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Association.

With this in mind, the controversial event was brought to the attention of the Greek Parliament, with the Regional Governor of Crete and his Deputy pointing out “that no relevant permission was ever given by anyone for such as event,” which was to also include a tour of historical sites of the Battle of Crete.

“Only the posting of the relevant invitation on the internet is an insult to historical memory, democracy and freedom,” Deputy Regional Minister of Culture, Costas Fasoulakis, said.

The Regional Governor of Crete, Stavros Arnaoutakis, was one of many people outraged by the event.

With questions submitted to the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Interior, Culture and Citizen’s Protection, KINAL MP Vassilis Kegkeroglou also called on the government to not allow such an event that “not only blackens Greek history, but also insults the national memory of thousands of freedom fighters who fell in the battlefield and of all Cretans.”

Ultimately, the event was canceled on Tuesday night and the Association made a last effort to justify the unjustifiable, claiming in a statement that their purpose was to “promote camaraderie,” cretalive.gr reports.

“We are very sorry if someone was offended by this and respecting the feelings of the native Greeks, we will not celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Crete,” the Association wrote in a statement.

Greek PM agrees to hold talks with Libya over maritime border demarcation

The Greek Herald
-
0
Greek PM agrees to hold talks with Libya over maritime border demarcation

Greece and Libya are to discuss delineating maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean, the Greek Prime Minister’s office said on Wednesday, after a meeting between the Prime Minister and the head of Libya’s Presidential Council.

The talks in Athens with Mohamed al-Menfi, who previously served as an ambassador to Greece, came a week after Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, visited Tripoli to meet with the new interim Libyan government.

READ MORE: Mitsotakis urges Libya to scrap Turkey maritime deal, restores bilateral relations.

Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, left, welcomes the head of the Presidential Council of Libya, Mohamed al-Menfi, before their meeting, in Athens, on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris.

The interim government took office last month, replacing two rival administrations that had governed the eastern and western parts of a country torn apart by war. It is to steer Libya to a general election in December.

Athens had expelled the Libyan ambassador in December 2019 during a dispute over a controversial deal on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean signed that year between Turkey and Libya’s UN-supported government at the time.

Greece and Cyprus were outraged by the agreement, which they say runs contrary to international law and ignores their stakes in the region. Greece has since been pushing for the new interim government to cancel the deal.

Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, left, and the head of the Presidential Council of Libya, Mohamed al-Menfi, pose for photographers before their meeting, in Athens, on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris.

READ MORE: Libya willing to discuss issue of maritime zone delineation, Athens says.

Addressing al-Menfi at the start of their meeting, Mitsotakis said he welcomed “your and the Libyan Prime Minister’s intention for your country to discuss with Greece crucial issues such as the delineation of maritime boundaries.”

The north African country’s new government has not indicated it would be willing to overturn its controversial deal with Turkey.

Libyan Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, visited Ankara on Monday. Speaking after talks with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he said the deal serves both Turkey’s and Libya’s national interests. But he added it was important to start a dialogue that would take into account all involved parties’ interests.

Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, looks on as he waits for the arrival of the head of the Presidential Council of Libya, Mohamed al-Menfi, prior their meeting, in Athens, on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris.

READ MORE: Turkey and Libya recommit to contested maritime borders deal, angering Greece.

For his part, Erdogan said the deal “has secured the interest and future of both countries.”

Turkey has been closely involved in Libya, backing the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), based in the capital Tripoli that controlled the west, against the Libyan National Army (LNA), based in Benghazi that controlled the east.

Turkey sent military supplies and fighters to Libya, helping to tilt the balance of power in favor of the Tripoli government, with which it signed the maritime deal.

Source: AP News.

“To make a difference you need to make a start,” says Fronditha Care CEO, Faye Spiteri

Argyro Vourdoumpa
-
0
“To make a difference you need to make a start,” says Fronditha Care CEO, Faye Spiteri

A few months ago, in February 2021, Fronditha Care announced the appointment of Faye Spiteri (Tsolakis) as the new CEO, during a strategically and financially challenging time for the organisation. 

Only three weeks after her appointment, Spiteri -in collaboration with the Board of Directors and Executive team- managed to layout a longer-term strategy and realigned operational plans to ensure the organisation’s sustainability. 

By the end of March, Fronditha Care President Jill Taylor (Nikitakis) expressed her optimism for the future and said that they “conservatively anticipate that Fronditha Care will be back in a profitable position by December 2022.”

The Greek Herald caught up with newly appointed CEO, Faye Spiteri, who shared her vision for the organisation, her will to maintain Fronditha as an exemplary culturally centered aged care provider and the importance of embracing change for good.

Recalibration of financial issues, a priority 

The first female President of Fronditha Care and Vice President of the Fronditha Care Board, during her nine-year tenure before becoming the CEO, Spiteri says that her vision at this point is to “recalibrate the financial issues that the organisation has had.”

“We have made progress, to bring the organisation back to financial sustainability and to ensure strong financial governance while we continue to provide high quality of care,” Mrs Spiteri tells The Greek Herald, stretching that change is inevitable especially in times when critical decisions need to be made. 

“You have to be agile and flexible to face changes. Transparency and integrity to decisions that you make are fundamental,” she says.  

“To make a difference you need to make a start”

For the last three decades through various roles, Spiteri has been on a mission to drive social change by advocating for human rights and gender equality. In 2019, she was recognised for her significant contribution to the Victorian community and inducted to the Victorian Honour Roll for Women as a Change Agent.

Now, from a different and more multidimensional role, she doesn’t hesitate to face challenges head on, in order to see Fronditha Care thrive once more and to ensure the provision of optimal care outcomes for the community’s elders. 

“Change is sometimes hard to accept but it’s a constant in life and we need to rise to our responsibilities,” she said recently, boldly. 

Asked where her passion to make a difference stems from, Spiteri looks back to her migrant parents.

“I’ve been very fortunate in my personal life to have a loving family, always around me a mother and an aunt who really encouraged me to flourish. 

“Very strong women who, like most women who migrated to Australia, were full of passion and drive not only for their own self and careers, but especially for their children and that’s always driven me to achieve. To achieve good outcomes, not only for myself but for others,” she says. 

“They were a huge influence for me in understanding that we have a social responsibility to contribute to the building of a better society. 

“We can all make a difference but to do so, we need to make a start,” says Fronditha Care CEO, stating that it is equally important to her to inspire and nurture the next generation of community leaders. 

“It is important to me to play a small role in helping young people flourish and that’s the opportunity I got from mentors of mine as well,” she says.

The aged care sector under pressure

Talking about Australia’s aged care sector and the challenges the industry is facing, Spiteri says “that it [the sector] faced crisis points not only because of covid but also with the Royal Commission happening concurrently.”

“Fronditha care has always been an organisation that puts its residents and their families first and even now, despite our financial challenges, they’ve taken priority in all our decision making,” she says.

“What may have come as a surprise to people potentially, after the findings of the Royal Commission, is the lack of strategic investment in aged care and the lack of care about the elderly, from some providers. 

“With the Royal Commission, there is 140 recommendations, but there is no road map from the government as yet. We, at Fronditha Care are already taking action on some of the most significant recommendations and findings and we are looking into how we can make improvements.” 

The organisation has a 20-year action plan, 10-year strategy and rolling implementation plans.

“It’s a lot of work but I’m glad to say that despite the challenges we are facing, we have no complaints from staff or families and we are constantly reviewing our practices,” Spiteri says. 

Asked how she would describe Fronditha Care in a sentence, the newly appointed CEO replies without hesitating.

“A huge network of people who feed from the successes and learn from the challenges.”

READ MORE: Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Emmanouel Kakavelakis, visits Fronditha Care

Cretan Association of SA makes post-pandemic comeback with sold out event

Argyro Vourdoumpa
-
0
Cretan Association of SA makes post-pandemic comeback with sold out event

More than 130 members of South Australia’s Cretan and the broader community gathered on Saturday evening, at the Cretan House in Alberton, Adelaide, to raise much needed funds for the Association and celebrate their homeland with music, dances and local delicacies prepared by dedicated volunteers.

Photo (L): SA Cretan Association President Pantelis Fridakis (R) and former President Stamatis Borakis

“Our ‘Taverna Night’ is more of a fundraiser. It’s been 1,5 years since our last event because of COVID and it’s really exciting to have a full house today,” Cretan Association of SA President, Pantelis Fridakis told The Greek Herald. 

Photo: The Greek Herald/Argyro Vourdoumpa

Fridakis said that apart from keeping the Cretan tradition alive, events like these are also an opportunity to better engage the association’s youth with their heritage. 

“We aspire to keep our tradition and our culture alive and share that with the next generation. The most important thing is to keep the door open for the youth,” he said.

Photo: The Greek Herald/Argyro Vourdoumpa

“The Association has been making an effort for many years, to keep Cretans in South Australia connected. The old generation is ageing and we know there might be people of Cretan heritage in the community who might now know about us,” said former President, Stamatis Borakis. 

Some of the Association’s founding members

“It’s important to remember who we are and where we come from,” he said.

The Association holds Cretan dance classes every Wednesday and their next event, the annual Battle of Crete dinner dance, will take place on June 5, 2021. 

Remembering the Battle of Levidi in Arcadia

The Greek Herald
-
0
Remembering the Battle of Levidi in Arcadia

By Ilektra Takuridu

The battle of Levidi (April 14, 1821) was a battle of the revolution of 1821. It took place in Levidi, Arcadia, and was the first victory of the Greeks against the Turks. 

Greek revolutionists managed to defeat the opposing army of 3,000 Turks with only 70 soldiers. It was a great victory that determined the successful start of the revolution and eventuating into Tripoli’s liberation. 

On the night of the 13th of April the Turkish army was full of confidence, fueled from their previous victories, 3,000 Turkish infantry and cavalry marched from Tripoli to Levidi to fight the Greeks. 

When the Greek guards noticed the army approaching, the revolutionaries sent out the alarm and asked for help from the neighboring camps of Alonistaina. The chieftan in charge of Levidi was Anagnostis Striftombolas, whos real name was Dimitris Striftombolas and was actually a teacher and lover of literature. But revolution was in his bloodline as he was a nephew of famous revolutionist Theodoros Kolokotronis.

The leader Striftombolas, strategically occupied positions above the village to prevent the Turks’ entry with help from Charalambis, and an armed force. There were only 70 Greeks in Levidi, hugely outnumbered but determined to fight until the end and defend their village.

The Greek soldiers fortified themselves in the houses of the village and patiently waited for the beginning of the battle. The Turks rushed in and attacked, expecting the 70 Greeks to give up and surrender without a fight. But to their surprise, they came face to face with strong resistance of the defenders.

The Greek forces shocked the attackers and killed dozens of Turks throughout the village, whilst the bloodiest battle was fought right outside the house Striftombolas was in.

The battle began to favour the Greeks, they stopped defending and began to attack. The Greeks rushed out of the houses and attacked the Turks, who panicked and began to flee.

At the same time the brave Greeks of Levidi were fighting, the call for reinforcements was answered, and soldiers began to arrive from the neighbouring Greek camps under the command Dimitrios Plapoutas, Elias Tsalafatinos, Nikolaos Petmezas, Stavros Dimitrakopoulos and Asimaki Skaltsa.

The reinforcements surrounded the Turks and forced them to abandon the battle, retreating all the way back to Tripoli, leaving many Turkish bodies behind. The battle in Levidi lasted only seven hours and ended with the Greek revolutionaries’ victorious.

The courage and determination of the 70 Greeks was the motivation for the liberation of Tripoli. It was a glorious victory, and made the Greek nation feel that freedom from Turkish occupation was a close reality. 

The Greeks’ victory in Levidi raised the morale of the fighters throughout Greece and gave them a new strength to continue the fight for freedom.

Dr Anthea Katelaris leads team that investigates airborne COVID spread

The Greek Herald
-
0
Dr Anthea Katelaris leads team that investigates airborne COVID spread

The team at Western Sydney Local Health District’s (WSLHD) Public Health Unit have found evidence that airborne transmission of COVID-19 can happen under the right conditions following an investigation into an outbreak at a western Sydney church.

The outbreak stemmed from several July 2020 church services where 12 people who attended the services in western Sydney were infected with COVID-19.

Dr Anthea Katelaris is a Public Health Doctor at the WSLHD Public Health Unit and the lead author of the research paper published in the Centers for Disease Control Emerging Infectious Disease journal this week.

“While the vast majority of COVID-19 transmission occurs from direct or close contact between people, this study supports previous studies which suggest that, occasionally, airborne transmission of COVID can occur under certain conditions,” Dr Katelaris told Channel 10.

The initial person infected was a choir singer who was asymptomatic – they were not showing any symptoms of COVID-19 when they sung at the church service. 

They were located in a choir loft, 3.5 metres above the congregation, which they entered before and left after the service. They did not touch objects or mix with the general congregation, making direct transmission unlikely.

This was backed up by video recordings of the service, which the team – along with doctors from The Westmead Institute for Medical Research and the University of Sydney – meticulously reviewed.

“The conditions that lend themselves to airborne spread of COVID seem to be in crowded indoor settings with poor ventilation, especially when combined with higher-risk activities like singing or shouting,” said Dr Katelaris.

“This is why we recommend physical distancing – especially during activities like singing – wearing a mask when people cannot physically distance, gathering outdoors where possible, and increasing natural or mechanical ventilation.”

Dr Katelaris thanked churchgoers for following recent health advice and adhering to restrictions when needed, as well as the western Sydney church and its congregation for their cooperation in the world-leading study.

*Source: The Pulse

Stephen Papagelou jailed over crash that killed Melbourne grandfather

The Greek Herald
-
0
Stephen Papagelou jailed over crash that killed Melbourne grandfather

A Mercedes Benz driver who killed a 73-year-old man after drinking shots and mixers has been sentenced to four years jail.

Stephen Papagelou, 29, killed Henry Ekselman on Melbourne’s Chapel Street in November 2018 while he was crossing the road.

On Monday, Papagelou was sentenced to four years jail with a non-parole period of two years.

Last month, the 29-year-old apologised to Ekselman’s loved ones at the Victorian County Court through his lawyer Peter Morrissey, but said he could not ask for their forgiveness.

“If I could turn back time and switch places with (Mr Ekselman) I would do it in a heartbeat,” Papagelou said in his statement.

Papagelou consumed three shots and three mixed drinks at the Prince Alfred Hotel in Richmond over two-and-a-half hours before he struck and killed Ekselman while travelling about 60km/h, 7News report.

Staff at the venue warned Papagelou and his friends they would be kicked out if they didn’t stop their “rowdy behaviour” about 90 minutes before the crash.

A friend of the 29-year-old then warned him against driving after seeing him quickly polish off a glass of wine.

Papagelou, who has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death, returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.075 after the crash, which threw Ekselman about 15m.

1...1,3941,3951,396...1,768Page 1,395 of 1,768

Stay connected:

Other

© 2024 The Greek Herald. All rights reserved.