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Andreas Υannopoulos launches ‘The Greeks are Back’ to attract foreign investment to Greece

The Greek Herald
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Andreas Υannopoulos launches ‘The Greeks are Back’ to attract foreign investment to Greece

By Ilias Karagiannis.

The recent economic crisis spread over the Greek economy like a shroud. A vice, which shook with fury the hopes of the Greeks, who abandoned the ship in the midst of the perfect storm, which led to an unprecedented in depth and breadth ten-year recessionary cycle.

Losses of 1/4 of gross domestic product and a double-digit unemployment rate were the root cause of the large wave of migration, which began to be recorded since 2010.

This wave intensified in 2012. The great “escape” took place, and it is estimated that more than 467,000 Greeks left their country, which offered little vestige of optimism.

With the pandemic following Greece as a persistent shadow and presenting new obstacles to economic growth and uncertainty, the foreign investment initiative, with the easy-to-understand name “The Greeks are back,” causes, if anything, a spontaneous satisfaction.

About 50 Greeks have coalesced to attract foreign investment to Greece. On October 21, the first conference was held in Athens with the participation of these senior executives working in more than 40 large companies, in 12 countries of the world.

The Greek Herald hastened to speak of this initiative with its mastermind, Andreas Υannopoulos, who gave flesh and bone to this important effort. He explains to us first what prompted him to take this initiative.

“Wherever you look, in any country in the world, you will find Greeks successful in various disciplines and activities. In particular, hundreds of Greeks excel in the business community, in senior positions of large multinational companies,” Mr. Yannopoulos says.

“Precisely this finding that, Greeks work and even in high-ranking positions in all major companies and in various lengths and widths of the globe, was the operative cause of the initiative the GREEKS ARE BACK, in September 2020.

“We will all agree, I think, that you do not find many countries with this priceless and unique intangible capital. When I was not living and working abroad, I personally had the opportunity, speaking with other Greeks in various companies, and found out that they had the deep desire, almost need I would say, to return value to their homeland.

“Therefore, we thought about looking for these Greeks around the world and inviting them to a high-level conference, during which they would discuss and propose how Greece can become ‘the investment place to be’.”

The date of the conference:

The first conference took place on October 21. The Minister of Development, Adonis Georgiadis and the Minister of Finance Christos Staikouras participated in its proceedings, as did Mr. Papathanasis, General Secretary of International Economic Relations and Extroversion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President of Enterprise Greece, Mr. Giannis Smyrlis, and the president of SEV, Mr. Dimitris Papalexopoulos.

“It was a most interesting Conference, and, all agree, that it “passed the test” with flying colours. Our goal was to approach the issue of the attractiveness of Greece as an investment destination, in a structured and effective way, since it was not an academic initiative. This was achieved both in plenary and working groups, in which critical areas of public policy were discussed, such as Green Investment, Tax Framework, Talent Attraction, Innovation/Research & Development, Digital Transition and Silver Economy.

“Each working group presented its proposals in the second part of the plenary session and these proposals will be reflected in a conscientious text under the title “Initiative for foreign investment in Greece”, which will be sent in the coming days to the government, the Greek Parliament, political parties, bodies, Media etc.”

The question of what pushes Greeks, who are in high-ranking positions abroad, to engage in an attempt to make Greece an attractive investment destination comes up spontaneously. Is it nostus?

“Why, I wonder, today, “the Greeks are coming back-the GREEKS ARE BACK”? Firstly, this is not a return, but something perhaps much more interesting and meaningful.

“These days, these fifty senior executives of large companies left their jobs and suffocating obligations, to come to Athens, to share their suggestions on how to make Greece an attractive / more attractive investment destination. And they did it in the most meaningful and professional way.

“Perhaps you would also notice the date of this inaugural conference of the GREEKS AREBACK: 21/10/21. We chose it deliberately, since it coincides with the celebration of 200 years of National Independence, wanting us, on our part, to mark this important anniversary accordingly.

“Because, in the end and, of course, keeping historical proportions, Greeks abroad were those who returned to Greece then to support the struggle for independence. Greece today gives another, different struggle, for development and prosperity, under extremely unfavorable conditions, but also with great potential and prospects. In this modern struggle, the Greeks abroad have much to offer and it would be a great waste and ableness not to use their knowledge and experience”.

Of course obstacles are present but, as Mr. Yannopoulos tells us, “the initiative discussed all the issues and several proposals were submitted by the conference participants. I think we all have to recognise that there have been significant reforms in recent years and the situation has improved considerably.

“Our intention is to make the GREEKS ARE BACK Initiative an annual “institution”. In a few days, we will announce details of the 2nd conference the GREEKS ARE BACK, which will take place in November 2022″.

Did an Australian executive participate in this interesting initiative?

“We didn’t have executives from Australia. We are pleased to consider the participation of Greek senior executives from Australia in the context of the relevance to the Working Groups. Those interested could look for us on social media,” concluded Mr. Yannopoulos.

The proposals of the initiative “Greeks are back” were reflected in a text entitled initiative for foreign investments in Greece, which was sent to the government, parties, the Greek Parliament, bodies and media, while it is available on the website www.greeksareback.gr.

Greek Australian mums rally together to raise over $20,000 for wildfire relief in Greece

Andriana Simos
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Greek Australian mums rally together to raise over $20,000 for wildfire relief in Greece

In a huge act of filotimo and kindness, Greek Australian mums have rallied together to raise $20,754 (12,786.54 euro) for the DESMOS Foundation in Greece to put towards wildfire relief.

The fundraising was made possible when Effie Moraitis and Tina Tzanopoulos from ‘Greek Mums and Bubs Melbourne,’ Rea Liapis from ‘The Hellenic Heart Australia‘ and Kristina Agaliotis from ‘Are You Even Greek?‘ saw wildfires ravage the Greek island of Evia in August this year, and decided they wanted to do something to help.

“Being away [from Greece], not being to go this year, being sort of stuck in Australia when you know there is so much happening that is beyond your control, we really just felt that as Greek mums in Australia, we had to do something,” Rea Liapis, founder of The Hellenic Heart Australia, tells The Greek Herald exclusively.

It started as a simple Facebook post in the ‘Greek Mums and Bubs Melbourne‘ group asking what could be done to help and quickly ‘snowballed in a good way’ into an online auction with around 160 products donated by small Greek businesses.

The women held a fundraising dinner previously to raise money for the Mati fires. Photo supplied.

“There were so many dinner vouchers from local Greek restaurants, we had a lot of Greek products, hampers, Greek frappe machines, things like that. So it was a massive range… and obviously we couldn’t have done it without all the businesses that donated,” Rea explains.

From there, the products were shipped off to their happy buyers and all the funds were collected and given to DESMOS in Greece.

Rea says she’s ‘pleased’ they donated the funds to DESMOS as the women ‘wanted the funds to go to the right place.’ Her foundation has also previously donated a container of clothes to ‘Χαμόγελο του Παιδιού’ in aid of the financial crisis in Greece in 2016.

“They do have a lot of people on the ground. They will be sending us information about where our donation goes… and we thought that was the best option,” Rea says.

Rea donated a container of clothes to ‘Χαμόγελο του Παιδιού’ in 2018.

“They’re very transparent in that they’ve told us 10 percent of the funds get kept for their own administrative expenses but beyond that, 90 percent goes to the people. So that’s where we were quite pleased.”

In a statement to The Greek Herald, DESMOS said they are currently focusing on emergency assistance, including equipment for three firefighting volunteer groups, heating appliances for families in northern Evia and equipment for six peripheral health clinics, among many other things.

“We feel privileged to have received the amazing support of people from all over the world. Thanks to the auction of Are you even Greek, Hellenic Heart AU and GMABS Melbourne, an amazing AUD 20,754 was raised!” DESMOS said.

“We are grateful for the trust and committed to creating the highest positive impact for the fire affected communities of Greece.”

It’s clear this initiative by these inspirational Greek Australian mums will go a long way towards Greece’s fire recovery efforts.

Angelo Gavrielatos says teacher vaccine rule will ‘add stress’ on the education system

The Greek Herald
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Angelo Gavrielatos says teacher vaccine rule will ‘add stress’ on the education system

NSW Teachers Federation President, Angelo Gavrielatos, fears teacher shortages will grow in Australia as hundreds of staff are sacked or forced to take leave after refusing to accept mandated COVID-19 vaccines.

“Non-competitive salaries, an ageing teaching service and ever-growing expectations on teachers and principals are all making it a less attractive profession for young, high-achieving students,” Mr Gavrielatos told The Australian.

“There is no doubt [unvaccinated teachers leaving their job] will add to the stress experienced by the system.”

READ MORE: Reopening NSW schools early ‘won’t be without risk,’ Angelo Gavrielatos says.

Angelo Gavrielatos says the teacher vaccine rule will ‘add stress’ on the education system.

Teachers in NSW were ­required to have received both doses of the vaccine by Monday, while those in Victoria and the ACT must be fully vaccinated by Nov­ember 29.

As of Tuesday, 98 percent of NSW government school teachers had received both doses of the vaccine, leaving the vaccination status of 2700 staff members in doubt.

READ MORE: ‘Very nervous about it’: Greek parents react to NSW Government’s return to school plan.

Source: The Australian.

Greek PM defends migration policy in heated exchange with journalist

The Greek Herald
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Greek PM defends migration policy in heated exchange with journalist

Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has angrily defended his government’s immigration policy in a heated exchange with a Dutch journalist who accused him of lying over the alleged turning away of asylum seekers in the Aegean.

During a joint press conference with his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, late on Tuesday, Mitsotakis was accused of “narcissistic abuse” with his denials that Greek authorities are refusing asylum seekers entry at its land and sea borders.

“There has been overwhelming evidence [about pushback], and you keep denying and lying. This is narcissistic abuse,” reporter, Ingeborg Beugel, said during question time.

“Why aren’t you being honest? Why don’t you just say, ‘Brussels left us alone, we waited for six years and nobody did anything to relocate refugees and, yes, I am now doing harsh, brutal pushbacks’?”

Some commentators criticised her tone as that of an activist not a journalist, while others noted that for the first time Mitsotakis had to face “real” questions.

Mitsotakis held a joint press conference with his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, on Tuesday.

Clearly irate, Mitsotakis responded: “I understand that in the Netherlands you have a culture of asking direct questions to politicians, which I very much respect. What I will not accept is that in this office you will insult me or the Greek people with accusations and expressions that are not supported by material facts.”

Mitsotakis argued that the country deserved praise for saving “hundreds, if not thousands” of people at sea during the recent border crisis.

When Beugel attempted to interrupt him to say their living conditions were “appalling,” Mitsotakis bristled that she clearly hadn’t been to the new and “impeccable” EU-funded facility on Samos – a facility that aid groups have likened to a prison.

“Rather than putting the blame on Greece, you should put the blame on those who have been instrumentalising migration systematically, pushing people in [a] desperate situation from a safe country, because I need to remind you that people in Turkey are not in danger,” he said.

The Dutch PM defended his Greek counterpart’s response, saying Turkey is a safe country and emphasised that Greece is only trying to protect the EU external border.

Source: euroactiv.com.

Christos Tsiolkas wins the $60,000 Melbourne Prize for Literature 2021

Andriana Simos
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Christos Tsiolkas wins the $60,000 Melbourne Prize for Literature 2021

Christos Tsiolkas has been crowned the winner of the $60,000 Melbourne Prize for Literature 2021 for his body of work, which has made an outstanding contribution to Australian literature and to cultural and intellectual life.

Tsiolkas has written a number of novels, plays and screenplays, including Dead Europe, The Slap, Barracuda, Damascus, and a short-story collection, Merciless Gods. Just last week, he also released his latest novel, 7½.

READ MORE: Christos Tsiolkas named finalist of Melbourne Prize for Literature.

Christos Tsiolkas at the ceremony. Photo: SMH.

At the online awards ceremony on Wednesday night, Tsiolkas paid tribute to his parents, saying his writing had been built on their sacrifices and struggles after they migrated from Greece to Melbourne.

The other writers shortlisted for the prize were poets PiO and Jodie Albiston, and children’s writer, poet and memoirist Maxine Beneba Clarke.

In a statement, Victoria’s Minister for Creative Industries, Danny Pearson MP congratulated the winners and finalists of the Prize and encouraged people to include the novels in their “summer reading list.”

READ MORE: Christos Tsiolkas behind new opera on murder of George Duncan.

“Thank you to the Melbourne Prize Trust for once again shining a light on our brightest creative minds and continuing to back creative careers – this support is more important than ever,” Minister Pearson said.

On the night, Evelyn Araluen was also named winner of the inaugural $20,000 Professional Development Award 2021 and Eloise Grills won the $15,000 Writer’s Prize 2021.

Greece partners with Microsoft to digitally preserve ancient Olympia

The Greek Herald
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Greece partners with Microsoft to digitally preserve ancient Olympia

Greece’s Ministry of Culture and Sport and Microsoft have announced the ‘Ancient Olympia: Common Grounds‘ initiative, a new collaboration to digitally preserve and restore ancient Olympia.

The program at ancient Olympia harnesses augmented reality technology that designers say has the potential to transform education, business and entertainment.

The culture ministry helped Microsoft map and build virtual representations at Olympia, the original site of the Olympic Games.

The image of an ancient temple is reflected on a mixed-reality HoloLens headset worn by museum technician Kostas Baskakis as a projection of Ancient Olympia is seen in the background at the Olympic Museum in Athens. Photo: AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis.

“It’s a milestone… that helped us bring technology and culture and history together so we can preserve it,” Microsoft President, Brad Smith, said in a video message at the launch event.

Users can tour the site remotely or in person with an online presentation and an augmented-like mobile app at Olympia, seeing a virtual re-creation of temples and competition areas as they walk through the ruins.

At the Olympic Museum in Athens, they can use Microsoft’s mixed-reality HoloLens headsets that overlay visual information on top of what the viewer sees.

“[It is] a unique collaboration with Microsoft that is harnessing the power of tech and opening up a completely new way of experiencing what our cultural heritage is all about. It’s incredible,” Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said on Twitter after the launch.

Microsoft started the project 18 months ago, scouring Olympia with drones and sensors, after reaching an agreement with the Greek government to build three data centers in greater Athens in an investment to reach up to $1 billion.

Source: AP News.

Greek Australians in list with the country’s top researchers

John Voutos
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Greek Australians in list with the country’s top researchers

A handful of Greek Australians have made The Australian’s 2021 research magazine’s list of the top 250 researchers this year. 

Bond University director of the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare and clinical epidemiologist Paul Glasziou is among them. 

Glasziou collaborated on one of the first reviews of the critical question of how many people who contracted Covid-19 were asymptomatic. 

The 2020 paper was picked up by the World Health Organisation. 

He also co-wrote a highly cited paper with colleague Iain Chalmers in 2019. 

“We calculated that about 85 percent of research goes to waste because of nonpublication, poor reporting, or avoidable serious flaws in the design of the research,” Glasziou tells the Australian.

Pharmacology and pharmacy researcher Arthur Christopoulos was recognised in the health and medical sciences category. 

Professor Christopoulos is a leading figure in pharmacology and is Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University. 

“Ever since I was in high school I wanted to be a pharmacist. There is a rich history here of primary health care that always drew me to the profession,” he said in a Monash article. 

As the son of Greek migrants, Christopoulos is highly rewarded for his study of the G protein-coupled receptors, the largest class of protein targets for medicinal agents. 

“I studied hard and I found that I loved it. What I was drawn towards in particular was pharmacology; the science of how drugs work,” he said.

UNSW’s Nicole Kessissoglou was recognised in the acoustics and sound category. 

Her research interests include structural vibration and transmission, fluid-structure interaction, and active noise and vibration control. 

She is the author of several journal articles, books, and papers. 

Source: The Australian

Australia won’t buy nuclear submarines from US, UK: Australian Ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos

The Greek Herald
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Australia won’t buy nuclear submarines from US, UK: Australian Ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos

Australian ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos has ruled out buying nuclear submarines from the US or UK. 

He suggested the vast bulk of the new fleet promised under the AUKUS security pact would be built in South Australia. 

“This is not about cannibalising American and British submarine fleets or taking the next one that comes off the assembly line or anything like that,” he said, speaking as part of an online panel at the Hudson Institute on Tuesday.

“This is about developing a capability, which augments what is available to allies and partners in the region.”

Sinodinos said the government hoped to sort out the details of construction in sooner than 18 months. 

“We‘re hoping to do it as quickly as possible and not have to use the full 18 months,” he said, referencing the 18 month period in the deal. 

“We‘ve got people coming into the embassy, help with this work here in Washington, the White House, the Pentagon is staffing up as well.”

“The UK is doing the same thing.”

“So watch this space.”

Twelve new submarines were being constructed in Adelaide by French shipbuilder Naval Group, but that project is now likely to be scrapped (Commonwealth of Australia: Navy Imagery Unit)

Submarine workers in South Australia will be reassured and the capability of the Australian submarine industry and workforce will be under the microscope.

The Ambassador said the submarines would enable Australia to “project power”, but shouldn’t be seen as a threat to China.

“We want to move on. We‘re happy to have a dialogue, a dialogue without preconditions. And we want to just normalise relations again. This is not about us seeking to regime change or anything like that,” Sinodinos said.

Tensions between the two countries have deteriorated in recent years. We’re currently in the middle of a trade dispute with Beijing. 

“We want to be able to … project our power further up rather than taking an approach that all our defence has to be a defence of the mainland,” Mr Sinodinos said, pointing out defence spending was increasing towards 2.5 per cent of GDP.

“We‘re doing that because we want to be more proactive in shaping the environment in our region … the challenge for us in the region today is not to sit back and be the passive recipient of whatever may be happening, but seeking to shape events.”

Source: The Australian

Pioneer Peter Kazacos making cryptocurrency safer with quantum technology

John Voutos
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Pioneer Peter Kazacos making cryptocurrency safer with quantum technology

KAZ founder Peter Kazacos is using quantum security technology to upgrade the cryptography of Bitcoin. 

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin rely on cryptography to ensure security and trust and prevent breaches. 

Kazacos says advances in technology present new risks for the cryptography of this new currency. 

“…particularly with the advent of quantum computing, which could break current implementations of cryptography,” he said. 

KAZ’s solution “uses quantum technology to upgrade the cryptography of existing protocols like Bitcoin and Ethereum,” Kazacos says.

KAZ proposes using quantum technology to protect against the threat of quantum computers.

“We are solving this [threat] by using real quantum phenomena, quantum tunneling of electrons which are totally unpredictable and entirely random to produce quantum cryptographic keys,” he said.

“If something is truly random it follows that it cannot be reverse-engineered and is theoretically impossible to breach.”

Cue the first crypto to use quantum tech: Quantum Assets Token. 

“Quantum Assets on the Binance Smart Chain are the first crypto to adopt KAZ’s quantum technology and are using it to launch Quantum Bitcoin in a bid to ensure the cryptography of Bitcoin remains safe and secure.” 

Quantum Digital Assets Limited is the corporation behind the recent launch of the Quantum Assets token on the Binance Smart Chain. 

Quantum Assets is levering KAZ’s core platform quantum technology to launch Quantum BTC and Quantum ETH each on their own Quantum Mainnets, with more protocols to follow in the future. 

“We are proud to be leveraging and deploying KAZ’s quantum technology security solution to bring the world Quantum Bitcoin,” a Quantum Assets spokesperson said. 

Source: PR Wire 

‘Keeping the traditions alive’: SA winemaker set to make splash in national market

Argyro Vourdoumpa
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‘Keeping the traditions alive’: SA winemaker set to make splash in national market

South Australia’s Riverland produces 60 per cent of Australia’s wine, by volume, and many Greek families who migrated to the region from the 1950s to the 1970s have contributed to its recognition as the engine room of the country’s wine industry. 

The Koutouzis family is one of them.

“My parents, Theodora and George, immigrated to Australia from the Peloponnese in the 1960s and 70s and they moved to the Riverland to work in factories and pick fruit,” John Koutouzis, the heart and soul of the family’s handcrafted boutique wine brand, Sixty Eight Roses, tells The Greek Herald.

From the mid 1900s many Greek arrivals in South Australia were employed on two-year contracts with the Australian government. 

They worked in ship building in Whyalla, fishing in Port Lincoln and as fruit pickers and growers in the citrus, stone and dried fruit industries of Renmark and Berri. Others migrated to Port Pirie and joined the substantial Greek community already there. 

In 1961 there were 9,528 Greek South Australians. By 1966 there were 14,660.

“My parents met each other in the factories in Berri in the early 1970s. They got married, had their first child and together they opened a Greek Deli. Shortly after, they sold the Deli and in the mid 70s, they bought the family farm at Chilton Road in Berri,” John said. 

Theodora and George Koutouzis used to cut apricots by hand and then dry them in the sun

“We [John and his three siblings] grew up in a 20-acre farm full of different varieties of wine grapes, table grapes, dried apricots and peaches. It was a beautiful country lifestyle away from the big smoke among many other migrants and with an annual multicultural festival.”

The Koutouzis family business was and remains one of the biggest distributors and suppliers for major wineries and winemakers in the area.

Ditching the corporate life for winemaking

In the 2000’s after two significant droughts a global over supply of wine grape and the shortage of water saw the demise of Riverland’s wine industry boom.

It was then that the region’s multicultural community started to lose its vibrancy and colour. 

“After a while the community got smaller. The children of the people who migrated to the Riverland went to university and moved to big cities.”

In 2016 there were only 1,278 people of Greek descent living in the Murraylands and Riverland region.

The Koutouzis family having a traditional souvla on their farm for Easter, 1980s

John Koutouzis finished high school and then went to University of South Australia where he completed a commercial law degree. 

“Then I went to the banking sector and corporate life in Adelaide and then to Melbourne for four years. But this lifestyle didn’t satisfy me at all,” he said.

“From a country boy, living in a farm to wearing a suit and being restricted to a 9-5 job wasn’t for me. So, in 2010 I left Melbourne and came back to the Riverland where I started working on the farms again.” 

@sixtyeightroseswines

#fyp #viral #foryou #wine #australia

♬ Tequila – The Hitters

I asked John if he ever looked back.

“It is the best decision I’ve made. On the farm I can be myself, work my own hours and have that freedom, fresh air and space.”

When Sixty Eight Roses Wines was born 

The Riverland has been for some years now redefining itself as an inland cluster of viable, smart vineyards and wineries and has proven that resilience and perseverance is a key to success.

So has John, who left behind a busy lifestyle to go back to his roots and pursue his passion for organic, handmade wine. 

“Growing up on the vineyard we grew a lot of red varieties, especially shiraz and grenache and we’d make wine every year. When I came back from Melbourne, I thought to make a ton. It became popular, I made some more and now I’m slowly branching to more varieties,” he said. 

And this is how his brand, Sixty Eight Roses came about.

“We launched our product in February 2020 and in March the pandemic happened. We had to focus on domestic South Australian sales and branch our product locally because the big states were in lockdown. It was super stressful but this experience taught me how to be resourceful and resilient.”

South Australia has a new generation of winemakers who want to breathe new life into one of Australia’s oldest wine regions and John Koutouzis’ brand is certainly one to look out for. 

“As a nano-producer I make roughly 2-3 tonnes per variety and I want to keep it quality high. I want it to be personal, handmade and something unique,” he said.

@sixtyeightroseswines

#wine #winery #perth #melbounre #sydney

♬ original sound – SIXTY EIGHT ROSES

I asked him how he came up with the name of the brand.

“Sixty-eight is our farm allotment number,” he said. 

“Our family home where we were born, grew up and lived is surrounded by so many varieties of roses that grow on our front yard. This is where I come home after a hard day’s work and I can switch off, I can relax and come up with ideas.”

For John and all the Greek Australian winemakers and producers who keep the family traditions going and create small brands with big impact I think we should raise a glass. 

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