Elfa has been nominated for her exemplary leadership and commitment to the social sector, bringing vision into action as a natural change agent and collaborator, advocating for Western Sydney communities and their needs.
Elfa has been involved in the community sector for the past 30 years and has an extensive background in developing services for linguistically disadvantaged communities, with a focus on engaging community and stakeholder participation.
Elfa (centre) was awarded 2017 Blacktown Woman of the Year.
Elfa was awarded 2017 Blacktown Woman of the Year for supporting migrant and refugee women establishing their businesses and was one of the 2020 UNSW Alumni finalists for Social Impact and Service. She is a Director of Settlement Services International and a Director of the NSW Council of Social Services.
The Pro Bono Australia’s 2022 Impact 25 awards began in 2014 and each year they aim to recognise innovators, collaborators and change-makers across the social sector who are making a positive impact in the community.
Show your support for SydWest Multicultural Services and cast your vote for Elfa here.
There were two weeks of magic at the Australian Open this year with many highlights from our favourite sport stars.
Rafael Nadal made history in the men’s final, claiming a record 21st major after fighting back from two sets to love down to defeat Daniil Medvedev.
Elsewhere, Ash Barty became the first local player to claim the Australian Open women’s singles championship in 44 years after defeating American Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).
Nadal celebrates with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. Photo: Getty / Clive Brunskill.
But what about the top Greek moments from the tournament? The Greek Herald takes a look back at its top five.
1. The Special Ks become Australian Open doubles champions:
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis became grand slam champions on Saturday after claiming the Australian Open doubles title by beating fellow Aussies Matt Ebden and Max Purcell.
The best mates brought their typical spark to proceedings in front of a Rod Laver Arena crowd that was clearly on their side.
The Special K show is not for everybody, but plenty of people love it. Photo: AAP / Dave Hunt.
They weren’t broken a single time while one break of Ebden’s serve in each set was enough to win them the title, 7-5 6-4.
It means Kyrgios and Kokkinakis have both a junior doubles Slam (Wimbledon) and senior doubles Slam (Australian Open) on their resume.
The Special Ks now have their sights set on more grand slam and ATP Finals glory.
Photo: Facebook.
To celebrate their win Kokkinakis was spotted at Philhellene Provincial Greek Cuisine restaurant in Melbourne with his family, whilst Kyrgios was seen at Mr Wong in Sydney with his girlfriend.
2. Stefanos Tsitsipas makes his second Australian Open semi-final:
Stefanos Tsitsipas made it into his second semi-final at the Australian Open and played against the Russian Daniil Medvedev.
Ultimately, Tsitsipas lost the match 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 but not before he made the local Greek community proud with his tennis skills and determination.
Tsitsipas hits out against Medvedev. Photo: Getty Images.
The match itself wasn’t without controversy as well, with Medvedev fined just over $17,000 following his outburst at the chair umpire. He accused Tsitsipas of receiving illegal coaching from his father in the stands.
While Medvedev’s blow-up was confronting to watch, it seemed to do the trick as the umpires proceeded to launch a crackdown on the Tsitsipas team.
MEDVEDEV BLOWS UP! 😡😡
The Russian has sensationally accused Tsitsipas of being coached and has GIVEN IT to the umpire over it too! 🤯🤯#AusOpen – live on Channel 9, 9Now and Stan Sport. pic.twitter.com/8Xa3qOjvnf
Fellow umpire, Eva Asderaki-Moore, who can speak Greek, was placed in a strategic position in the tunnel directly below Tsitsipas’ box in a bid to detect any coaching going on.
The ‘sting operation’ paid off and Tsitsipas was hit with a code violation, as well as a fine worth around $7,000.
Despite this, it was still an enjoyable tournament for Tsitsipas in Australia. His iconic Tsitsipas souvlaki at Stalactites Restaurant in Melbourne was again for sale with all proceeds going towards Beyond Blue Australia.
This year, Tsitsipas is also matching the amount made in sales to double the donation.
3. Michaela Laki books her first-ever Grand Slam quarter-final:
Michaela Laki had a fantastic week at the Australian Open Juniors tournament, qualifying for the first time in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament.
This came after the 16-year-old achieved victory against the Czech Dominika Salkova, with 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (8).
Michaela Laki (left) and Dimitra Pavlou.
Laki, who is world No.11 in the juniors world rankings, won the match after 2 hours and 27 minutes of fighting in Court 6 of Melbourne Park.
Laki faced the American Liv Hovde, No. 13 on the board and No. 20 in the world junior ranking, in the quarter-finals but was defeated in straight sets.
4. Jaimee Fourlis reaches the Australian Open mixed doubles final:
Local wildcards, Jaimee Fourlis and Jason Kubler, finished as runners-up in the Australian Open mixed doubles tournament following a straight-sets defeat to Kristina Mladenovic and Ivan Dodig in the final.
Jaimee Fourlis (right) and Jason Kubler reached the final as wildcards. Photo: Getty Images / Darrian Traynor.
France’s Mladenovic and Croatian Dodig swept to a 6-3, 6-4 victory in 1 hour and 17 minutes.
Fourlis and Kubler were bidding the become the first all-Australian duo to win the mixed doubles championship since 2013.
5. Maria Sakkari almost reaches the Australian Open quarter-final:
Fifth-seed Maria Sakkari crashed out of the Australian Open in the fourth round after losing in straight sets, 6-7 (0-7), 3-6 to Jessica Pegula of the United States.
Sakkari was trying to reach her first Australian Open Quarterfinal but could not overcome Pegula, losing to her for the first time in their three encounters.
Despite this, Sakkari still made the local Greek community proud and she vowed to come back stronger next year.
“It feels like I’m at home back here. We all know that Melbourne has a very large Greek community and I’m very pleased and grateful to have them behind me,” she said in a post-match interview.
The UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Thessaloniki are now available to view on the Google Arts & Culture platform.
“Thessaloniki: An Open Museum of Early Christian and Byzantine Art” includes exquisite photographs, videos and interactive street view features of the city’s ancient and Byzantine monuments, collectively inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 1988.
Some of the ancient sites included on the platform are: the Rotunda, the Acheiropoietos, Panagia Halkeon, the Vlatadon Monastery, the White Tower and the Byzantine baths, among many others.
The Rotunda, with its unique interior mosaics, is one of the most important monuments of the Late Roman world. Photo: Greek Ministry of Culture.
The addition of Thessaloniki’s famous sites and monuments to the multilingual platform, presented in collaboration with the Thessaloniki Tourism Organization, is part of Google’s ongoing promotion of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The hugely successful Google Arts & Culture platform, which launched in 2011, uses high-resolution images and a range of interactive features to enable virtual visitors to explore artworks, sites and galleries at a number of museums and partner institutions worldwide.
Prominent British historian, Mark Mazower, attended a ceremony awarding him Greek citizenship on Friday, during a visit to Athens to promote his new book.
The Ira D. Wallach Professor of History at Columbia University in New York City was honoured for “the promotion of Greece, its long history and its culture to the international general public.”
The decision was announced last September, but Mazower chose to attend the ceremony in Athens, where the Greek edition of his new book “The Greek Revolution: 1821 and the Making of Modern Europe” was launched at an event at the War Museum.
In a videotaped address played at the event, Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said Mazower’s new book is “another sample of his scientific zeal and genuine love of his second country,” and will contribute to Greek historiography.
“The book leaves no space for comforting stereotypes or myths, and looks at the role of foreign powers in Greece as well as their contributions to the building of the modern state,” Mitsotakis said.
After the ceremony, Mazower toured an exhibition of works by naif painter Theophilos at the Theocharakis Foundation.
Government officials have said on Sunday that the decision by the main opposition leftist Syriza party to table a motion of no confidence was a desperate move in the face of polls, Ekathimerini reports.
Citizen Protection Minister, Takis Theodorikakos, the first minister to speak during the first day of a three-day debate on the censure motion, said Syriza’s proposal is also an attempt to paper over its internal disagreements.
He also accused the opposition of having nothing negative to say about the operators of Attiki Odos, the motorway around Athens, who failed to keep the motorway open and stranded over 2,000 motorists during a heavy snowstorm last Monday.
Citizen Protection Minister, Takis Theodorikakos.
Theodorikakos admitted that the government and the state agencies failed to adequately respond to the uncommon storm, although they had ample warning.
“We do not hide problems, we do not hide mistakes and weaknesses,” he said.
Mitsotakis attended Theodorikakos’ speech on Friday afternoon but did not intervene in the debate. On Sunday however, he had his say along with opposition leader, and his predecessor as Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras.
Tsipras took the floor first and asked the Greek government to give an explanation for the problems caused by the Elpis snowstorm.
Δεν αρκεί μία συγνώμη. Χρωστάτε 23.275 συγνώμες, σε κάθε οικογένεια που έχασε τους ανθρώπους της άδικα στην πανδημία, επειδή αποφασίσατε να μην ενισχύσετε το ΕΣΥ. Ενώ η μελέτη Τσιόδρα – Λύτρα σάς έλεγε ότι εάν ενισχύατε το ΕΣΥ, οι μισοί εξ αυτών σήμερα θα είχαν σωθεί.#Βουλη
“It was not only Attiki Odos that was closed. Other roads were closed. Will you tell us where you were wrong? Will you ever take any responsibility?” Tsipras asked, before accusing Mitsotakis of giving a “sham apology.”
In response, Mitsotakis pointed out that he forced the motorway operator to pay each stranded motorist €2,000 and stressed that even if the “apology” of the government is a sham, it is better than “no apology of SYRIZA for the 120 dead in Mati.”
“You never apologized for either Mati or Mandra,” Mitsotakis responded.
About 220 of the Parliament’s 300 MPs spoke during the debate, which concluded at 8 pm on Sunday with a roll-call vote.
Ekathimerini reports that lawmakers voted 156-142 against the motion after the acrimonious debate. The result was expected, as the ruling center-right New Democracy holds 157 seats in the 300-member Parliament.
Ahead of a roundtable set to be held in early May at the NSW Parliament, President of The Democracy & Culture Foundation, Achilles Tsaltas met on Thursday with state officials to discuss ways and policies that will further promote citizen engagement in the political process.
At the luncheon hosted by the Speaker of the NSW Legislative Assembly Jonathan O’Dea and the President of the Legislative Council Matthew Mason Cox were also Executive Director of Commonwealth Bank and President of the Kytherian Association of Australia Emmanuel Alfieris, Founder of newDemocracy Luca Belgiorno-Nettis AM as well as Executive Director of Business Sydney and Deputy Chair of the UNSW Hellenic Foundation Paul Nicolaou.
Emmanuel Alfieris Executive Director of Commonwealth Bank & President of the Kytherian Association of Australia, Luca Belgiorno-Nettis AM Founder of newDeomcracy, Achilles Tsaltas President of Athens Democracy Forum and Paul Nicolaou Executive Director of Business Sydney and Deputy Chair of the UNSW Hellenic Foundation
“I’m glad one of the five roundtables will be in Sydney. The other four are in Seoul, Tel Aviv, Berlin and New York,” Australian born Achilles Tsaltas told The Greek Herald.
“We will discuss the power of the people and what we mean by this is how deliberative or participatory democracy through citizen assemblies, panels and citizen engagement can become integrated in the political fabric of our society.”
“Twenty experts will give us their views on policy recommendations and various initiatives on citizen engagement.
“At the same time, we’ll have 30 randomly selected citizens that will also participate in the roundtable and after its conclusion they will stress test what the experts have said so that their recommendations have a more bottom-up approach rather than a top-down approach.
“It goes to the core of what we do. We need to listen to the citizens.”
For 9 years, we’ve sought to bring together some of the world’s top thinkers and their ideas to solve the unprecedented challenges we face today.
In September 2022, Mr Tsaltas will take the outcomes to the 10thAthens Democracy Forum, an international conference founded in 2019 by the Democracy and Culture Foundation which explores the evolving state of democracy.
“We’ve been through two years of a health pandemic but there are many other pandemics that the world is facing,” Mr Tsaltas said.
“Like the pandemic of inequality, technological change, migration, climate. These are forces that are changing our world so we need to fix democracy or help it evolve. If citizens become a bit more engaged in the political process, then our governance can only benefit from it.”
‘We need to hear the voices of youth’
Asked about the role of youth political participation and decision-making Mr Tsaltas referred to the Foundation’s recently launched ‘Teens for Democracy’ initiative and said that “we need to hear the voices of youth in order to bridge the intergenerational gap that exists in our world.”
“A lot of the problems that our world is facing, concerns the younger generations and will impact the younger generations in a more profound way. We need their point of view but also, we need their freshness of thinking because we’ve gotten to where we are today with the current systems.
“I think we need some fresh thinking that is free of institutional constraints.”
On Friday Mr Tsaltas also met with the Consul General of Greece in Sydney and recently with Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andreas Katsaniotis.
“Diaspora Greeks have an important role to play in the evolution of democracy and Greece seems to be more open to their input,” he said.
Sydney’s Greek community continues to fight the proposed taxi licence plate reforms which have been recently announced by the New South Wales government.
As reported by The Greek Herald, Transport for NSW held a number of webinars with taxi licence owners in September last year where they announced the new reforms. These included, but were not limited to, removing the limit on the number of taxi licences and removing restrictions on areas where taxis can operate.
At the time, Transport for NSW said taxi licence owners could potentially be compensated for these reforms by being given $50,000 for each licence, but it will be capped at two licences. Anything over that will not be compensated, amounting in huge losses for many Greeks who initially paid around $400,000 for a licence.
Sydney’s Greek community continues to fight the proposed taxi licence plate reforms.
The CEO of the Council, Martin Rogers, tells The Greek Herald they are currently in the process of reaching out to all Ministers of Parliament “to sign the pledge to show that potentially there should be bi-partisan support to get this fixed.”
So far a number of politicians from different parties have put their name to the pledge including, but not limited to, the NSW Shadow Minister for Small Business, Property and Multiculturalism, Steve Kamper; the Liberal Member for Castle Hill, Ray Williams; the Independent Member for Kiama, Gareth Ward; and Robert Borsak and Mark Banasiak from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party.
Steve Kamper MP has signed the pledge. Photo supplied.
Mr Kamper, who has been campaigning for proper compensation for the taxi industry for years, tells The Greek Herald he decided to sign the pledge because ‘enough is enough.’
“We’re seeking cross-party support to send a message. Taxi plate owners have been waiting for nearly six years now to be compensated for the damage that was incurred to them. Enough is enough. It’s time now for the NSW Government to sort this out,” Mr Kamper says.
Another supporter of the pledge initiative, Kerry Koliadis, couldn’t agree more.
Mr Koliadis has not only worked closely with the taxi industry to pressure the government about the proposed reforms, but he has also been personally impacted as he owns three taxi licences.
He tells The Greek Herald the pledge is an ‘excellent idea’ and he encourages everyone in the Greek community to support it.
Kerry Koliadis (left) and Rockdale MP Steve Kamper. File Photo: John Veage.
“I believe that by asking all members of Parliament to sign this Taxi Industry Pledge, will be an excellent idea for us because in the future, the government is planning to put legislation through Parliament and they will try give us the minimum compensation and take back our licences,” Mr Koliadis says.
“[But] I think we will be successful eventually to make sure that all of us receive a fair compensation for our licences.”
For now though, the latest from NSW Government is that they have decided to drop the two licences cap which was announced as part of the reforms, according to Mr Rogers.
“I think what’s important here is giving that strong feedback to government… so if you haven’t seen your local MP and asked them to sign the pledge, please do so.”
Einstein had a quote I’ve long admired. He mentioned that “the most important decision every human being on the planet must make is whether we believe we live in a hostile of friendly universe.” It’s a wild notion to consider because most of us, actually a very high percentage would answer we live in both – hostile and friendly moments at different times of our journey.
However what Einstein was actually postulating by that statement was that our life experiences are largely attributed to what we spend the most time thinking about. It’s pretty crazy because if you think about the time we spend entertaining worst case scenarios, being scared of a virus, not feeling worthy, being offended by others; the energy – as it were, would be creating physical experiences that match the sentiment and vibration within those chosen Imaginative scenarios.
Science is also now providing evidence that our habitual thoughts set up expectations in the subconscious mind which we then experience in reality. It may be little wonder why we continue to have mixed experiences that stem from hostility and friendliness if we keep fertilising both camps.
There’s a few things we need to consider based on Einstein’s advice if we want to have better and happier experiences. If negative thoughts set up negative circumstances, can the opposite be also true? The answer is yes!
So in an effort to keep our faith in a better tomorrow buoyant, I have outlined 10 of my personal truths focused on gratitude and a deep sense of living a life aligned with love in all its forms. Some of the below you may resonate with and others may seem foreign.
Barry Nicolaou’s 10 truths affirmations for living a happy life:
I fully accept myself and know I am worthy of allowing and expecting great things to come into my life
Goodness is already within me and I add value to others’ lives through kindness and gratitude
I trust that I am exactly where I need to be on my life journey and I’m learning new truths every day that take me forward
I do not seek perfection but progress, and see my mistakes as a sign of exploration and growth
The only person I compare myself with is the person I was yesterday –
I have unlimited creativity and the ability to create from a meaningful space
I am proud of my life and the experiences I have had to date with life
I am working and dedicated to knowing where my limitations are and viewing failure, not as the enemy but as a teacher to start more intelligently
I am becoming more courageous and fearless in the pursuit of my passion
Through believing in better, I encourage others to do the same, not through what I say, but through my actions and beliefs.
One little tip you can begin practising is to have ‘rules of engagement’ when it comes to conversations with friends and family. One of our tips is zero Covid talk. See if you can do it and start to get deep about our passions, businesses, families, relationships and the beauty that already exists in the world that is going largely unnoticed because our attention is focused elsewhere.
I hope you enjoy the above list as much as I enjoy practising these affirmations.
NRLW star, Jessica Sergis, has made some big changes on and off the field as she prepares for one of the busiest years ever for women’s rugby league.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Sergis has opened up about juggling full-time work and playing for the Roosters this year.
At the beginning of 2021, Sergis made the decision to leave her job as a childcare worker in Wollongong and become a teacher’s aide in Sydney to better suit her lifestyle.
Jessica Sergis will play for the Roosters this year.
“A big reason for me to move back to Sydney was to be in a job that I love and work better hours that suit me,” Sergis told the newspaper.
“It’s a bit of a selfish move but if you want to move forward, you’ve got to sacrifice some things.”
Now, she’s focused on the delayed 2021 NRLW season, which kicks off on February 27. The two-month competition will roll straight into the state-wide women’s competitions, followed by a State of Origin clash before a second NRLW season to be played later in the year.
Picture this; you’re lounging in an enchanting courtyard surrounded by skyscrapers, framed dramatically by one of Melbourne’s most iconic buildings in the centre of the city…
The Hellenic Museum’s annual Summer Cinema program returns in 2022 as Hellenic Arts Fest. HAF is a unique Melbourne summer experience, with four multi-disciplinary arts events presented in the stunning grounds of the Hellenic Museum.
Across two weekends in February, the Museum will showcase the best of contemporary and classic Greek cinema, storytelling and the culinary arts in our private, leafy garden.
The Hellenic Museum.
The festival will kick off with two classic films open air, a tradition that has been popular in Greece for over 100 years. Cinemagoers can choose between the romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding or the Greek-language musical Mermaids & Rascals (Γοργόνες και Μάγκες). Mouth-watering Greek street food and pagotó (Greek ice cream) will be available before and during the screening, and films will be screened at sunset.
Greek ice cream.The open air cinema.
Next, the Museum have partnered with the mixologists from Fable Melbourne, a new Mediterranean rooftop bar atop Lonsdale’s Greek Community Building to present a cocktail masterclass. Storytelling from the Mediterranean through tantalising cocktails and thoughtful share plates will be the theme of the afternoon.
Finally, an opulent Mythical Feast will allow you to experience Greek myths just like the ancients did. Guests will enjoy a luscious shared feast while an actor retells the myth of the huntress Atalanta. Atalanta’s story will be brought to life through this theatrical gastronomic experience amongst the greenery of the Museum courtyard.
Housed in the former Royal Mint Building, the Hellenic Museum combines Victorian heritage with ancient Greece for a contemporary audience. The Arts Fest will return each summer as the Hellenic Museum continues to create inspiring, immersive events in which old and new Hellenism collide.
