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Georgia Kehagias announced South Australia’s Student Citizen of the Year

Argyro Vourdoumpa
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Georgia Kehagias announced South Australia’s Student Citizen of the Year

Year 12 Immanuel college School Captain, Georgia Kehagias was announced South Australia’s Student Citizen of the Year for 2021 and was presented with an award by the Governor of SA Frances Adamson in a ceremony held at the Government House on Monday 29 November. 

“We are immensely proud of Georgia and grateful for her contribution to Immanuel College. We wish her the very best in the future as she begins her next exciting chapter,” reads a message posted on the school’s social media page. 

The Student Citizenship Awards program is the flagship endeavour of the SA Branch of the Order of Australia Association and recognises young people who show leadership and contribute to their school and broader community and exemplify the Association’s objective, “to celebrate and promote outstanding Australian citizenship”.

According to the school Ms Kehagias has contributed her time and energy as School Captain to lead several initiatives such as the College’s buddy system to support international students through early COVID times and her work on Relay for Life and has a “passionate desire to help and support others.”

“Georgia is an exceptional role model who has had a positive and valued impact on her school and community,” reads the school’s post. 

The Greek Orthodox Community of The Nativity of Christ in Port Adelaide have also congratulated Ms Kehagias for this achievement.

Rear (left to right): Jordan Zorzi and Jayden Gale (Rostrevor College), Mr Rod Bunten, Samuel Wabnitz and Jamieson Noutsatos (Temple Christian College), Riley Day (Australian Science & Mathematics School) and SA Branch Chair Mr Tony Metcalf OAM. Photo: The Order of Australia Association

“On behalf of the Community and Parish, we want to convey our heartfelt congratulations to our own, Georgia Kehagias, on receiving both the Order of Australia Citizenship award and the Student of The Year Award. Georgia and her beautiful family are pious members of our Parish,” reads the Community’s post. 

“It is our prayer that our most loving and merciful God may grant her the strength, wisdom, perseverance and love to continue her beautiful and Christ-centred service to those around her.”

Among the ten students who were finalists for the Student Citizenship Awards was also Jamieson Noutsatos from Temple Christian College who received a ‘Highly Commended’ certificate signed by the Governor. 

Ecumenical Patriarch bestowed the Gold Cross of St Andrew on Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister

The Greek Herald
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Ecumenical Patriarch bestowed the Gold Cross of St Andrew on Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister

Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Andreas Katsaniotis, has been awarded the Cross of St Andrew the First-Called by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Tuesday.

Mr Katsaniotis was in Istanbul to represent the Greek Government at the Thronal Feast of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in honour of its founder St Apostle Andrew the First-Called.

READ MORE: Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister: ‘Australian diaspora is a pillar of preservation of Greek traditions’.

The Deputy Minister was also accompanied by the Secretary-General of Hellenes Abroad and Public Diplomacy, Ioannis Chrysoulakis. 

After receiving the distinction, Mr Katsaniotis said it was “one of the most moving moments of my journey” and praised the Ecumenical Patriarch for his hard work.

“It is clear that the centuries-long course of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is inextricably linked to the historic land of Constantinople in which it continues, and will continue, its high ecumenical mission,” he said.

During the rest of his visit to Constantinople, Mr Katsaniotis also met with expatriates and educational institutions of the Greek minority, and inaugurated a Painting Exhibition at Sismanogleio Megaron.

READ MORE: Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister meets with Ambassador Spyrou and THI Australia President.

Greece and Russia sign cooperation protocol

John Voutos
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Greece and Russia sign cooperation protocol

Greek Alternative Foreign Affairs Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis met with Russia’s Transport Minister Vitaly Saveliev as part of a two-day visit to Moscow on Tuesday.

The pair signed a bilateral cooperation protocol agreement on tourism, energy, transport, science and technology, cultural matters, and interregional cooperation. 

“The cooperation protocol is a successful agreement that paves the way for a new, deeper collaboration between Greece and Russia…” Varvitsiotis wrote on Twitter.

“We hope that thanks to the protocol on cooperation within the framework of the joint intergovernmental commission, which will be inked in Moscow, as well as the upcoming visit of the prime minister, a new charter will be opened in Greek-Russian relations,” the minister is quoted in Russia’s state-owned news agency Tass.

He met with business figures at the Greek embassy a day before. 

Source: AMNA

Greece to make vaccinations for people over 60 mandatory

John Voutos
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Greece to make vaccinations for people over 60 mandatory

Greece said on Tuesday it would make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for people aged 60. 

Authorities said those who failed to comply from January 16 would face a recurring monthly fine of €100 (AU$159.07).

The announcement marks an EU-wide first in targeting a specific age group.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he struggled with the decision but it was necessary to protect more than half a million elderly Greeks who had failed to get the jab.

“It’s the price to pay for health,” he said.

About 63% of Greece’s 11 million population is fully vaccinated. 

While vaccine appointments have picked up in recent weeks, health ministry data shows there are 520,000 people over the age of 60 who have failed to get a jab.

“We are focusing our efforts on protection of our fellow citizens and for this reason, their vaccination will be mandatory from now on,” Mitsotakis told a cabinet meeting.

Syriza, Greece’s main opposition party, faulted the measures as being punitive and financially excessive.

“This hasn’t happened anywhere,” it said.

Mitsotakis did not say how authorities would enforce the rule. 

A €100 fine is a hefty chunk of the average monthly 730 euro pension.

“(The decision) tortured me, but I feel a heavy responsibility in standing next to those most vulnerable, even if it might fleetingly displease them,” he said.

Greece this month barred unvaccinated people from indoor spaces including restaurants, cinemas, museums, and gyms as daily COVID-19 cases hit record highs.

It has recorded 931,183 infections and 18,067 deaths since the start of the pandemic last year.

Source: Reuters

Dimitra Hatziadam’s Evzones photo exhibition to be on display in Victoria

The Greek Herald
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Dimitra Hatziadam’s Evzones photo exhibition to be on display in Victoria

Victoria’s Greek National Day Organising Committee has today announced that from December 12, 2021, the solo photo exhibition of Dimitra Hatziadam will be on display at function centre, The Coburg in Victoria.

READ MORE: Dimitra Hatziadam: ‘What would Greece be without the familiar sound of the Evzones’ tsarouchi?’.

The exhibition, titled “EVZONES/Guardians of the Unseen,” is under the auspices of the Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and will be transferred for the first time from Greece to Australia with the support of the General Secretariat of Hellenes Abroad and Public Diplomacy.

Dimitra Hatziadam with the Evzones.

Attendees will be able to view the Evzones as never before, with a unique display of 11 banners, three meters high, depicting the traditional costumes and actions of the Presidential Guard.

READ MORE: The Greek female photographer who glorifies Evzon and his symbolism.

The photo exhibition is part of the national program celebrating the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the Greek Revolution, “Greece 2021,” and the official program of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia.

For more information on the exhibition, please contact the Secretary of the Committee, Ms Natasha Spanou at greeknationalday@gmail.com.

‘A book about belonging’: Adelaide author Sophia Nicolis Tsouvalas releases debut memoir

Argyro Vourdoumpa
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‘A book about belonging’: Adelaide author Sophia Nicolis Tsouvalas releases debut memoir

On the early morning of November 25, 1962, four-year-old Sophia Nicolis Tsouvalas took her first steps on Australian soil. She had just immigrated with her parents and sister to Sydney from Mesohoria, a village on the Greek island of Evia, aboard the ‘Patris’ in search for a better life. 

Nearly six decades later, Sophia, a first-generation migrant, decides to chronicle her family’s life story and embarks on a quest to find her own identity through the memoir ‘A Divided Heart’.

“I have great respect and gratitude for Australia because it opened its doors to my parents who were escaping poverty after World War II and the Civil War in Greece and gave my sister and me opportunities,” she tells The Greek Herald. 

“But even after 59 years on this land, Mesohoria is the place where I feel a complete sense of belonging and where my heart sings.” 

With her book, set in a small village of Evia and Sydney of the 1960s the author hopes to document verbal stories conveyed to her by her parents -Maria and Manoli- and to keep them alive for future generations as part of the shared social history of Australia and Greece. 

Manoli and Maria Nikolis. Photo: Supplied

“This book is a tribute to my parents. To my late father who was living here but always had a longing for his homeland and to my mother who is happy to have left Mesohoria due to her strict upbringing and the pressure she felt growing up in a strict patriarchal society.” 

“I felt like I needed to give my mother a voice,” Sophia tells of her 90-year-old mother Maria who has been living in Sydney since the family arrived in Australia. 

“Within the pages of my book, I honour not only my parents but all our parents and grandparents who took a huge leap of faith to pave the way for a better life and future for their children. 

Photo L: The Nikolis family and R one of the two trunks the family sent to Australia with all of their belongings. Photo: Supplied

“Most importantly, I feel that this chronicle of life, allows each of us to examine our heritage, our identity and where we feel we belong.”

Asked about her memories growing up in a Greek family thousands of miles away from home, Sophia reflects on the hardships of starting school without a word of English but also on the sense of community, the philoxenia and the strong will to keep the language alive.

“I could feel I was floating between cultures. We didn’t have much but we would visit our neighbours and put whatever was available on the table to share,” she says. 

Photo L: The only photo from Sophia’s final days in Greece

The book, has been read by a broad audience of different age groups from around the globe and has received great reviews.

“Before I started writing the book, I asked my mother what she would like young people to keep from her story. She said that they need to know about their roots, the origin of their parents and grandparents and their historical legacy.”

*The book ‘A Divided Heart’ is now available to pre order by emailing the author on sophtsou@gmail.com (cost $25 + postage)

Greek Australian mum, Toni Lontis, wins in prestigious entrepreneur awards for 2021

Andriana Simos
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Greek Australian mum, Toni Lontis, wins in prestigious entrepreneur awards for 2021

Greek Australian mum, Toni Lontis, has won in the ‘Disabled Business Excellence’ category of the AusMumpreneur Awards for 2021.

Ms Lontis also placed second in the ‘Overcoming the Odds’ category for her business Tony Lontis Enterprises.

Through Tony Lontis Enterprises, Ms Lontis aims to help heal others by sharing her own personal struggle with depression, anxiety and trauma. She’s also passionate about promoting self-awareness and self-improvement.

Tony Lontis.

Ms Lontis was among eight other Greek mothers across Australia who were finalists in the awards as well.

READ MORE: Greek Australian mothers named finalists in prestigious entrepreneur awards for 2021.

Aphrodite Bouari from Sweet But Psycho came in third place in the categories ‘Creative Entrepreneur’ and ‘Regional Business,’ while Cathy Dimarchos also placed third in the ‘Women Will Change The World’ category for Solutions2you.

Eight Greek mothers across Australia who were finalists in the awards.

Meanwhile, Mary Maksenos from Maksemos Group placed third in the ‘Creative Entrepreneur’ section, and Cassandra Kalpaxis came second in the ‘Rising Star’ category for her work with Kalpaxis Legal.

The Awards, presented by The Women’s Business School, celebrate and recognise Australian mums in business achieving outstanding success in areas such as business excellence, product development, customer service and digital innovation.

Congratulations to all the winners, place-getters and finalists!

Vanessa Pappas and Chanel Contos among Vogue Australia’s top 21 inspirational women

Andriana Simos
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Vanessa Pappas and Chanel Contos among Vogue Australia’s top 21 inspirational women

Vogue Australia has released its list of 21 inspirational Australian women for 2021 and among those named are Vanessa Pappas and Chanel Contos.

Who are they? How have they defined the conversations around Australia this year? The Greek Herald finds out.

Vanessa Pappas, Global COO of TikTok:

Vanessa Pappas.

Vanessa Pappas is a Queensland-educated executive who lives in Los Angeles with her wife and two young children.

This year, Pappas was named the Global Chief Operating Officer of TikTok, a short-video platform which hit one billion active monthly users in September.

Prior to this, she was interim CEO at the company and took on former US President Donald Trump, who was threatening to ban the app in the US. She initiated a lawsuit against the government with the response: “we’re not planning on going anywhere.”

TikTok’s office in Culver City, California. Photo: Rozette Rago for The New York Times.

But with Trump toppled from the White House, this crisis was averted. Now, Pappas is focused on expanding the platform’s reach globally and continuing to build a strong community.

“Day in and day out, I have been inspired by the TikTok community who have started cultural movements, kept their small businesses afloat, and kept us entertained,” she told Vogue Australia.

Chanel Contos, Consent advocate:

Chanel Contos. Photo: Timeout.com.

23-year-old Chanel Contos’ petition for young women to share their sexual assault experiences earlier this year yielded thousands of testimonies and spurred a parliamentary reckoning.

The former student from Sydney’s Kambala Girls’ School also pushed for a more “holistic” approach to sexual education, suggesting it address topics such as consent, rape culture, slut shaming, toxic masculinity and queer sex education. 

READ MORE: Chanel Contos’ petition sparks sex education changes across Australian schools.

She told Vogue Australia she hopes 2022 will be the year to address issues around sexual education and to think about “how are we moving forward?”

Chanel’s petition garnered thousands of responses.

“I hope in 2022, gender equality is at the forefront of political issues, a driving force in the election, and causes people to really step up,” she said.

READ MORE: Chanel Contos’ petition forces NSW Parliament to debate the state’s sex education curriculum.

Contos, who is currently in London, also has plans to meet with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the near future.

Source: Vogue Australia.

Coronial inquest hears residents at St Basil’s Fawkner were ‘emaciated’

The Greek Herald
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Coronial inquest hears residents at St Basil’s Fawkner were ‘emaciated’

A coronial inquest into a COVID-19 outbreak at St Basil’s Home for the Aged in Fawkner, Melbourne has today heard that some residents were left ’emaciated’ from neglect.

According to news.com.au, clinical care responder, Jacinta MacCormack, told the inquest residents were in desperate need of care from the moment she arrived at the aged care facility on July 22.

“They were unwell, they just didn’t have enough food in them… There was a couple that actually looked quite emaciated, their hips were sticking out,” Ms MacCormack said.

READ MORE: St Basil’s inquest: Brett Sutton endorsed decision to furlough staff.

When questioned about the handover process, Ms MacCormack said the transition was “not comfortable at all” and management at the aged care home were “quite hostile” and “not forthcoming” with information.

A coronial inquest into St Basil’s Home for the Aged in Fawkner has heard that some residents were left ’emaciated’ from neglect.

This news comes as Milena Avramovic, the former deputy director of nursing at St Basil’s Fawkner, also told the Victorian coroner on Monday the transition period was ‘like a warzone’ and ‘chaos.’

READ MORE: St Basil’s inquest: Woman says dad became ‘skeleton’ while mother was ‘dosed on antipsychotics’.

“I just did what I thought was right at the time,” Ms Avramovic told the court.

“It was chaos, it was so much to do, it was a pandemic… We all worked so hard under huge pressure.”

READ MORE: No food or medicine after takeover: Inquest continues into St Basils Fawkner.

Ms Avramovic, who worked at St Basil’s Fawkner between 2015 and August last year, said she did not believe she could ever work in aged care again.

St Basil’s Home for the Aged recorded its first positive COVID-19 case on July 9 last year. Photo: Jason Edwards

“What happened at St Basil’s – it destroyed me. It destroyed me psychologically, emotionally, socially and ­financially,” she said.

READ MORE: St Basil’s inquiry: Aspen Medical replacement staff ‘literally graduates’.

Five residents at the centre died of neglect while 45 died of COVID-19 in July and August last year, in one of the country’s deadliest outbreaks at an aged-care home.

The five-week coronial inquest into the deaths of residents at St Basil‘s Fawkner will hear from about 65 witnesses, including nurses, centre managers and family members of the loved ones who died.

Source: news.com.au and The Australian.

Compulsory acquisition of the GCM’s Greenaway Street Bulleen property

The Greek Herald
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Compulsory acquisition of the GCM’s Greenaway Street Bulleen property

The Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) would like to announce that after a long campaign to realise its preferred community centre proposal at its Greenaway Street Bulleen property, the land has been compulsorily acquired as part of the North East Link Project.

The GCM had invested a significant amount of effort and money to realise its ambitious community facility but the State’s major project agenda has ended any chance the GCM had of realising its proposal.

Whilst the land has now been acquired, the GCM continues to negotiate with the Authority with regard to the final settlement. It has currently been offered and received $11,480,000.

Another view of the proposed design for the property.

GCM President, Bill Papastergiadis OAM, said: “Whilst it is without a doubt disappointing to not be able to realise the Billy Kavelaris designed Community Centre we presented to our members, the funds received and still being sought by the GCM and its legal team to date will serve the Community well into the future. These are exiting times for the Community with a number of exiting projects to be announced in due course.”

In further developments, the GCM would also like to announce that it has continued to build on its asset base and at the same time taken the next important step in the realisation of its Greek Centre Hub (working title) project with the acquisition of 272 Russell Street in Melbourne.

President of the GCM, Bill Papastergiadis.

The Hub was announced prior to the pandemic and is funded in part with grants secured by the GCM from both the Federal and State governments, each contributing $2,500,000 towards the project.

On this important milestone, the Treasurer of the GCM Assoc Professor Marinis Pirpiris said: “The Greek Centre Hub was a project that we have long committed to and had secured support for before Covid hit. We thank both the Andrews Victorian government and the Morrison Federal government for investing in the Greek Community’s programs.”

“As Treasurer of the organisation, it is pleasing to see that this project is coming to fruition. Coupled with the Bulleen compulsory acquisition, I am confident that the Greek Community heads into the future on solid financial ground,” Assoc Professor Pirpiris concluded.

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