Greece’s General Secretary for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy, Professor John Chrysoulakis, has held his first meeting with diaspora in Australia as part of his goal to create a communication network of young expatriates around the world.
The meeting was held with the executive committee of the Greek Students Association of the University of Western Australia and the Consul of Greece in Perth, Georgia Karasiotou.
During the meeting, Mr Chrysoulakis informed the young Greeks about the initiatives of the General Secretariat of Hellenes Abroad, both for the dissemination of the Greek language and for the new, English-language programs of Greek universities.
The executive committee of the Greek Students Association of the University of Western Australia and the Consul of Greece in Perth, Georgia Karasiotou.
Regarding the English-language programs of Greek universities, Mr Chrysoulakis stressed that the main goal is to attract third or fourth generation Greeks who may not speak the language sufficiently and who, until recently, did not have the opportunity to study in their place of origin.
Mr Chrysoulakis concluded and said the goal of the Greek government is to strengthen the role of the Greek diaspora in the country and announced hosting programs for the summer of 2022, which will enable young Greeks to visit their country of origin and get to know each other.
For their part, the Greek students from Perth said they were excited and willing to contribute with all their might to this effort.
Pope Francis will visit Lesvos in late November or early December, the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) reported on Wednesday.
In preparation for the visit, cardinals will arrive on the island on Thursday, accompanied by Migration and Asylum Ministry officials.
Pope Francis will visit the Greek island of Lesvos next month.
They will visit the temporary refugee camp at Kara Tepe, which will be on the pontiff’s itinerary.
Pope Francis last visited Lesvos in April 2016, when he met with both Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Hieronymos.
Fofi Gennimata, the leader of the socialist party PASOK and the center-left coalition Movement for Change (KINAL), announced on Tuesday that she is withdrawing from the party’s leadership race that is currently under way after she was hospitalised.
Gennimata was admitted to Athens’ Evangelismos Hospital on Monday night with an intestinal obstruction.
Η επιδείνωση της κατάστασης της υγείας μου που απαιτεί νοσηλεία και αντιμετώπιση, με υποχρεώνει να μην συμμετάσχω ως υποψήφια στην εκλογική διαδικασία για την εκλογή Προέδρου του Κινήματος Αλλαγής.
“The deterioration of my health, which requires hospitalisation and treatment, obliges me not to participate as a candidate in the electoral process for the election of the president of the Movement for Change,” Gennimata said in a statement.
“As president until the emergence of a new leadership but also as an member of Parliament afterward, my priority remains the unity and the perspective of the party.”
Επικοινώνησα με την Πρόεδρο του Κινήματος Αλλαγής, Φώφη Γεννηματά, για να της ευχηθώ από καρδιάς περαστικά και γρήγορη ανάρρωση. Ευχή όλων μας, να ξεπεράσει σύντομα τη δοκιμασία αυτή.
Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, communicated with Gennimata to wish her well after news of her withdrawal and hospitalisation emerged. According to Ekathmerini, Mitsotakis also visited Gennimata at hospital on Wednesday, but no more details were made available about the visit.
“I communicated with the KINAL president, Fofi Gennimata, to share my wish that she feels better and has a speedy recovery. It is the wish of us all, that she will swiftly overcome this challenge,” said Mitsotakis in a Tweet.
SYRIZA leader, Alexis Tsipras, also communicated with the KINAL president on Monday night.
Επικοινώνησα πριν από λίγο με τη Φώφη Γεννηματά και της μετέφερα τις ειλικρινείς ευχές μου για καλή δύναμη και ταχεία ανάρρωση. Είναι βέβαιο ότι και αυτή τη μάχη, που ίσως είναι πιο σημαντική από τις άλλες της πολιτικής, θα την κερδίσει.
“I just communicated with Fofi Gennimata to convey my honest wishes for a speedy recovery and to wish her strength,” read the post by the opposition leader on Twitter.
“It is certain that in this battle, that is perhaps more important than the other battles of politics, she will prevail.”
An 8-year-old girl on the Greek island of Rhodes is being treated at an institution under the supervision of a social worker and a paediatrician, after a complaint was filed that she was raped.
The rape of the 8-year-old girl was later confirmed by the examination of the medical examiner, Panagiotis Kotretsou, who located injuries to her genitals.
Greek police have launched an investigation.
According to a local newspaper on the southeastern Aegean island, police are focusing their investigation on people with whom the 8-year-old had contacts, while relatives of the girl will also be questioned.
The girl has been living in her grandmother’s house with her other three brothers for the last few years.
“I have been crying since morning,” the 8-year-old’s grandmother told Star today.
Child welfare charity CaringKids helps young carers to feel less lonely and socially isolated.
They are providing young carers with ‘Joy Boxes’ which hold toys, games, and books to celebrate National Carers Week this week.
“National Carers Week is a time to recognise and celebrate all those Australians who provide care and support to a family member or friend, including those children who are burdened with adult responsibilities,” CaringKids says.
CaringKids volunteers load toys and other goodies into ‘Joy Boxes’ (Photos: Supplied)
“This week is a fantastic opportunity to acknowledge the over 235,000 children and teenagers in Australia caring for a disabled or chronically ill family members, often spending over 6 hours a week on caring.”
“As well as taking on caring responsibilities, the children often have to cope with the financial hardship that goes hand in hand with the cost of caring for a family member with a disability.
CaringKids is an Eastgardens based charity based that has donated over 12,000 toys since 2014.
Tamara Georgopoulos is one of several former Sony Music Australia employees to break their silence on the company’s toxic culture.
Georgopoulos says she was sexually harassed while working as an artists & repertoire (A&R) coordinator for the company between 2011 and 2015.
“I was sexually harassed when I worked at Sony,” she tells ABC program Four Corners.
“Things that have happened to me that I normalised, and thought was OK, like an executive grabbing my chest at a concert.”
“I’ve had friends sexually assaulted. It’s just the norm.”
Tamara Georgopoulos had years of counselling after leaving Sony Music (Photo: Four Corners/Harriet Tatham)
Georgopoulos says she and other young female employees were sexually harassed by older male superiors at work parties and events.
“The executives would get very, very drunk, to the point of slurring their speech, grabbing you, pulling you in for hugs, touching your body,” she said.
“Sometimes it felt as though we were just there as props… to kind of be preyed upon and to not be taken seriously in our careers.
She claims visiting executives from Sony New York knew of inappropriate behaviour towards female employees.
“I don’t think that they can be over in the US and pretend that they didn’t know this was happening. The US executives would often be at these events with alcohol, with young girls, very intoxicated,” she said.
“So they are fully aware and they are responsible. They were negligent and they let this happen and they let this happen for decades.”
Tamara Georgopoulos at the Aria Awards when she worked for Sony Music (Supplied to ABC)
Four Corners has revealed then-CEO Denis Handlin allowed alleged perpetrators of sexual misconduct remain at the company despite formal complaints against them.
“Everyone in the music industry knows about Sony Music,” Ms. Georgopoulos said.
“It’s widely known what kind of culture they foster and cultivate, and everyone’s just swept it under the rug.”
Sonic Music says it takes “all allegations of bullying, harassment, and other inappropriate behaviour very seriously and investigate them vigorously… Only recently did claims surface and we are examining them expeditiously.”
Mr. Handlin says: ”I would never tolerate treating women in an inappropriate or discriminatory manner. At any time I was made aware of this sort of behaviour, I took action to ensure that it was stopped and didn’t occur again.”
“Over the years, this included seeing people at all levels leave the company. With issues of sexual misconduct, I always took immediate action. This included commissioning independent inquiries using external advisors and lawyers and providing counselling.”
Nick Xenophon has flagged his intention to run as an independent at the upcoming federal election next year.
Xenophon says he is planning to run on a platform of protecting jobs.
“I’d come back as an independent,” Mr. Xenophon said.
“I think that’s where my natural habitat is, being an independent. A pesky, persistent independent — if I do it.”
Xenophon quit politics after failing to win a seat for himself at the 2018 South Australia state election.
His SA Best party failed to secure a Lower House seat despite running 36 candidates, including Xenophon, who lost the seat of Hartley to the Liberals.
Xenophon has since taken up the cause of Sydney ugg boot manufacturer Eddie Oygur (Photo: Roy VanDerVegt)
Xenophon insisted his return wasn’t another of his notorious political stunts.
“It seems to me we’re talking about a lot of things in the country which I don’t think really resonate out there in the suburbs and in the bush, and I’ve learned that from being out of politics for a few years now,” he said.
“I’m serious about that, although, a bit like Al Pacino in The Godfather, once I thought I was out and now they’re trying to drag me back in.”
That quip was in reference to The Godfather Part III, in which Mafioso Michael Corleone — played by Pacino — reflects on his inability to leave the life of the gangster behind him.
Xenophon has been taken up the cause of Sydney ugg boot manufacturer Eddie Oygur since his departure from politics.
Oygur lost a US court appeal in April after footwear giant Deckers successfully sued Oygur for trademark infringement over the sale of around a dozen products into the US.
“[But] right now I’m focused on bringing the ugg name back home and what that would mean for the country,” Xenophon adds.
Xenophon now wants the federal government to provide further financial support — after a previous commitment of about $200,000 — to take Oygur’s case all the way to the US Supreme Court.
A liquidator’s report into Bill Papas’ company Forum Finance has accused the alleged fraudster of a range of criminal offences.
The report suspects Papas engaged in criminal activities and breached his director’s duties to the level of committing a criminal offence.
“Mr Papas engaged in dishonest and deceptive conduct in setting up and perpetrating the fraudulent scheme,” the report says.
“Mr Papas did not exercise his power and discharge his duties in relation to Forum Finance in good faith or for a proper purpose.”
“Mr Papas has not been charged with any crimes, which would need to be recommended by company regulator ASIC.”
The report – undertaken by liquidators from McGrathNicol, Jason Preston, Jason Ireland, and Katherine Sozou – found Papas was likely involved in fraud about five years earlier than suspected.
“The alleged fraudulent behaviours appear to have been undertaken over an extended period of time.”
“While we have focused on the period from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2021, for the purpose of our analysis to date, we have identified materials suggesting similar behaviour was evident as far back as at least 2013.”
The report reviews 4.9 million documents and 110,000 transactions within the group from the 150 bank accounts held by Forum and related parties.
“A significant proportion of the funding obtained was ultimately applied to meeting obligations to financiers arising out of that funding or to repay historical financiers,” the report notes.
Liquidators also allege that some of the funds were used to: “Fund a lifestyle and personal expenses for Mr Papas and (his business partner Vince) Tesoriero.”
The report also reveals that Forum Finance chief financial officer Tony Bouchahine has been subject to examinations over his role at the company.
Mr Bouchahine’s examination was previously subject to a suppression order.
“Mr Bouchahine supplied an incomplete ROCAP (Report on company activities and property) on October 7, 2021 and has not answered certain queries in the ROCAP on the basis he wishes to involve privilege against self-incrimination,” the report said. The report does not suggest that Mr Bouchahine profited from the alleged fraud that took place at Forum.
The liquidators are also considering reporting Mr Tesoriero to the corporate watchdog because he has allegedly not responded properly to requests to prepare reports on their companies affairs and property.
“Mr Tesoriero has not provided a ROCAP (report of company’s affairs and property) in respect of either of the companies as at the date of this report. The liquidators will be issuing a second and final request imminently. The Act provides for serious consequences for a failure to submit a ROCAP.”
“Additionally, in the event Mr Tesoriero does not comply with the above second and final request in the requested timeframe, he too will be reported to ASIC for non-compliance.
Westpac has accused Papas in a civil action of orchestrating a $500m fraud against its bank, as well as lenders Sumitomo and Société Générale, by impersonating blue-chip clients to win loans.
Meni Valle is a Richmond-based food educator and the author of several best-selling Greek Mediterranean cookbooks.
When Valle isn’t running cooking and culinary tours in Greece and in her city, she’s posting her daily meals to her thousands of social media followers.
“It’s just such a rewarding experience and being able to facilitate that for other people who would probably never do it on their own, it’s quite lovely,” Valle tells the Greek Herald.
Her tours are part of an immersion of the cuisine and culinary art of her homeland Greece.
Her now-deceased parents were from Florina in the country’s east and migrated to Melbourne in the late 1950s.
“They met at the train station in Florina… He met mum there and they basically got talking… and he said, ‘I’m going to Australia, would you like to come?’,” Valle says.
Sure enough, Valle’s mother arrived in Australia a year after her father, and they married within months.
“If my daughter came home and said, ‘Mum, I just met a man at the train station and he’s just asked me to come halfway around the world’, I wouldn’t know what to think,” Valle jokes.
She says her parents brought their culinary traditions with them – as did many other Greek migrants – but it wasn’t until shortly before her mother’s untimely passing that she decided to reconnect with these traditions.
“I had never been to Greece, so it wasn’t until my mother got sick that I thought, ‘I really need to go and see where she came from and visit the family and her sisters’.”
She says her auntie Sophia fostered her passion for Greek cooking in the vegetable garden out the back of her little cottage in Florina.
“I [first] got there and she said to me, ‘You’ve come a certain person, but you’re going to leave very different. You’re not going to be the same person as when you came’,” Valle recalls.
“She was very, very right.”
Her experiences here have helped her release five books over the last ten years, including ‘My Greek Kitchen’, ‘Everyday Mediterranean’, and ‘Ikaria’.
The latter collates Valle’s findings of the rugged island through her conversations with locals.
The book features not only recipes but life lessons from the hilly town.
“It’s not just what they’re eating, it’s how they are eating it,” Valle says.
“It’s not the rush that we have of grabbing a sandwich on the run or grabbing a coffee on the way to work.”
“Sitting down with people and enjoying a meal together I think is what contributes as the main feature to the secret of their longevity.”
Valle is from the mountainous, northwest Macedonian town of Florina
Ikaria has been identified as one of five ‘blue zones’ in the world.
That is, locals in Ikaria live much longer than people in other areas of the world.
“The common thread is that connection and other people that sort of brings it all together.”
“If it wasn’t for that, I don’t think they’d be living to over 100.”
Valle says she holds no qualms about releasing the book during Melbourne’s lockdown one year on since its release.
“What better time to be talking about connections rather than right now?” she says.
Valle says she’s currently working on a sixth book that focuses on regional Greece’s cuisine.
As Covid restrictions begin to ease, we can’t help but dream about all the possible travel destinations we may soon be able to visit. Of course, Greece is at the top of our list! Here is a list of the best Greek travel destinations that everyone should visit:
1. Thessaloniki
Photo: Greek Boston.
Thessaloniki is Greece’s second largest city and is a cultural capital in Greece. Located just six hours away from Athens, Thessaloniki has a buzzing nightlife and lively festivals and social scenes. The city consists of new and old attractions, from the renowned White Tower to colourful food markets and contemporary art galleries. Thessaloniki is also regarded as a culinary centre within Greece, being home to some of the most innovative and renowned food halls.
2. Santorini
Photo: Greka.
Santorini is a popular holiday destination in Greece that is celebrated for its picturesque cliff top views. Santorini is one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. It was devastated by a volcanic eruption in the 16th century BC, forever shaping its rugged landscape. The black sand beaches make this island even that more unique. It is arguably one of the most scenic islands in Greece and is an amazing backdrop for that perfect Instagram picture.
3. Athens
Photo: Expert Vagabond.
Athens is the capital city of Greece and was the heart of Ancient Greek civilisation. The city is full of 5th century BC landmarks, historical landmarks and a lively social and food scene. The most outstanding landmark is of course the Acropolis, which sits on the highest point of the city and can be spotted from almost anywhere in the town. Athens is the perfect first stop off to kick off a trip to Greece!
4. Paros
Photo: The Nomadvisor.
Idyllic beaches, breathtaking views and traditional villages. We’re talking about none other than Paros, a Greek island located in the Aegean sea. The island is surrounded by crystal clear blue water, perfect for a relaxing, summer holiday. It’s also home to the Panagia Ekatontapiliani, a landmark Byzantine church from the 4th century AD. This island provides the small village charm with all the amazing scenery you wish to see in Greece!
5.Crete
Photo: Sofia Adventures.
Crete, Greece’s largest island, is known for its diverse terrain, from beautiful beaches to White Mountains. Travelling to Crete provides the perfect balance between historical tourism and holiday relaxation. Spend a day enjoying the beaches at Elafonisi or the famous Seitan Limani and take in the cultural nightlife in the city of Chania at night. You can also take the time to venture out to some of the world’s most renowned historical landmarks on the Island, including the Monastery of Arkadi or Mount Ida.
