Sarah Craig has been announced as the new CEO and Head of Curation at The Hellenic Museum in Melbourne.
Ms Craig will lead the strategic planning, realisation and implementation of the museum’s ambitions, whilst also nurturing the museum’s dynamic partnership with The Benaki Museum.
“I am delighted to evolve my leadership role at the Hellenic Museum,” Ms Craig, who has been the museum’s curator since 2015, says.
“I am stepping into this position brimming with creativity and energised to lead the strategic vision of the museum as we prepare for reopening and beyond.”
Since 2015, Ms Craig has been instrumental in commissioning new works for the museum, including Bill Henson’s Oneiroi, Sam Jinks’ The Messenger and Pichi Avo’s Renegades.
The Hellenic Museum’s Chairman and Board say they’re looking forward to see Ms Craig lead the museum into its exciting new chapter.
“Sarah is an inspiring, thoughtful and experience leader with an ingrained passion for art, history and culture,” Chairman of the Hellenic Museum, Harry Stamoulis, says.
“Sarah’s talent and intimate knowledge of the Hellenic Museum allows her to move flexibly and effectively towards a new and exciting chapter at the museum.”
The Museum was founded in 2007 to promote an appreciation of the rich heritage of ancient and contemporary Greece.
In September, a $244 million planning application was lodged with the Victorian Government and Heritage Victoria, proposing the 143-year-old heritage building on Queen Street be adapted to house a satellite of Greece’s Benaki Museum.
The Benaki’s artefacts are already widely featured across several museums in Greece, but there has been a push to make Melbourne the Benaki’s first overseas expansion.
Leonidas Kavakos is regarded as not only Greece’s, but the world’s, finest violinist. Since becoming a professional musician in the 1980’s, Kavakos has played alongside some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras and has his own record deal with Sony Classical.
To mark the occasion of his birth on this day in 1967, we take a look at some of his musical achievements.
Kavakos was born on 30 October, 1967, in Athens. He was raised in a musical household and introduced to the violin by his parents at just five years old.
Kavakos then furthered his learning of the violin by attending the Hellenic Conservatory. It was here that Kavakos would meet his biggest mentor in the art of the violin, Stelios Kafantaris.
Leonidas Kavakos is regarded as not only Greece’s, but the world’s, finest violinist.
After studying at the Conservatory, Kavakos would receive the prestigious Onassis Foundation Scholarship, giving him the opportunity to attend classes with Josef Gingold at Indiana University.
He made his concert debut at the Athens Festival in 1984, aged just 17. By the time he was 21, Kavakos would already win three prestigious competitions, including the Sibelius Competition in 1985 and both the Paganini and Naumburg competitions in 1988.
The success of Kavakos at such an early age propelled him into superstardom as one of the brightest violinists at the time. This led to him being given the opportunity to record the original ‘Sibelius Violin Concerto’ composition for the first time in its history, and he won a Gramophone for Concert of the Year in 1991, aged 24.
In 2007, Kavakos was named the ‘Echo Klassik Instrumentalist of the Year,’ for his recording of the Beethoven Sonatas, along with Enrico Pace. In 2014, Kavakos was again recognised for his brilliance, being awarded the Gramophone for ‘Artist of the Year.’
In 2017, Kavakos was awarded the ‘Leonie Sonning Prize’ – a prestigious award as it is the highest musical honour in Denmark, received annually by an internationally acclaimed composer, singer, conductor or instrumentalist.
After successfully becoming recognised as a fantastic instrumentalist, Kavatos began working as a conductor. Kavatos has had huge success as a conductor, conducting the prestigious London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Leonidas Kavakos conducting.
In June 2018, Kavakos signed an exclusive record deal with Sony Classical. On October 18, 2019, Kavakos released ‘Beethoven Violin Concerto’ with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. It was released as a tribute to Beethoven, where musicians from all over world will celebrate the 250th anniversary since his birth in 2020.
Kavakos, despite all his success, still offers support to future musicians in Greece. He organises the annual violin and chamber music class in Athens, where students from all over the world attend to learn from him.
Kavakos is one of the greatest classical musicians of our generation, and it is on his birthday, that we honour him.
Police have launched a desperate search for two schoolgirls who disappeared from their homes in south west Sydney on Wednesday night.
Sandy Alsalihi and Elisa Coronakes, both aged 14, were last seen at their homes in Hinchinbrook and Middleton Grange, and were reported missing after they could not be reached on Thursday.
Detectives and the girls’ families are worried for the girls because of their young age, and have begun an investigation into their whereabouts.
Sandy is described as being of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern appearance. She is between 165/175cm tall with a dark brown bob.
She was last seen wearing a maroon turtleneck jumper with dark grey trackpants
Eliza had pale skin and is between 160 and 170cm tall, with long brown hair.
She was last seen wearing a black hoodie with “Positive Mental Attitudes” written on the sleeves and black trackpants, but may now be wearing a black hoodie with green camouflage sleeves.
The girls are thought to be in the Strathfield, Auburn or Burwood area.
Anyone with information about the girls’ whereabouts is urged to contact Liverpool City Police Area Command on (02) 9765 9499.
A public transport executive has been caught on a phone tap telling a cleaning company he would “cover up” for them, after it emerged they had failed to spray down a Melbourne train at the start of the state’s first coronavirus surge.
The admission is contained within a secretly recorded phone call played in public hearings before Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), which is probing serious misconduct claims in the state’s public transport sector.
In the call, Metro Trains fleet manager Peter Bollas, who on Wednesday confessed he had taken up to $150,000 in corrupt cash payments, told the director of a cleaning company: “I’m not against you, I’m f***ing for you.”
At the time of the alleged corruption, Mr Bollas managed the cleaning contract at Metro Trains, which was awarded to a company called Transclean.
As part of that contract, Mr Bollas and then V/Line chief executive James Pinder collected multiple cash payments of up to $10,000 from the boss of the cleaning company.
The payments continued for about four years.
Executives both sacked
Mr Pinder denies any wrongdoing, and claims the men were in a secret gambling syndicate.
He was today sacked by V/Line after being suspended in August.
Transclean’s contract with the network has also been terminated. Late Thursday, Metro Trains CEO Raymond O’Flaherty said he had sacked Mr Bollas, who had been stood down since August.
Mr O’Flaherty also said he was appointing an independent auditor to review Metro Trains’ procurement and probity processes.
“Metro has zero tolerance for any behaviours or actions that compromise our commitment to safety and integrity across our organisation,” he said in a statement.
The postponement of the prayer scheduled for Friday at the Chora Church was announced on Thursday afternoon by the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), claiming that it is due to the continuation of the preparations.
As reported by protothema.gr, Diyanet’s announcement about the Chora Church, Kariye Mosque as the Turks call it, does not specify when – for the first time in 72 years – a Muslim prayer will take place, after the decision of Erdoğan’s government to abolish the museum character of the monument.
“The Kariye Mosque in the Fatih district of Constantinople will open as a place of worship after 72 years for Friday prayers on October 30. The mosque will meet its audience. “May Allah hear the prayers in the mosque for a long time,” the head of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, Ali Erbaş, announced on Tuesday on his personal Twitter account.
The precious Christian mosaics will be covered with a “curtain” during prayer hours, a sound system has been installed, while the carpets placed on the marble floor are turquoise, the same as those of Hagia Sophia.
The Consulate General, following its notification, dated 5 August 2020, would like to announce that as of 2 November 2020 it will resume its services and will be open to the public, depending on a positive outlook in the overall situation with the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria.
This consular authority will now operate according as follows:
Only applicants with pre-arranged telephone appointments will be able to enter the Consulate General. The possibility to come to the Consulate General on a “first come, first served” basis, as was the case every Wednesday, no longer applies.
The physical presence of applicants in the consular authority is possible only with the use of face masks. All applicants, whether in the waiting area or in the offices are expected to observe social distancing rules.
The maximum number of applicants in the premises of the Consulate General cannot exceed fifteen (15) people at any given time.
Appointments that were made for the period from 9 July to 30 October 2020 and were cancelled due to measures taken by the Consulate General during the pandemic cannot be moved forward to another date. Applicants concerned must make new arrangements for their appointments with the Consulate General. Priority will be given to people who had appointments during the afore-mentioned period. As of today, 27 October, the call center of the Consulate General is taking calls for appointments.
Please note that visa services will also resume.
The new measures for resuming consular services are of a temporary nature and are subject to change, depending on the spread of the pandemic and following directives either from the Greek competent authorities or from the Government of Victoria.
We call on all members of the Greek community of Victoria and Tasmania to show their understanding and observe responsible behaviour, so that the health of applicants and staff at the Consulate General would be protected.
“Europe will not surrender to religious fanaticism and intolerance,” Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said in a social media post on Thursday, expressing support for the French people in the wake of what is being treated as a religiously motivated deadly knife attack in the town of Nice.
Expressing “solidarity with the people of France and French President Emmanuel Macron over the terrorist attack in Nice,” Sakellaropoulou said in a Twitter post that Europe’s “common values are at risk.”
The Greek president’s message came after three people were killed by a lone assailant in Nice’s Notre-Dame Basilica on Thursday. Macron described the incident as an “Islamist terrorist attack.”
According to reports, the assailant, who was shot and taken into custody, has been identified as a 21-year-old Tunisian man who arrived in France at the start of the month via Lampedusa in Italy.
What we know so far about the attack
More details are emerging about the Nice attack. Here’s what we know right now:
The incident
Three people were killed in Nice, southern France, during a knife attack at the Notre Dame Basilica, the city’s main church.
Videos posted on social media showed police and military officers responding to the incident, setting up a cordon in the city center.
The victims
One of the victims had her throat slit, a police source told CNN. The mayor of Nice had earlier described it as a decapitation. Another victim – a man – died following multiple stabbings, according to the police source. The third victim, a woman, was wounded inside the church, but managed to leave. However, she died in a nearby café, the police source said.
The suspect
French national police named the attack’s suspect as Brahim Aouissaoui, born in 1999. A source in the Italian interior ministry told CNN that Aouissaoui first arrived in Europe on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.
Nice’s mayor Christian Estrosi said the attacker was shot by police, but is still alive and has been taken into custody.
Estrosi said “everything points” to the incident being a terrorist attack, and France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor has taken over the investigation.
The reaction
French President Emmanuel Macron said the country will not give in to terrorism after once again coming under attack from what he called “Islamist and terrorist madness,” he said after visiting the scene of a deadly attack. The country’s terror alert level was raised to “emergency” following the incident.
International leaders have pledged solidarity with France, with the heads of Spain, Italy, Turkey, the UK and the European Parliament among those condemning the violence. The Vatican said Pope Francis is praying for victims. “Terrorism and violence can never be accepted,” it said in a statement.
The French Council of the Muslim Faith has also condemned the incident; as did the French Bishop’s Council, which said Catholics across France “refuse to give into fear” following the attack.
Authorities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt’s highest religious authority Al-Azhar have condemned the deadly knife attack in France on Thursday.
The Turkish government’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, also condemned the attack but criticized the French leadership saying they should avoid inflammatory rhetoric against Muslims. Tensions have been tense between the two countries, with Turkey particularly critical of treatment of Muslims in France.
The background
The incident is the latest in a number of attacks to hit France in recent years, and comes less than two weeks after the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty in Paris. Paty was targeted after he used caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad during a lesson.
Nice has been the target of terror in the past. In 2016 dozens died after an ISIS-inspired attacker plowed a 20-ton truck into Bastille Day crowds.
The coronavirus alarm level in the northern Greek regions of Thessaloniki and Rodopi, and Larissa in central Greece, is being raised to the highest level, 4, on Friday and localized lockdowns will be imposed to stem a surge in new coronavirus cases, Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias said on Thursday.
The regional units of Pella, Evros, Drama, Xanthi, Kilkis, Kavala, Pieria, Imathia and Halkidiki are also being elevated, going up to Level 3 of the risk assessment scale, Hardalias added, saying that details of the new restrictions will be unveiled on Friday, when his agency’s coronavirus alert map is updated to reflect the most recent transmission data.
The official said that there are currently 1,955 active coronavirus cases in Thessaloniki and 4,459 people who came into close contact with them and are in quarantine at home. Larissa has 343 active cases and 721 close contacts, while Rodopi has 217 and 488 respectively. In all three regions, the average age of the infected patients is between 30 and 33 years old.
The National Organization for Public Health (EODY) on Thursday reported 275 new cases in Thessaloniki, 51 in Larissa and 41 in Rodopi.
Attica continues to be in the eye of the storm, with 335 of Thursday’s total 1,211 new cases. The government is reportedly mulling fresh restrictions for the Greek capital as well.
Every year, Westfield Living Centres across Australia and New Zealand each award up to three, $10,000 grants to deserving individuals and their organisations who dedicate their time to positively impact the lives of others.
This year, six Greek Australians have been named among the grant recipients for the Westfield Local Heroes and we couldn’t be prouder.
Sue-Ellan Vasiliou and her husband lost their beautiful daughter, Alegra, to brain cancer at the age of six. Every day since then, she’s been doing everything she can to help support other families and is raising funds for brain cancer awareness and research.
She does this through the little legs foundation she set up in memory of Alegra, who was diagnosed with brain cancer days before Christmas in 2016 and passed away 10 months later.
Sue-Ellen tells The Greek Herald that the little legs foundation will use its $10,000 grant to help fund hospital equipment and to support families.
“Having been acknowledged by such a large corporation as Westfield is quite humbling. To be named a 2020 Westfield Hero and recognised for the work we do is an absolute honour. We are grateful to all who voted for me, loved ones and new friends,” Sue-Ellan says.
“I dedicate this award to my hero, my beautiful Alegra. Who I love with all my heart and will forever strive to make a difference in this world for her.
“The $10,000 prize to the little legs foundation will go a long way. It will be used to fund hospital equipment needed for children battling brain cancer and also to help our little friends create special memories with their loved ones.”
Jason Sotiris – Supertees (NSW)
Tradie, Jason Sotiris, is giving sick children a boost with free medical grade superhero garments to replace their hospital gowns.
Not only do Jason’s Supertees help the children tap into their internal superpowers, but they are carefully designed to make life easier for bedside parents and nurses.
Jason came up with the idea when his baby daughter was seriously ill in Westmead Children’s Hospital with a rare type of cancer. The Supertees are MRI compatible and have side studs to make changing easy and openings for tubes.
Despite working full-time and caring for his family, Jason spent two years designing the garment and convincing hospitals to accept them.
“There are so many good causes out there and people doing amazing things in the community,” Jason tells The Greek Herald.
“It was truly humbling to be nominated as a Westfield Local Hero and to have the local community show their support by voting and get behind what we’re doing, it’s an amazing feeling.”
Supertees will use its grant to take the volunteer program to the next level.
Margaret Skagias – CaringKids Inc. (NSW)
While working as a social worker, Margaret Skagias recognised the unique contribution of Australian children who care for their parents or siblings. These often unsung heroes may take on housework, shopping, cooking, personal hygiene care, liaising with health professionals and financial matters.
In 2014, Margaret founded volunteer-run CaringKids. She and her team make up toy boxes for young carers so they can feel their contribution and role is honoured and recognised. The toy boxes contain pre-loved toys that are saved from landfill.
Margaret’s nominator says, “Margaret combines passion and compassion to make a difference for children who care for disabled or chronically ill family members.”
For her part, Margaret says she only wants carers of all ages in Australia to be recognised for the unpaid care they provide.
CaringKids will use its grant to fund endeavours including the provision of 200 toy boxes to special needs siblings and young carers and the rehoming of about 8000 pre-loved donation items.
Pauline Maniskas – Disabled Surfers Association Of Australia Inc Central Coast (NSW)
Pauline Maniskas is passionate about helping people with disabilities enjoy surfing. She is volunteer secretary of the Central Coast branch of the Disabled Surfers Association and has dedicated the past 15 years to helping people experience the restorative effect of the ocean.
Pauline helps organise surfing events, sources donations and visits schools to speak about the value of being inclusive.
She also raises awareness of surfing among disability providers.
Not even breast cancer could keep Pauline away from her volunteering. In fact, her regular swims in the ocean to counter the side effects of treatment made her more determined to help.
“We were thrilled to be nominated in this year’s program and greatly appreciate the support we have received from Westfield and the community,” Pauline tells The Greek Herald.
“This grant will help us reconnect many with the water and continue to make steps towards inclusion.”
Disabled Surfers Association of Australia Central Coast will use the grant to buy a beach wheelchair and other equipment such as rash shirts and surfboards.
It happens more often than people imagine. Grandparents and others being handed a baby to look after with little warning and not enough time to prepare. That’s where Lorraine Lekias comes in.
She founded the Fostering Hope charity to support kinship and foster carers. Working on the premise that it takes a village to raise a child, Fostering Hope provides material items for children and education for carers.
One area of focus is providing education to carers about childhood trauma and suggestions on how to help newly placed children to settle and feel safe.
“We set out to create a loving and warm community for the foster children. It truly takes a village to raise kids and we have had a community come together to care for the children,” Lorraine, who has 20 years of experience as a foster mum and has five foster children, tells The Greek Herald.
“We want the community to encompass these children and for them to feel love and valued, helping them build strength and resilience, knowing their self-worth and growing in self-love.
“We are humbled to be one of this year’s Westfield Local Hero grant recipients however, Fostering Hope is not about us, we are blessed by having these children in our lives. “
Fostering Hope will use its grant to upgrade its facilities and to fund emergency packs and education.
Angela Christodoulou – Queensland Koala Society Inc (Queensland)
Angela Christodoulou has been known to camp under a tree for three days to rescue a koala and her joey. A co-founder of the Queensland Koala Society, she gives it her all to help protect the south-east Brisbane koala population, which has been displaced by urban sprawl.
Angela has rescued more than 505 koalas over the years and has recruited local volunteers to help.
“We ensure they get medical treatment and care they need until they can be released back into their natural habitat,” Angela says.
Community education is a crucial part of the society’s work. An essential part of community engagement is to invite people to come along whenever the society releases a rescued koala.
“That’s when I get a lot of interest from people wanting to volunteer. Community involvement is vital,” Angela says. “People are surprised by the number of koalas we have in this immediate area.”
Queensland Koala Society will use its grant to build a larger rehabilitation facility.
In his first ever live stream conference to the Australian people last Tuesday, Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, addressed the urgent need for the emergence of a stronger Greece.
The conference was hosted by The Hellenic Initiative’s Australia branch, an organization dedicated to mobilizing the Greek diaspora around the globe. Moderated by Andrew N Liveris AO, Global Chairman of The Hellenic Initiative, this event gave any member of the public the chance to gain some insight into the role the Greek diaspora in Australia might play in shaping the Greece of the future.
This event provided a fantastic opportunity for Mitsotakis to formally introduce himself to the Greek-Australian community since taking office in July of 2019. Speaking directly to participants, it became evident that this is a leader who firmly believes he is not only responsible for the citizens of Greece, but also for the wellbeing of the Greek community around the world.
Mitsotakis’s eloquence was not lost on the participants of the call as he conversed with Mr. Liveris in fluent English. To a young member of the Greek-Australian community such as myself, this was a refreshing change compared to official Greek events I have attended in the past spoken in Greek, which can be harder to understand and relate to.
It is clear that in Mitsotakis we have a leader who understands that for Greece to succeed, all members of the Greek diaspora, young and old, need to feel closer to its shores, despite the physical distance.
Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis (left) and Andrew Liveris, Global Chairman of THI (right). Photo: The Greek Herald.
With that comes perhaps Mr. Mitsotakis’s greatest challenge; to re-introduce Greece to the world as a hub of modernity and vibrancy, without resting on the laurels of the past.
‘2021 will be a really important year for Greece,’ says Mitsotakis. 200 years has passed since Greece declared independence in 1821 and now it is the Prime Minister’s view that his country can celebrate the fact that is the most dynamic and ‘strongest’ economy in the Balkans.
The celebrations however come at an incredibly challenging point in European history, and Greece could not be more central to this. Antagonizing forces in the East continue to threaten to destabilize the peace of the region. Ironically, Greece finds itself once again acting as the defender of freedom and democracy against the Turkish, as it did in 1821. This time however, the Greek government is adamant in using diplomacy to achieve peace as opposed to military force.
This of course, is where we the members of the Greek diaspora come in. Central to his foreign policy is the forging and strengthening of international alliances with countries that share the values of liberal democracy, such as Australia. By appealing to our own leaders to stand with Greece on the international stage, we can make the case for our spiritual homeland domestically.
Supporting Greece politically is one thing, but the best way we as a diaspora can strengthen Greece is by investing in it. At the heart of Mitsotakis’s plan for a Greek revival is making the country incredibly appealing to foreign investors.
‘There is no reason Greece cannot be the digital hub of Europe,’ says Mitsotakis. ‘We have earned the right to be more confident’.
Early signs of a digital revolution in Greece have indeed emerged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. A national rollout of 5G technology and the recent announcement of Microsoft’s intention to establish a ‘datacenter’ in Greece is only just the beginning, promises Mitsotakis.
‘We can use this pandemic to enable dramatic, positive, economic and social change in Greece,’ says Mitsotakis. The shift to a new virtual reality born out of necessity has indeed allowed us to transcend physical borders, and perhaps become more in touch as a diaspora with the homeland.
Most promising of all that was discussed in the call was Mitsotakis’s pledge to us that he would commit to breaking down traditional barriers to investment in Greece. This includes but is not limited to challenging bureaucratic systems in Greek banks and land council offices, allowing Greek citizens in Australia to vote in upcoming Greek elections, the roll-out of property packages for those wishing to buy property in Greece and also the installation of elected members of the diaspora in the halls of Greek Parliament.
These developments symbolize a new era in the relationship Greece has with its large diaspora worldwide. One of bold changes, where we actually may have the opportunity to have a more concrete say in what goes on in the country we love so much.
It is in partnership with Greece that we as a diaspora work hard, as we always have, to make sure that in the words of Mr. Liveris Greece does not become the ‘greatest story never told.’
