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On this day, we remember Greek poet Kostis Palamas

Greek poet Kostis Palamas was one of the most important intellectual figures of modern Hellenism, becoming a central figure in the ‘literary generation of 1880’.

Kostis Palamas was born in Patras on January 13, 1859, and came from an old Missolonghi family. At the age of seven he was orphaned by his father and mother and went to live in Missolonghi with his uncle Dimitrios Palamas.

While he initially enrolled in Law School, it didn’t take him long to realise that his passion laid with poetry, devoting himself to the art of speech.

In 1886 he published his first collection of poems entitled Songs of My Homeland. In this collection, Palamas speaks through words of youth, giving audiences the thoughts of sensitivity. Palamas, together with Drosinis and other poets, used the vernacular method of poetry writing, contrast to the romantic puritanical poets published at the time.

On December 27, 1887 he married Maria Valvi, a descendant of a political family of Messolonghi, with whom he had three children; Leandros, Nafsika and Alkis.

In 1904, Palamas published the poetic collection Asalefti Zoi, which at the time was a proper illustration of the poets newfound maturity, expressing pure emotion that was tightly tied to the contemplation and the sharpness of the verse. Following this collection, he released ‘The Poor of the Lagoon’, ‘State and Loneliness’, ‘The Altar’ and the two epic compositions of ‘The Twelve Gypsies’ (1907) and ‘The King’s Flute’ (1910).

These poetic works elevated him to the top of Greece’s poetry writers, signalling his accomplishments as one of the era’s greatest writers.

In 1926 he joined the Academy of Athens as a member, becoming president in 1930. Four years later he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, with his fame stretching past the borders of Greece.

Kostis Palamas died on February 27, 1943, and is recognised to this day as being a source of pure universal idealism.

Sourced By: San Simera

‘Join us in person or by Zoom’: Greek Community of Melbourne to hold AGM on January 28

The Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria (GCM) recently announced that they will be holding their Annual General Meeting on Thursday 28 January 2021 at 6.30pm.

The meeting will be held at the Mezzanine Level of The Greek Centre, 168 Lonsdale Street Melbourne. The physical space will be accessible to a limited number of members in compliance with current Covid 19 restrictions and will also be accessible via a ‘virtual’ Zoom link.

GCM President Bill Papastergiadis OAM said that while the events of 2020 led to great challenges faced by the Greek Australian population of Melbourne, “it was still a year of some achievement that should be noted.”

“As such in the face of the debilitating pandemic, the GCM still managed to achieve much and for this I commend our staff, volunteers and ordinary members for their tenacity, imagination and persistence.”

In amongst other activity, the GCM:

  • Managed to continue their education programs and achieved an outstanding VCE result with more than 56% of their Modern Greek VCE students securing a score over 34+ and more than 40% of their classical Greek Students securing a score of 42+
  • In association with a broad coalition of community groups secured Modern Greek in the face of its removal from the La Trobe University’s curriculum
  • Continued to hold and stream to a wide audience the Language and Culture Seminars
  • Ran a successful Covid-19 referral service

“Despite the chaos it is comforting to see that our bankers, accountants and auditors are all more than content with our management practices and the Community’s asset register remains strong,” Bill Papastergiadis added.

Pre-booking: https://bit.ly/3bDgdrl
Zoom booking: https://bit.ly/3qett9V


George Georgiadis welcomes government decision to make SA the ‘spirits capital of Australia’

SA Spirit Producers Association president George Georgiadis has welcomed a new cash injection of up to $50,000 from South Australia’s state government, leaving opportunity for the state to grow into the “spirits capital of Australia”.

Speaking to The Advertiser, Georgiadis said there were about 1000 people employed across the state’s 50 distilleries, including many that had grown from “extremely small” to medium-sized enterprises in just a few years.

“We’re expecting that really rapid growth to continue, both in terms of the number of distilleries in the state and also in terms of the volume that each of those individual businesses is doing,” Mr Georgiadis said.

“Having the support of the Government to … get the right people involved to quantify and analyse the hurdles and opportunities for a young industry is really valuable.”

Never Never Distilling Company co-founders Sean Baxter and George Georgiadis. Picture: Tricia Watkinson/The Advertiser

Despite the state governments best efforts to promote Australia’s distilleries to a global audience, regulation and federal excises, Mr Georgiadis said, are among distilleries’ biggest hurdles.

In 2019-20, Australia’s spirit manufacturing industry generated $2.1bn in revenue and $306m in exports. SA accounts for about 12 per cent of spirits manufacturing businesses.

Speaking to the Advertiser, Primary Industries Minister David Basham said the government has been working closely with South Australian spirit producers, with the “logical next step” being to formulate what challenges and opportunities lie ahead.

Basham said South Australia’s progression into the “spirits capital of Australia” would boost investment across the regions.

Greece proposes joint EU vaccination certificate to ease travel

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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on Tuesday for the creation of an EU-wide COVID-19 vaccination certificate to help restore cross-border travel that has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Greece, which relies on tourism for a fifth of its economic output and is keen to revive travel before the summer season, has already created its own standardised certificate to prove an individual has been vaccinated.

In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Mitsotakis proposed extending the scheme to the whole 27-nation EU. The certificate could be used when embarking on all forms of transport.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

“While we are not going to make vaccination compulsory or a prerequisite for travel, persons who have been vaccinated should be free to travel,” he said in the letter.

“(It is) urgent to adopt a common understanding on how a vaccination certificate should be structured so as to be accepted in all member states,” Mitsotakis added.

The difficulty in agreeing a common EU digital Passenger Locator Form (PLF), established last year to try to track travel movements, has shown that there is a strong need for a high-level EU effort to move things forward, he said.

Photograph: Dado Ruvić/Reuters

If EU states can agree a common formula “we can then push the issue forward in the relevant international fora, thus contributing to the re-establishment of mobility on a global scale,” the letter said.

“For countries such as Greece, which are dependent on tourism, it’s imperative that this issue is resolved before the summer season.”

Greece weathered the first wave of the pandemic relatively well but a surge in cases since October has badly strained its health system, weakened by a decade-long financial crisis, prompting authorities to order a second lockdown in November.

It has so far confirmed 145,179 cases of COVID and 5,302 related deaths.

Sourced By: Reuters

Greek students outraged as mandatory military service looks to be extended

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Greek students have expressed their dissatisfaction at the governments decision to extend the mandatory military national service from 9 to 12 months, EURACTIV Greece reports.  

According to the Greek news outlet, authorities in Athens are planning for the new law to be rolled out in May, affecting everyone except for those who will serve in the borders with Turkey.

According to a source, the decision was made in order to strengthen the military presence at the borders between Greece and Turkey and to avoid conscripts seeking to be transferred to the capital city.

“It’s a barrier for students and young workers that live abroad and wish to return to Greece. How is this decision supposed to reverse brain drain?” Konstantinos Vogiatzoglou, a post-graduate student at Wageningen University, told EURACTIV.gr.

Photo: EPA/KATIA CHRISTODOULOU

He added that “Greek youth has nothing to win from this experience”. 

In Greece, the unemployment rate of young people up to 24 years old jumped to an alarming 33% last September, according to Greek statistics office data.The figure is expected to rise further due to the pandemic and the country’s debt is projected to reach 200% of GDP.

Fanis Friderikos, a post-graduate student at King’s College University, is mostly concerned about mass unemployment and believes that “it was the worst possible timing for the government to announce such a decision”.

According to Fanis, “now, young men have to cope with an extra unnecessary burden that can put on hold their future plans”. 

Few other EU countries (Cyprus, Austria, Finland, Denmark) still have a mandatory military service in place.

Sourced By: EURACTIV Greece

Greece’s first gay minister hopes appointment will help erode homophobia

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Greece’s first openly gay minister said encountering homophobia in public life was “a given”, but hoped his appointment to the conservative government would make it easier for LGBT+ people to tackle discrimination.

Nicholas Yatromanolakis was named deputy minister for contemporary culture after being promoted last week in a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis aimed at boosting his government’s image as COVID-19 pummels the economy.

Yatromanolakis, 45, said he had often been discouraged from seeking elected office or prominent roles due to his “profile”, with some people saying the most he could aspire to was political consulting work.

“All LGBT people have at some point in their lives had to work in environments that were not entirely supportive or understanding of who they are,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a video call.

21 June 2019, Greece, Athen: Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of the conservative party “New Democracy”, speaks to his supporters during a rally. Photo: Angelos Tzortzinis/dpa

He recounted being told, “Hush, darling,” on live TV and receiving condescending looks and smirks throughout his time in public life.

“You can’t let that bother you, because it’s your life … and you have to do what you believe is the right thing,” he said, adding that he had sometimes been mistaken for a LGBT+ activist if he spoke about gay rights.

Still, Yatromanolakis said he would discuss LGBT+ issues with colleagues in the cabinet – at least one of whom voted against a law allowing same-sex civil partnerships five years ago, saying he would “not shy away from it if it comes up”.

Yatromanolakis said he was comfortable being in government with Interior Minister Makis Voridis – who opposed gay civil unions – and was confident of Mitsotakis’s support for LGBT+ rights.

Voridis has been quoted as saying he supports gay people despite voting against the 2015 law.

Nicholas Yatromanolakis, photo via Yatromanolakis’ Facebook page.

As an opposition lawmaker, Mitsotakis – whose chief economic advisor is also gay – backed the civil partnerships law despite opposition from some members of his New Democracy party and the powerful Greek Orthodox Church.

While the legislation was hailed as a landmark for LGBT+ rights in Greece, gay and lesbian couples are still not allowed to marry, adopt children together or adopt the biological children of their partners.

He rejected the suggestion that his appointment to the culture ministry might be viewed as tokenism.

“People do not understand and see that the (cultural) sector … creates jobs, creates opportunities,” said Yatromanolakis, who used to work for a cultural centre housing the country’s national opera and library.

He said his priorities in the job included channeling state financial aid to people working in the arts during the pandemic.

Asked what measures the government could take to support LGBT+ people, Yatromanolakis said he wanted better implementation of existing anti-discrimination laws, including training in private companies and government bodies.

“No person growing up should feel they have to choose between who they are and what they want to become in life,” he said.

Sourced By: Thompson Reuters Foundation

Maria Sakkari suffers straight sets loss to Sabalenka in Abu Dhabi semi-final

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No.4 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus extended her career-best match-winning streak to 14 straight on Tuesday, charging past No.9 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece, 6-3, 6-2, to reach the final of the Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open.

Sabalenka had claimed the last three of her four previous encounters with Sakkari, which included wins in the Middle East last season in Dubai and Doha. With her fourth straight victory over the Greek in Abu Dhabi, the Belarusian zipped into her 13th career WTA singles final, needing just 57 minutes to grasp the win.

World No.10 Sabalenka slammed 22 winners in the match, including eight aces, tempered by just eight unforced errors in a commanding performance. The Belarusian controlled the court by winning 83 percent of her first-service points, continuing her run of success in the Middle East which extends back to a title-winning run in Doha last season, her previous event in the region. 

Photo by WTA/Jimmie48.

Sabalenka will now await the winner of the second semifinal to determine her final opponent, but she knows she will be facing a first-time WTA singles finalist in either Veronika Kudermetova of Russia or Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine.

Sabalenka got off to a thunderous start, dominating the early stages of the first set with her serve and forehand. The Belarusian powered to a quick break for 2-0 and was impenetrable during her first three service games, racing to 4-1 without dropping a point on serve.

After cracking a forehand return winner to break Sakkari at love for 5-1, Sabalenka was cruising to the one-set lead. However, at 15-0 in that game, Sakkari fired a return that landed square on the baseline, ending Sabalenka’s 13-point winning streak on her serve. The Greek grabbed some momentum from that point, forcing errors with her sturdy shots to earn a break for 5-2.

Sabalenka did regroup, and the Belarusian served out the set at 5-3 with more powerful groundstrokes, converting her second set point by forcing an error with a stirring crosscourt backhand. That shot ended a robust opening frame by the No.4 seed, who blasted nine winners and converted both of the break points she held.

At 2-2 in the second set, Sakkari surged back from 0-40 down to deuce with some clutch serving, but Sabalenka would not be denied, cracking forehand winners to keep herself ahead in the game. The No.4 seed eventually converted her fifth break point of the game with a forehand winner down the line, collecting a pivotal service break for 3-2.

Sabalenka eased towards the win from there, knocking off two straight service winners to hold for 4-2 before going up a double-break at 5-2, via some untimely double faults by Sakkari. Serving for the match, Sabalenka did not miss a beat, firing aces to clinch the last two points and romp into the final.

READ MORE: Maria Sakkari storms past no.1 seed into Abu Dhabi semi-finals.

Source: WTA.

Spyros Louis: Greek hero of the first modern Olympics

In 1896, Spyros Louis made Greek sporting history as the victor of the marathon race at the very first modern Olympic Games in Athens.

Spyros Louis was born on January 12, 1872 in Maroussi, Attica, from a poor rural family. When he conducted his military service as an early adult, he was distinguished for his endurance, surprising his superiors.

In March, 1896, the first celebration of the modern Olympic Games took place in its ancient birthplace: Athens. Spyros, encouraged by his commander Major Papadiamantopoulos, who was also a sports judge, entered ‘through the window’ to take part in the marathon race.

Spyros spent majority of the race in the bottom half of the ladder, with French athlete Albin Lermusiaux and Australian Edwin Flack battling it out for the title. Yet to the audience, and the competitors, surprise, a messenger was sent out to spread word that it was a Greek that led the race. The cry “Hellene, Hellene!” was taken up by thousands of spectators. Louis was the first one to cross the finish line, to the surprise of his opponents.

The athletic Greek soldier ran without any preparation and managed to prevail over his opponents, cheered by 80,000 spectators who had flooded Kallimarmaro.

Following his victory, rumours circulated that he had cheated and taken part of the route on a cart, yet the rumours were never confirmed. After receiving his laurels, Spyros settled as a farmer and lived a quiet life in Maroussi.

Spyros made appearances at multiple sporting events as an official guest, always being applauded with admiration. On August 1, 1936, he was invited by Hitler to the opening ceremony of the Berlin Olympics. Spyros attended the ceremony and reportedly offered Hitler an olive branch as a symbol of peace.

Spyridon Louis died in Maroussi, on March 26, 1940.

Statue by the Lysicrates Foundation stands proudly in Martin Place, Sydney

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A statue honouring Sir James Martin was unveiled by NSW Treasurer, Dominic Perrottet, in Martin Place in November 2020, as a fitting tribute to one of the founding fathers of modern New South Wales.

The son of a horse groom from Parramatta, Mr Martin is well-known for walking 20km from home to school in Parramatta for two years to get an education.

He grew up to be a journalist, lawyer and politician, becoming Attorney-General, three times Premier, and Chief Justice of New South Wales. He also established the Mint in Macquarie Street, Sydney.

A statue honouring Sir James Martin was unveiled by NSW Treasurer, Dominic Perrottet, in Martin Place in November 2020.

With such an amazing repertoire, it’s no surprise then that the campaign to install the memorial was driven by passionate Sydneysiders John and Patricia Azarias, the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Lysicrates Foundation.

READ MORE: TGH Exclusive: How John Azarias has brought the dramatic arts to life with the Lysicrates Foundation.

“Thanks to the efforts of John and Patricia and support on both sides of the political divide, James Martin’s story won’t be lost to history and will serve as a constant reminder of what can be achieved through hard work and determination,” Mr Perrottet said at the time of the unveiling.

John and Patricia Azarias at the Lysicrates Statue in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Photo: FAIRFAX MEDIA/Sydney Morning Herald.

But when the Foundation isn’t championing for priceless statues to be erected, it has also grown into an organisation that is dedicated to upholding and expanding the dramatic arts in Australia through the ‘Lysicrates Prize’ competition.

The winner of the inaugural Online Voters’ Lysicrates Prize for 2020 was Matthew Whittet, with his funny and sympathetic play, No Need To Hide a Light When It Shines Like Hers, about a young woman’s self-realisation.

This clear passion to continue bringing the dramatic arts to life in Sydney and shining a life on typically unknown artists, shows how the Lysicrates Foundation has a bright future ahead of it.

Greek Australian community set to enjoy special presentation of new book ‘Pontian Diet’

A special online presentation of Professor Thomas Savvidis’ new book, Pontian Diet, will be given to Pontian Greeks and the wider Greek community of Australia on January 14 at 6pm.

The event, which has been organised by the Australian Federation of Pontian Associations, will be broadcast live on the Federation’s Facebook page.

The work by Mr Savvidis, who is a Professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, was recently published by ‘Kyriakidis Publications.’

It contains 575 pages of knowledge about Pontian food culture, which has been gathered and presented from many perspectives: gastronomic, historic, folkloric, etymological, biochemical and culinary.

With rich authentic photographic material and excellent publishing quality, the book will be a must-have acquisition and will surely be a go-to book for all.

More information about the book can be found here.

Who is Thomas Savvidis:

Thomas Savvidis was born in Klimataki, Grevena, to parents from Ak Dag Maten, Pontos. He graduated from the six-grade High School of Tsotyli, Kozani. He studied Biology and Chemistry at the University of Thessaloniki.

He is a professor at the Department of Biology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He worked as a researcher at the Universities of Graz, Salzburg (Austria), Heidelberg, Göttingen and the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center (Germany). He also worked as a researcher at the University of Istanbul, where he was able to systematically study matters concerning Pontos.

Mr Savvidis has also taught at the School of the Holy Monastery ‘Holy Trinity of Halki’, to collaborate with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and to give lectures at the Phanar Greek Orthodox College (Μεγάλη του Γένους Σχολή) and at the Zografyon Lyceum in Istanbul.

He is the president of the Organisation for the Internationalisation of the Greek Language, a founding member of the Association of Pontian Students of Thessaloniki and continues to play an active role in many organisations within the Pontian and national arena.

He has contributed considerably in the study and promotion of the Pontian diet and the adoption of traditional nutritional values in today’s society. He has also scientifically recorded the flora of Pontos with edible and medicinal plants.

He has published more than 100 original scientific papers in international scientific journals and through conferences. Among his recent books, which are addressed to the general public, there are: The Diet in Pontos, Encyclopedia of Pontian Hellenism, The Mastic Tree of Chios, Homer the Vine, Homer the Botanical, The Herbs of the Pontos and Pontian Diet.