AHEPA Chapter Artemis No 5 Inc. is holding a lecture on Sunday, April 18 at 3pm at the Ashbury Panarcadian Club to celebrate the heroines of the 1821 Greek Revolution.
Titled ‘The Contribution of Women to the Hellenic Revolution of 1821,’ the lecture will be given by keynote speaker, Dina Tourva, and will focus on the Greek heroines of 1821 and what these freedom fighters achieved.
“Everyone attending would come to celebrate the Heroines of 1821. As Greeks we draw inspiration from the Heroines of 1821 as they helped shape who we are today. The Heroines of 1821 fought for our freedom against larger and stronger occupational forces,” President of Chapter Artemis No 5, Mary Nagle, says.
This lecture is the first of a series of presentations by AHEPA Australia featuring prominent women and discussing key women’s issues until November 2021.
Mrs Tourva, who is the keynote speaker for this event, is a well known local artist, professor, translator, photographer, writer and activist.
If you would like to purchase a ticket to the event, they are $20 and you can RSVP to Eleni C Lianos on 0439 000 027 or Mary Nagle on 0410 787 166 by April 15.
At the age of 4, Marianos Nikolis’ dad bought him his first ever motorbike and he never looked back. Nine years later and he’s competed in a number of motorbike tournaments but ultimately, his dream is to compete in “the Formula One of motorbikes” – the MotoGP.
The Greek Herald sat down exclusively with the now 13-year-old to hear more about his dream and future plans. This is what Marianos had to say…
1. How did you first get involved in motorbike riding and when did you first compete?
I first got involved in motorbike riding when my dad bought me my first bike when I was 4 years old. My dad and my brothers rode so I followed my brothers’ footsteps as I looked up to them and wanted to beat them.
My first race was at my home club, ACT motorcycle club. I was very nervous. The butterflies were rising through my stomach. I twisted the throttle and never looked back, and I knew I loved racing and loved the sport. I loved the feeling of going so fast.
Marianos Nikolis’ dream is to become a MotoGP world champion.
2. What do you love the most about competing?
The thing I love most about competing is the adrenaline rush you get from being so close to the ground at such high speeds, trying to push to the absolute limit to beat the other riders. It just makes me feel at home.
The race I remember most would be the last race of the Oceania junior cup season at Wakefield Park. I knew I had to not crash to receive enough points to win the championship and the conditions were very difficult, therefore this made it an extremely difficult but rewarding race as I left this round as the Oceania junior cup champion.
3. Can you tell me a little bit about how the MotoGP works?
MotoGP is the highest level of motorcycle racing in the world. It is the Formula One of motorbikes.
Currently, I’m racing the Asia Talent Cup which is the road to MotoGP. In Asia Talent Cup, the youngest possible age is 12 years old. The rounds will be held at Qatar, which I’ve just completed, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia. I’m hoping to be promoted from Asia Talent Cup to Red Bull rookies to race in Europe, then when I turn 16, which is the youngest possible age you’re allowed to race World Moto 3, I would like the opportunity to do that.
My goal in Asia Talent Cup in the championship would be to finish top 5 for my rookie season and if I get invited back for another year, I would like to win the championship.
4. What would you like to say to other young Greek Australians who want to get involved in motorbike riding?
To any other young Greek Australians that want to get involved, it is a great sport. I’ve made friends from all round Australia. I’ve met a lot of people that I look up to, young and old, that are very successful in this sport. This sport can be very rewarding and very challenging at the same time, it takes a lot of perseverance and dedication as it has a lot of highs and a lot of lows.
5. What are you future plans and is there anything else you’d like to say?
My future plans are to continue to become a world champion but at the same time, I need to find sponsors that can support me to achieve my goals as motorcycle racing is very expensive.
I would also like thank my current sponsors who helped me achieve what I have so far: Alibaba, Le Wrap, Nitto Performance Engineering, Brew Bar, Freestyle Tatoo Studio, Canberra Sand and Gravel, Kitchen by Culture, Snap On Michael Phillips, Bosna Construction, Millenium Heating and cooling, Notaras Motorsport & Fyshwick Exhaust, Croydon Racing Developments.
When people hear the name Zoe Ventoura they typically think of her time playing Melissa Bannon in the popular Seven TV series, Packed to the Rafters. In 2011, she was nominated for a Logie Award for Most Popular Actress for the role, but at the end of her three-year contract, Zoe decided to pursue acting opportunities in Los Angeles instead.
A few years later, Zoe returned to Australia and won her next major role as a lead in another Seven series, Wild Boys, where she met her co-star and future husband, Daniel MacPherson.
Although Daniel and her are no longer together, they have a one-year-old son Austin and Zoe tells The Sydney Morning Herald how she managed to keep her pregnancy and birth a secret.
Zoe with her ex-husband, Daniel MacPherson, and their son, Austin.
“It wasn’t that I was hiding it. If someone had gone, ‘Oh god, she’s pregnant’ I would have been ‘yeah,’ but it never came out…” Zoe tells the media outlet.
“I’ve always been a private person. I just feel that there are some things that are worth protecting, that I want to keep for myself and for my family and my close friends.”
Throughout Zoe’s interview, it’s clear family has always been a priority for her. Growing up in Perth, she describes her formative years as “idyllic” and says she had an “uneventful childhood in a lovely way.”
Her Greek father, Terry Ventoura, is a musician and plays bass guitar. Terry met Zoe’s mother, Ruth Osborne, on a cruise ship where she was working as a choreographer and he was in a band.
Zoe was a fan-favourite on Packed to the Rafters.
“Most people assume that my dad was strict, but it’s actually not like that at all. As a kid, I remember I used to hide under tables when Dad was sound-checking before a show,” Zoe told the SMH back in 2017.
“I was always backstage or at a rehearsal with him. He also used to play guitar at home and sing me to sleep when I was young.”
Her mum, Ruth, ran a dance school in Perth, and as Zoe says, “obviously I had to go to that school.” So was it “dance mum” pressure that led Zoe to a career in the arts?
“It was quite the opposite, I can tell you. They actively encouraged us to get more stable vocations. ‘Have you thought about being a lawyer?‘, they’d say. They were very much ‘Please, please don’t do this! Go get yourself a stable life!’” Zoe says in her most recent interview.
Zoe Ventoura grew up with a Greek father.
But it was too late – Zoe was already hooked.
After six or seven years of touring the country in various stage musicals, Zoe made her transition to the small and big screen. While best known for the television roles mentioned above, she has also appeared in US films such as See No Evil (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).
Her latest role in season five of Doctor Doctor sees Zoe playing Kassie, a young, terminally ill mother. It’s her first time playing the role of a mother since becoming one herself and we’re sure she’s not going to disappoint.
After the devastating cancellation of Darwin’s biggest Greek festival, GleNTi, last year due to COVID-19, it’s back with a bang in 2021 and is definitely not going to disappoint anyone who attends.
This year, celebrations are scheduled to start on June 5 in Raintree Park, one week out from the actual GleNTi festival, which is organised by the Greek Orthodox Community of Northern Australia.
And what’s first up on the schedule? A soccer grudge match, of course!
Fierce Football NT rivals and Grecian-based clubs, Darwin Olympic and Hellenic, will play for match points in the first ever GleNTi Cup on Tuesday, June 8, with the winners to be crowned and presented on GleNTi weekend.
Darwin’s biggest Greek festival, GleNTi, last year due to COVID-19, is back with a bang in 2021. Photo: Georgia Politis Photography.
President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Northern Australia, Nicholas Poniris, told NT News that the rival match is important as sport is a big part of the Greek culture.
“All sports and athletics is [a big part of the Greek culture] so it’s really important for us to have two Greek teams here and to have something that they can play towards every year and make it really a worthwhile competition in terms of that particular match,” Mr Poniris told the media outlet.
“It’d be like a State of Origin I guess but the Greek version of local soccer in Darwin.”
This sporting rivalry will be followed up by a concert on Wednesday, June 9, with international Greek singer, Dimitris Basis. The concert, Mr Poniris says, will mark the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution this year.
People from across Australia attend the GleNTi. Photo: Georgia Politis Photography.
“The concert is to showcase the Greek Independence, a 200-year evolution of the Greek Independence… Dimitris Basis is going to be the singer who’s performing them all,” Mr Poniris says.
“Our GleNTi band is a top notch group of musicians that we get together each year… so we’ve got the best performance in the country coming out to Darwin.”
With the 2021 GleNTi celebrations fast approaching, Mr Poniris adds that if people from across Australia want to attend, they should book their accommodation as soon as possible because hotel bookings at places such as the Mantra on the Esplanade and the Darwin City Hotel are all filling up quickly with GleNTi visitors.
“We’ve got a heap booked out, over 500 hotel rooms, just of guests coming,” Mr Poniris toldNT News.
The 2021 GleNTi celebrations will run from Saturday, June 5, until the GleNTi festival on June 12-13.
Advanced projects by 10 outstanding Flinders University students will receive vital support from this year’s Playford Memorial Trust Scholarship program.
Among them is young gun and Greek Australian, Philippa Tsirgiotis, who’s biomedical and civil engineering project will advance with an Honours project based at Tonsley.
During a workplace internship, fifth-year student Philippa prototyped a novel device for shoulder rehabilitation in collaboration with Global Movement Pty Ltd. She has been invited to continue this partnership for her Masters project this year, which will involve further development and testing of the device.
Philippa at the award ceremony with Senior Lecturer from Flinders University, David Hobbs. Photo: Twitter / David Hobbs.
Ms Tsirgiotis will perform a trial of the device with patients suffering from shoulder pathologies and study users’ muscle activity during rehabilitation.
Playford Trust scholarships and awards aim to help students make the most of their studies, achieve their potential and contribute to South Australia’s knowledge, skills and research base.
The program’s priority areas include advanced manufacturing and new technologies, health sciences and enabling technologies, environmental sciences including water, energy and climate change, mining and resource development, and agriculture, aquaculture and food production.
Playford Trust chairman and former SA Premier, Dean Brown, thanked industry, government and university partners – and the enthusiastic response from students.
Advanced projects by 10 outstanding Flinders University students will receive vital support from this year’s Playford Memorial Trust Scholarship program.
“This is our highest ever level of funding, which is an impressive achievement given the disruption and uncertainty caused by COVID-19,” Mr Brown says.
Established in 1983 in honour of SA’s longest-serving Premier Sir Thomas Playford, the program has supported more than 600 students in the past decade alone.
This year, the Trust and its partners are investing more than $700,000 to support about 100 new and continuing university and TAFE students during 2021. This includes more than 30 studying for undergraduate degrees, 33 Honours students and 17 PhDs – many of whom hail from regional South Australia.
Saint Nicholas Shrine, the long-awaited church that is being constructed to replace the original St Nicholas Church at Ground Zero in Manhattan, has begun to “glow” after being clad in the very same Pentelic marble as the Parthenon, atop the Acropolis in Athens.
Pentelic marble, carved out of the ground from the quarries at Penteli, north of Athens, is a fine-grained calcitic marble. It is white, but has a unique golden tinge that makes it appear as if it is alive.
The ancient quarry on Mt. Pentelicus is protected by law and it is used exclusively to obtain material for the Acropolis Restoration Project — except for the Shrine at Ground Zero.
Exterior of Saint Nicholas Shrine glows after being clad with same marble as the Parthenon. Photo: Tribeca Citizen.
The radiant, cream-coloured light of the marble of the Parthenon has now formed part of the new walls of the shrine, and this will reflect a warm ambience outward toward those who stand on the hallowed ground of Ground Zero, where nearly 3,000 people perished in the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.
“Unlike the Parthenon, Saint Nicholas will not be a mountain of marble, but rather a monument of memory,” His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America said in a letter on the progress of the Shrine’s rebuild.
The construction is due to be complete on September 11, 2021.
“Its glow will be a candle lit to dispel the hatred and inhumanity that was behind 9/11, and to remind the world that the Light of Christ, the Light of the Resurrection shines on, overcoming all darkness.”
Archbishop Elpidophoros then went on to discuss the process of getting the marble to the United States in the first place, stressing how it had to be “conveyed” all over the world before reaching its final destination.
“We begin in Attica, where the marble has been quarried from the very same vein as the Parthenon marble, which is white with a faint tint of yellow, making it shine with a golden hue under sunlight,” Archbishop Elpidophoros says.
The Shrine’s new dome will be clad in Pentelic Marble.
“Then this marble has travelled to Austria, for its fabrication into the panels that will adorn the exterior of the building and give it that unique glow. From Austria, the panels went to Minnesota, to be assembled into their unique configuration with glass.
“And from Minnesota, to New York and the site of Saint Nicholas for the installation… A journey of over 6,700 miles!”
From the pictures we’ve seen of the shrine rebuild so far, it seems the effort was worth it!
Outrage by Cretan politicians and ordinary citizens on the island of Crete, Greece, has led to the cancellation of a controversial event by a paratroopers association that was planning to “honour” the 80th anniversary of the Nazi invasion of Crete.
The so-called European Paratroopers Association announced on social media recently that it was planning an event in Chania sometime in May to pay their respects to “the bravery of the German paratroopers.”
“It has been exactly 80 years since the III Reich Elite Troops jumped and conquered the island of Crete. We will never forget their valor,” the event poster stated.
A so called EU Paratroopers Association wants to pay tribute to their «fallen brothers» exactly 80 years since «the III Reich Elite Troops jumped and conquered the island of #Crete» as they write. And the question is are they just dangerous ignorants OR neo-Nazis?#Greecepic.twitter.com/ttXL4sf80g
According to some media reports, a number of Greek people were also set to participate in the event as there are at least three on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Association.
With this in mind, the controversial event was brought to the attention of the Greek Parliament, with the Regional Governor of Crete and his Deputy pointing out “that no relevant permission was ever given by anyone for such as event,” which was to also include a tour of historical sites of the Battle of Crete.
“Only the posting of the relevant invitation on the internet is an insult to historical memory, democracy and freedom,” Deputy Regional Minister of Culture, Costas Fasoulakis, said.
The Regional Governor of Crete, Stavros Arnaoutakis, was one of many people outraged by the event.
With questions submitted to the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Interior, Culture and Citizen’s Protection, KINAL MP Vassilis Kegkeroglou also called on the government to not allow such an event that “not only blackens Greek history, but also insults the national memory of thousands of freedom fighters who fell in the battlefield and of all Cretans.”
Ultimately, the event was canceled on Tuesday night and the Association made a last effort to justify the unjustifiable, claiming in a statement that their purpose was to “promote camaraderie,” cretalive.gr reports.
“We are very sorry if someone was offended by this and respecting the feelings of the native Greeks, we will not celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Crete,” the Association wrote in a statement.
Greece and Libya are to discuss delineating maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean, the Greek Prime Minister’s office said on Wednesday, after a meeting between the Prime Minister and the head of Libya’s Presidential Council.
The talks in Athens with Mohamed al-Menfi, who previously served as an ambassador to Greece, came a week after Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, visited Tripoli to meet with the new interim Libyan government.
Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, left, welcomes the head of the Presidential Council of Libya, Mohamed al-Menfi, before their meeting, in Athens, on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris.
The interim government took office last month, replacing two rival administrations that had governed the eastern and western parts of a country torn apart by war. It is to steer Libya to a general election in December.
Athens had expelled the Libyan ambassador in December 2019 during a dispute over a controversial deal on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean signed that year between Turkey and Libya’s UN-supported government at the time.
Greece and Cyprus were outraged by the agreement, which they say runs contrary to international law and ignores their stakes in the region. Greece has since been pushing for the new interim government to cancel the deal.
Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, left, and the head of the Presidential Council of Libya, Mohamed al-Menfi, pose for photographers before their meeting, in Athens, on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris.
Addressing al-Menfi at the start of their meeting, Mitsotakis said he welcomed “your and the Libyan Prime Minister’s intention for your country to discuss with Greece crucial issues such as the delineation of maritime boundaries.”
The north African country’s new government has not indicated it would be willing to overturn its controversial deal with Turkey.
Libyan Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, visited Ankara on Monday. Speaking after talks with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he said the deal serves both Turkey’s and Libya’s national interests. But he added it was important to start a dialogue that would take into account all involved parties’ interests.
Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, looks on as he waits for the arrival of the head of the Presidential Council of Libya, Mohamed al-Menfi, prior their meeting, in Athens, on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris.
For his part, Erdogan said the deal “has secured the interest and future of both countries.”
Turkey has been closely involved in Libya, backing the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), based in the capital Tripoli that controlled the west, against the Libyan National Army (LNA), based in Benghazi that controlled the east.
Turkey sent military supplies and fighters to Libya, helping to tilt the balance of power in favor of the Tripoli government, with which it signed the maritime deal.
A few months ago, in February 2021, Fronditha Care announced the appointment of Faye Spiteri (Tsolakis) as the new CEO, during a strategically and financially challenging time for the organisation.
Only three weeks after her appointment, Spiteri -in collaboration with the Board of Directors and Executive team- managed to layout a longer-term strategy and realigned operational plans to ensure the organisation’s sustainability.
By the end of March, Fronditha Care President Jill Taylor (Nikitakis) expressed her optimism for the future and said that they “conservatively anticipate that Fronditha Care will be back in a profitable position by December 2022.”
The Greek Herald caught up with newly appointed CEO, Faye Spiteri, who shared her vision for the organisation, her will to maintain Fronditha as an exemplary culturally centered aged care provider and the importance of embracing change for good.
Recalibration of financial issues, a priority
The first female President of Fronditha Care and Vice President of the Fronditha Care Board, during her nine-year tenure before becoming the CEO, Spiteri says that her vision at this point is to “recalibrate the financial issues that the organisation has had.”
“We have made progress, to bring the organisation back to financial sustainability and to ensure strong financial governance while we continue to provide high quality of care,” Mrs Spiteri tells The Greek Herald, stretching that change is inevitable especially in times when critical decisions need to be made.
“You have to be agile and flexible to face changes. Transparency and integrity to decisions that you make are fundamental,” she says.
“To make a difference you need to make a start”
For the last three decades through various roles, Spiteri has been on a mission to drive social change by advocating for human rights and gender equality. In 2019, she was recognised for her significant contribution to the Victorian community and inducted to the Victorian Honour Roll for Women as a Change Agent.
Now, from a different and more multidimensional role, she doesn’t hesitate to face challenges head on, in order to see Fronditha Care thrive once more and to ensure the provision of optimal care outcomes for the community’s elders.
“Change is sometimes hard to accept but it’s a constant in life and we need to rise to our responsibilities,” she said recently, boldly.
Asked where her passion to make a difference stems from, Spiteri looks back to her migrant parents.
New @Fronditha Care CEO Faye Spiteri Tsolakis has made vital inroads in recalibrating the fortunes of the organisation. With a focus on ensuring sustainability and an eye to future growth, she has launched a transformation plan. We wish Faye and her team every success. pic.twitter.com/Irf5sTJSIO
“I’ve been very fortunate in my personal life to have a loving family, always around me a mother and an aunt who really encouraged me to flourish.
“Very strong women who, like most women who migrated to Australia, were full of passion and drive not only for their own self and careers, but especially for their children and that’s always driven me to achieve. To achieve good outcomes, not only for myself but for others,” she says.
“They were a huge influence for me in understanding that we have a social responsibility to contribute to the building of a better society.
“We can all make a difference but to do so, we need to make a start,” says Fronditha Care CEO, stating that it is equally important to her to inspire and nurture the next generation of community leaders.
“It is important to me to play a small role in helping young people flourish and that’s the opportunity I got from mentors of mine as well,” she says.
The aged care sector under pressure
Talking about Australia’s aged care sector and the challenges the industry is facing, Spiteri says “that it [the sector] faced crisis points not only because of covid but also with the Royal Commission happening concurrently.”
“Fronditha care has always been an organisation that puts its residents and their families first and even now, despite our financial challenges, they’ve taken priority in all our decision making,” she says.
“What may have come as a surprise to people potentially, after the findings of the Royal Commission, is the lack of strategic investment in aged care and the lack of care about the elderly, from some providers.
“With the Royal Commission, there is 140 recommendations, but there is no road map from the government as yet. We, at Fronditha Care are already taking action on some of the most significant recommendations and findings and we are looking into how we can make improvements.”
The organisation has a 20-year action plan, 10-year strategy and rolling implementation plans.
“It’s a lot of work but I’m glad to say that despite the challenges we are facing, we have no complaints from staff or families and we are constantly reviewing our practices,” Spiteri says.
Asked how she would describe Fronditha Care in a sentence, the newly appointed CEO replies without hesitating.
“A huge network of people who feed from the successes and learn from the challenges.”
More than 130 members of South Australia’s Cretan and the broader community gathered on Saturday evening, at the Cretan House in Alberton, Adelaide, to raise much needed funds for the Association and celebrate their homeland with music, dances and local delicacies prepared by dedicated volunteers.
Photo (L): SA Cretan Association President Pantelis Fridakis (R) and former President Stamatis Borakis
“Our ‘Taverna Night’ is more of a fundraiser. It’s been 1,5 years since our last event because of COVID and it’s really exciting to have a full house today,” Cretan Association of SA President, Pantelis Fridakis told The Greek Herald.
Photo: The Greek Herald/Argyro Vourdoumpa
Fridakis said that apart from keeping the Cretan tradition alive, events like these are also an opportunity to better engage the association’s youth with their heritage.
“We aspire to keep our tradition and our culture alive and share that with the next generation. The most important thing is to keep the door open for the youth,” he said.
Photo: The Greek Herald/Argyro Vourdoumpa
“The Association has been making an effort for many years, to keep Cretans in South Australia connected. The old generation is ageing and we know there might be people of Cretan heritage in the community who might now know about us,” said former President, Stamatis Borakis.
Some of the Association’s founding members
“It’s important to remember who we are and where we come from,” he said.
The Association holds Cretan dance classes every Wednesday and their next event, the annual Battle of Crete dinner dance, will take place on June 5, 2021.
