Greece’s Culture Minister, Lina Mendoni, and Cyprus‘s Deputy Minister of Culture, Lina Kassianidou, have officially signed the first-ever Cultural Cooperation Agreement between the two nations. According to amna.gr, this significant milestone reaffirms the strong, productive, and mutually beneficial ties between Greece and Cyprus in culture.
This agreement is a continuation of the ongoing collaboration between the cultural ministries of both countries and a result of the work of the 1st Supreme Council of Cooperation Greece – Cyprus under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Nikos Christodoulides, which took place in Athens last November.
The Agreement replaces the Memorandums of Cooperation of the previous years and reflects the new directions and content of cultural cooperation, which expands into the fields of Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Culture.
— Υφυπουργείο Πολιτισμού- Deputy Ministry of Culture (@DepMinCultureCy) August 23, 2024
The Agreement provides for the exchange of good practices concerning the organization of archaeological museums, with an emphasis on the construction of the new Archaeological Museum in Nicosia, as well as the organization and exchange of periodical exhibitions.
In recent years, important work has been done in Greece, in the context of the digital transformation of the Ministry of Culture, with the creation of the Archaeological Cadastre, the Portal of Mobile Monuments, the Historical Archive of Excavations and Restorations and their respective Integrated Information Systems, with substantial results in the service of citizens, the educational and the investment community.
In this context, it was agreed to transfer know-how for the respective issues to Cyprus. It was agreed to exchange know-how through the Organization for the Management and Development of Cultural Resources and the training of Cypriot students in workshops, as well as their participation in cultural programmes.
SA has a rich history of sporting families where talent and passion are passed down through generations. One such family is the Phillipou family, whose football legacy spans three generations.
According to The Advertiser, it all began with Peter Phillipou, who played 272 SANFL games and scored 124 goals for the Eagles between 1967 and 1984. His son, Sam, continued the tradition.
Torrens captain in 1982 and 1983, the classy utility broke up his long stint at the club by moving to Canberra and playing 60 games for Eastlake from 1974-76.
Peter represented SA and the ACT at state level and was the Eagles’ leading goalkicker in 1971 (30 goals) and 1972 (40).
His son, Sam, continued the tradition, playing 150 SANFL games and three AFL matches from 1992 to 2005. Debuting at league level for Woodville-West Torrens, he played 106 games and kicked 180 goals for the club in three different stints and was a member of their inaugural premiership team in 1993.
In between, he played three AFL games for Footscray in 1995 and 44 games, kicking 70 goals, in two stints with Port Adelaide’s SANFL side.
Sam’s son, Mattaes, 19, was drafted by St Kilda with the 10th selection at the 2022 AFL national draft. He is an explosive, 190cm midfielder/forward who played every game in his debut season and has so far racked up 36 AFL games and kicked 20 goals.
Mattaes’s younger brother, Jevan, is also a promising talent, making waves in junior football and eyeing a future in the AFL.
Europe is implementing the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), which will be linked to the passenger’s passport.
The ETIAS functions as a mechanism for screening arrivals before travel.
Beginning in the first half of 2025, travellers arriving in Europe from Australia and 59 other visa-exempt countries will be required to obtain an ETIAS online prior to their trip.
A six-month transitional period will be in effect, during which travellers who have not yet secured their ETIAS will still be permitted to enter Europe, provided they meet all other entry requirements.
The initial cost of the ETIAS will be seven euros (11.57 AUD). There will be no fee for travellers under 18 and above 70, and family members of EU citizens.
Administrators have stated that most ETIAS applications will be processed “within minutes.” However, they also caution that the processing time could extend up to 30 days if further information is required.
European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos said that the system “will ensure that we no longer have an information gap on visa-free travellers”.
“Anyone who poses a migratory or security risk will be identified before they even travel to EU borders, while the travel of bona fide travellers will be facilitated,” he added.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ film “Poor Things” has been honoured as the 2024 Movie of the Year by the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), marking a historic first for a Greek director, according to ekathimerini.com
Nearly 800 film critics from around the globe participated in the voting process to select the winner of the FIPRESCI Grand Prix. The award will be officially presented on September 20 during the opening gala of the 72nd San Sebastian Festival in Spain, where the winning film, an Irish/British/US co-production, will also be screened.
The other four finalists for the award included “Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World” by Radu Jude, “Evil Does Not Exist” by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, “All of Us Strangers” by Andrew Haigh, and “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” by Mohamad Rasoulof.
Yorgos Lanthimos directs Emma Stone in film, Poor things. Photo: OiCanada
“Poor Things” debuted in 2023 at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Golden Lion for Best Film. This accolade launched the film into an exceptional international journey, earning it numerous awards, including two Golden Globes, five BAFTAs, and four Oscars out of eleven nominations, with Emma Stone winning for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Since its inception in 1999, the FIPRESCI Grand Prix has recognized the work of distinguished filmmakers such as Maren Ade, Pedro Almodóvar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Alfonso Cuarón, Jean-Luc Godard, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Michael Haneke, Aki Kaurismäki, Richard Linklater, Terrence Malick, George Miller, Cristian Mungiu, and Chloé Zhao.
Athens has risen to become the seventh most significant global shipping hub, according to the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Center Development Index (ISCDI). Ekathimerini.com has reported that this ranking includes the greater Athens area and the port of Piraeus, which moved up one spot from its previous position.
The ISCDI index evaluates not only port traffic but also overall business activity and innovation within the shipping industry. For instance, while Ningbo-Zhoushan in China is the world’s busiest port in terms of cargo tonnage, it ranks just below Athens in overall importance.
The top 10 global shipping hubs, as ranked by ISCDI, are: Singapore, London, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dubai, Rotterdam, Athens/Piraeus, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Hamburg, and New York/New Jersey.
It was a busy day in the Greek football world at the Europa Conference League. We take a look at results for Pafos FC and Panathinaikos FC.
Pafos FC: Third time’s the charm and history is made
It was a magical and dreamlike evening for Pafos FC, which made history with a stunning 3-0 victory over Cluj. The team overturned a 1-0 deficit from the first leg and secured their first-ever qualification to the League Phase of the Europa Conference League.
The goals for the victors were scored by Jazza (28’), Goldar (30’), and Tankovic (48’).
As the final whistle blew, Pafos celebrated their triumph and their fans reveled in the historic qualification.
With this victory, Pafos FC has proven that they can compete at a high level and is now preparing for its next challenge at the Conference League.
Panathinaikos FC beat Lans to advance to UEFA Conference League Group Stage
Greek football club Panathinaikos FC beat French Lans 2-0 in the second leg of the UEFA Conference League play-off at the OAKA Athens stadium on Thursday evening and advanced to the group stage.
The Greens scored twice in the second half (Pellistri 62’, and Tete 85’) and secured a one-goal aggregate victory over the two legs (Lans won 2-1 in the first match).
The Greek team will now enter into one of four pots for the draw of the UEFA Conference League group phase, which is scheduled to take place in Monaco.
The 36 teams will be divided into four pots of nine teams each based on their UEFA coefficients. The draw will determine each team’s eight league phase opponents, with an AI-generated software deciding the fixtures.
Greece and Saudi Arabia are joining forces to evacuate and tow a Greek-owned oil tanker Sounion, which was attacked last week in the Red Sea by the Houthis.
Thetanker was targeted by multiple projectiles off Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah as the Iran-aligned Houthis has been attacking ships in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
According to Bloomberg, the plan to evacuate the tanker involves transferring the oil inside (approximately 150,000 tons) to another vessel, while Sounion will be towed to a safe port, probably in Djibouti.
Greek, French and Italian ships from the European Union’s Aspides naval operation will escort the tanker and the Saudis will likely oversee the oil transfer.
The Houthis have agreed to allow the tugboats to remove the Sounion. The group later released a video of their attack on the Greek-owned oil tanker.
مشاهد اقتحام وإحراق السفينة اليونانية (SOUNION) في البحر الأحمر والتي قامت الشركة المالكة لها بإنتهاك قرار حظر الدخول إلى موانئ فلسطين المحتلة pic.twitter.com/U6U56ME759
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, European partners and key regional players, including Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, have successfully cooperated to make the evacuation possible.
Greek Foreign Minister Georgios Gerapetritis said on Thursday that he spoke with the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister to ensure that “this matter will be handled as safely as possible.”
This evacuation comes after conflicting reports emerged during the past week over whether the Sounion was leaking oil into the Red Sea or not.
In the absolute worst-case scenario, a leak of all Sounion’s cargo would represent the fifth-largest spill on record, surpassing incidents like the 2018 Sanchi spill near China.
Yiayia Effie Tzaferis was born for the camera. Sitting on her couch at home, her daughter Dimitra Mormanis and granddaughter Renee Mormanis conducted a practice run of her interview with The Greek Herald on camera… unbeknownst to us at the time.
Before long, the mock interview found its way to TGH Headquarters and naturally we had to make it a reality.
Having already prepped and primed for our interview, Ms Tzaferis got stuck right into telling The Greek Herald about how she feels so young in her 90s.
“Every morning I wake up, I light the oil lamp, I go to my icons and pray to Panagia and ask that she keeps my family and the world happy and healthy. God gives me everything I need in droves… I’m also stubborn!” she said.
“I walk for one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening. I never stop moving in my house. From the moment I got to Australia, I never once touched any fast food. I love to cook all kinds of Greek cuisine. I like to cook kokkinista, pork ribs with celery, potatoes and tomatoes. I make a nice pastitsio and moussaka.”
Ms Tzaferis has played a starring role in her granddaughter Renee’s TikTok videos since the beginning of the year, but the duo have been making videos long before then.
“We always make videos every time I go to her house with my sister. Essentially, we have a massive memory bank of really funny stuff and doing things that we won’t share on social media; that’s just for us to have as memories,” Renee said.
“Eventually we thought, why don’t we start making videos to share more widely? She has a very funny personality and it resonates with a lot of other families. Yiayia loves it. When we go over, we put the camera up and she talks to it. She’s always camera ready.”
The family now regards her as somewhat of a social media star.
“She knows we share the videos, but she doesn’t really understand that people are watching her from all around the world,” Dimitra said.
Ms Tzaferis added, “I have great girls. I like that people get to watch what we do. I wait for her to come and visit so we can make our videos.”
Decades prior, Ms Tzaferis couldn’t have imagined the life that lay ahead of her. Being the second eldest of many siblings, her youth was filled with hard work.
“Life in Greece was difficult. We didn’t have the things we needed so I had to work. I was digging, carrying wood, I was doing all kinds of work. I had to get up in the middle of the night to collect the wood to start the fireplace at home before everyone woke up,” she said.
Ms Tzaferis came to Australia from Levidi, Arcardia in 1956, following her brother.
“Then I came to Australia and worked even harder,” she said.
As she began making a life for herself in Australia, Ms Tzaferis like many women at the time found herself behind a sewing machine, working as a seamstress.
Those days were made a little easier when she found her beloved Yianni.
“My brother knew a lot of people and he introduced me to my husband. We spent such wonderful times together. We went everywhere. My husband is an islander from Samos, so naturally we had to be close to the sea, so we lived coastally. We would head to the beach, go fishing; they were great years,” she explained.
Effie and her husband.
“We had two girls, Dimitra and Fotini. I have five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren now.”
As she closes in on almost seven decades in Sydney, the three-generations of women reflect on Ms Tzaferis’ youthful spirit.
“She loves listening to the girls gossip and chat about their boyfriends. She thrives on it; it’s like she’s reliving her youth through them. She loves when we make her up and she still feels 20. I was talking to her about it recently. I said ‘You’re 92 but you still feel 20 on the inside?’ She says ‘Yes, that’s how I feel’,” Dimitra said.
“She’s unique; she’s not your average yiayia. She’s funny, she’s serious. As she’s gotten older, we’ve noticed in the last 10 years, she gives it to everyone. She says it as it is. There’s no filter, she’s tough, she doesn’t care. But she’s got a big heart.”
Whilst prayer, hearty home cooked meals and walks are the perfect ingredients for a long fruitful life according to Ms Tzaferis, the most important spice is of course, family.
“Yiayia has really put a huge emphasis on family as a whole unit and really instilled our Greek Orthodox culture. She’s always made sure we’re together, always bonding and connecting with one another. It’s helped us create this really strong support network within our family,” Renee said.
Anastasia Lambros, a Year 11 student at St Euphemia College in Sydney’s Bankstown, has been honoured with the esteemed Victor Chang Science Award for her outstanding achievements in Biology and Chemistry.
This prestigious accolade, named in memory of the renowned heart surgeon Dr Victor Chang, recognises exceptional talent and dedication among secondary school students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
Anastasia’s remarkable performance in her science studies has distinguished her as a deserving recipient of the award. Her commitment to academic excellence reflects the qualities the Victor Chang Science Award aims to celebrate and promote.
“St Euphemia is proud of Anastasia’s accomplishments and looks forward to her future contributions to the scientific community!” the post read.
The award, established to honour Dr Chang’s legacy, seeks to inspire and encourage young students to pursue careers in STEM. By spotlighting students like Anastasia, the Victor Chang Science Award hopes to cultivate a new generation of innovators and problem-solvers.
A distinguished collective of history teachers and scholars have called on the NSW Education Department, formally referred to as the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA), to include the Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Genocides as a dedicated Depth Study in the New South Wales History Curriculum, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).
This cohort of academics joins every member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, who unanimously supported a motion calling on the government of Australia’s largest state to expand Holocaust education to include the Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Genocides.
The letter, signed by 27 academics from various institutions across NSW, including the University of Sydney, University of Macquarie, University of Newcastle and UNSW, amongst others, was addressed to Paul Cahill – Executive Director of Curriculum Reform at NESA, and the Hon. Prue Car – Deputy Premier of NSW and Education Minister.
The letter read: “Firstly, we believe that failing to include such a topic in the curriculum does not provide an accurate analysis of World War I, with the 1915-1923 Genocides often being characterised as one of the first of the 20th century.”
Pontian Greek Genocide. Photo: AHEPA.
The signatories go on to urge Mr Cahill to include the 1915 Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Genocides in the curriculum as an in-depth study to shed light on Australia’s first major humanitarian relief effort to aid victims of the 1915 Genocide and to reinforce the importance of tolerance for divergent cultures and beliefs; a core value of a multicultural, democratic society.
ANC-AU Executive Director Michael Kolokossian said, “Genocide education is crucial for fostering a well-informed and empathetic society. By understanding past atrocities, we equip our students with the knowledge to prevent such tragedies in the future and promote a culture of tolerance and human rights.”
The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) has written to each of the signatories, expressing the community’s gratitude for their principled stance and their ongoing efforts to educate young people about the Armenian Genocide.
The full list of signatories can be found below.
Signatories include:
Professor Peter Stanley, Research Professor, UNSW Canberra
Dr. Melanie O’Brien, Associate Professor of International Law, University of Western Australia; President, International Association of Genocide Scholars
Dr. Darren O’Brien, Chair, Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Vicken Babkenian, Independent Researcher, Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Dr. Panayotis Diamadis, Vice President, Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Professor Philip Dwyer, Centre for the Study of Violence, University of Newcastle
Professor Paul Richard McKechnie, Associate Professor in Ancient Cultures, Macquarie University
Professor Hans Lukas Kieser, Associate Professor of History, University of Newcastle; Titularprofessor, University of Zurich
Dr. Eureka Henrich, Lecturer in History, UNSW Sydney
Dr. Umit Kurt, School of Humanities, University of Newcastle
Dr. Sacha Davis, Lecturer in History, University of Newcastle
Ms. Michelle Shamoell, Social Work Lecturer, Excelsia College
Dr. Yona Gilead, Malka Einhorn Modern Hebrew Senior Lecturer & Program Director
Mr. Edward Demirdjian, Principal, Hamazkaine Arshak & Sophie Galstaun College
Ms. Leyana Alkhas, Secondary School Teacher
Dr. Deborah Mayersen, Senior Lecturer in International and Political Studies, UNSW Canberra
Dr. Eyal Mayroz, Senior Lecturer, Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney
Professor Iain Gardner FAHA, Professor of the History of Religions, University of Sydney
Dr. Yona Gilead, Malka Einhorn Modern Hebrew Senior Lecturer & Program Director
Professor Luke McNamara, Centre for Criminology, Law and Justice, UNSW
Suzanne D. Rutland OAM, Professor Emerita, Hebrew, Biblical & Jewish Studies, University of Sydney
Associate Professor Matthew Bailey, Director of Education, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University
James Der Derian, Director, Centre for International Security Studies, University of Sydney
Dr. Marco Duranti, Senior Lecturer in Modern European and International History, University of Sydney
Dr. Jan Láníek, Associate Professor in Jewish and Modern European History, UNSW Sydney
Ann Curthoys AM, Professor Emerita at the Australian National University
Dr. Michael Abrahams-Sprod, Roth Senior Lecturer in Jewish Civilisation, Education and Israel Studies, University of Sydney
