The President Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) Bill Papastergiadis was invited by Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge with a number of other community leaders for a briefing on the budget and its effect on immigration and multicultural communities.

 COVID 19 has not deterred the education sector of the Greek Community of Melbourne continuing its work on a range of issues.

Fellow at Newcastle University, UK, Dr. Gönül Bozoglu, will present an interesting online lecture entitled Memory Mapping and the Historic Greek Communities of Istanbul, on Thursday 22 October, as part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

The book ‘A Holiday in Greece’ by GCM student, Androula Matthews, is a bilingual children’s book (in English and Greek) and can be enjoyed by anyone of any age.

The Greek Community of Melbourne proudly acknowledges Jenny Mikakos’ contribution to public service and her tireless pursuit of social justice in the great state of Victoria.

In his response to Bill Papastergiadis’ letter (dated 21 August) to the Prime Minister encouraging the Australian Government to engage in the concerning developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Government on behalf of the PrimeMinister replied as follows:

Dr Ioanna Sitaridou will present an online lecture entitled In search for the lost Greek infinitive in Anatolia, on Thursday 15 October, at 7.00pm, as part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

The Greek Community of Melbourne has called on the Federal Government to increase pensions, on the occasion of the recent announcement of the Minister of Social Services that Australian retirees will not receive an automatic CPI increase this year, on the grounds that inflation has fallen.

In 2021, the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) will be presenting a multifaceted program of events to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the commencement of the Greek War of Independence and celebrate the Bicentenary of the Modern Greek State. It will be part of a rich program of events being planned around the world.

An interesting lecture on the Treaty of Lausanne will be presented online by Markos Carelos, on Thursday 24 September, as a part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars offered by the Greek History and Culture Seminars offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

The Greek-Australian community has been heavily impacted by COVID-19.   In particular, there is a high proportion of elderly Greek-Australians, especially in aged care, that have passed away due to COVID-19 or are currently in hospital fighting for their life as a result of this pandemic.

Greek writer and historian Antonis A. Chaldeos will presen a virtual lecture entitled "The Greeks of the Sudan", on Thursday 3 September 2020, as part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

An online lecture about the COVID-19 pandemic and the migrant communities will be presented by Kos Samaras on Thursday 27 August 2020, as part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

In he years after World War two, a weary and beleaguered European population was enticed to a mysterious southern land, a haven of prosperity and opportunity: Australia.

Εν καιρώ κορονοϊού και με δεδομένο ότι δεν μπορούν να κάνουμε μαθήματα θεάτρου από κοντά, η υπεύθυνη του θεατρικού τμήματος της Ελληνικής Κοινότητας Μελβούρνης, κ. Κατερίνα Πουταχίδου, δεν έμεινε με σταυρωμένα χέρια.

French-Greek historian at the École Normale Supérieure - Paris, Lukas Tsiptsios, will present an online lecture entitled Bizim PAOK – Our PAOK: Refugees, Sports, and Venizelism in Interwar Thessaloniki, on Thursday 6 August, as a part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

The Board of the Greek Community of Melbourne expresses its sincere condolences to the families who have recently lost beloved family members as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our hearts are with you.

Dr Sebastiana Nervegna will present online a lecture entitled Performing Greek Tragedy around the Mediterranean, on Thursday 23 July 2020, as a part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

It appears that normality as we once knew it is still a long way away. So therefore we have to adapt and accept what is now the new norm as the Covid pandemic continues.

The Greek Community of Melbourne wholeheartedly welcomes the appointment of a teacher that will allow the Greek language program at Coburg West Primary School to recommence in term three. The Greek Community of Melbourne, in conjunction with a large group of school parents, has campaigned strongly over the past two years to ensure the return of the Greek program.

Catering to the needs of students in year 7 and 8 who wish to increase their cultural literacy, investigate the origins of philosophy, science, politics, rhetoric, history and literature, be inspired from the moral insight and virtue of the classical world, read the architects of western civilization in their own words and finally select it next year as a subject of their study program which will allow them to participate in the VCE Classical Greek examinations and be benefited from its high score scaling.

This course provides students with the opportunity to develop their communication skills in Modern Greek and their knowledge and understanding of the Greek language and culture. This elementary level will introduce the Greek alphabet, greetings and introductions, and how to describe various daily activities. No prior knowledge of Greek is required.

The Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne & Victoria strongly condemns the Turkish Republic’s decision to reinstate the World Heritage listed cultural icon - Hagia Sofia (Αγία Σοφία) - back into a Mosque.

This course provides students with the opportunity to develop their communication skills in Modern Greek and their knowledge and understanding of the Greek language and culture. This elementary level will introduce the Greek alphabet, greetings and introductions, and how to describe various daily activities. No prior knowledge of Greek is required.

Dr Antonios Meimaris will present online a lecture entitled A Brief History of Randomness: From divination and gambling to modern Probability Theory & Statistics, from the Greek Centre on Thursday 9 July 2020, as a part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

Melbourne's not-for-profit community television station Channel 31 is set to be taken off air after more than 25 years of broadcasting. Channel 31 now believes that extension to its license will not be granted and the station will cease to broadcast on June 30, 2020.

An interesting discussion on strengthening the relations between Greece and Diaspora took place online on Thursday 18 June, as part of the 5th Delphi Economic Forum, with the participation of the President of the Greek Community of Melbourne and Director of the law firm Moray and Agnew, Mr. Bill Papastergiadis.

A discussion held in English, with:

• George Prevelakis, Professor emeritus, Sorbonne University (Paris 1), Permanent Representative of Greece at the OECD
• Bill Papastergiadis, Managing Partner, Moray & Agnew Lawyers, Australia
• Endy Zemenides, Executive Director, Hellenic-American Leadership Council, USA
• Moderator: Antonis Papayannides, Managing Director, Economia Publishing, Greece

Register here:

https://www.crowdcast.io/e/defoe28/register

Australians of Greek background, who historically can be considered as recent arrivals to this great country have prospered from opportunities afforded to them.

***THIS IS A VIRTUAL SEMINAR, PARTICIPATION DETAILS WILL BE POSTED ON THE GCM’s WEBPAGE NEXT WEEK*** Louise Hitchcock, Professor of Aegean Bronze Age Archaeology in the Classics and Archaeology Program at the University of Melbourne, will present a lecture entitled What the Covid-19 Pandemic Can Tell Us About the Bronze Age (12th cent) Collapse in Greece, on Thursday 25 June 2020, as a part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered for ten consecutive years by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

The weekly Greek History and Culture Public Seminar Series organized by the Greek Community of Melbourne has been affected by Covid events just like other elements of the Community’s educational and cultural event programming. Due to the on-going nature of the Covid pandemic, it was deemed necessary to suspend the series in mid-March.

This Wednesday marks the beginning National Reconciliation Week for 2020. This year’s theme is ‘In this Together’, which allows us as to assess what role we can play, as Greek Australians , on the journey towards reconciliation.

Στο κόκκινο χρώμα φωταγωγήθηκε την Τρίτη το βράδυ το Ελληνικό Κέντρο, το κτήριο της Ελληνικής Κοινότητας Μελβορνης, που βρίσκεται στην καρδιά της πόλης, στο πλαίσιο μιας πρωτοβουλίας της Συντονιστικής Επιτροπής για τις Εκδηλώσεις Μνήμης της Γενοκτονίας του Ποντιακού Ελληνισμού και των Ποντιακών Σωματείων της Μελβούρνης.

“Theatrical children’s/teens groups perform roles in front of a microphone"

Children and teenagers now have the opportunity to perform audio roles in plays, myths and fairy-tales in the Greek language, in front of a microphone and instead of having audiences they will have listeners.

Για πρώτη φορά στην ιστορία της Κοινότητας και λόγω των ειδικών συνθηκών με την κρίση του κοροναϊού, η Ετήσια Γενική Συνέλευση της Κοινότητας για το έτος 2019 πραγματοποιήθηκε εξ' αποστάσεως, λόγω των περιοριστικών μέτρων που έχουν θέσει σε εφαρμογή οι αρμόδιες αρχές.

Η Ελληνική Κοινότητα Μελβούρνης στηρίζει ένα σημαντικό πρόγραμμα ψυχολογικής υποστήριξης του Ινστιτούτου Cairnmillar, που προσφέρει δωρεάν υπηρεσίες συμβουλευτικής και ψυχικής υγείας στα Ελληνικά, μέσω τηλεφώνου ή τηλεδιάσκεψης, για τους Έλληνες νεομετανάστες και για όσους έχουν μητρική γλώσσα τα Ελληνικά.

Επιστολή στον Έλληνα πρωθυπουργό Κυριάκο Μητσοτάκη έστειλε η Ελληνική Κοινότητα Μελβούρνης σχετικά με τη Γενική Γραμματεία Απόδημου Ελληνισμού και τις συζητήσεις για τη συγχώνευσή της με τη Γενική Γραμματεία Δημόσιας Διπλωματίας, Προξενικών και Θρησκευτικών Υποθέσεων.

The Greek Community of Melbourne was founded in 1897 and is one of the oldest ethnic communities in Australia. The Chinese community were here before us.

The Australian Government has announced a new Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package, aimed at supporting services to remain open to ensure quality early childhood education

and care continues to be available to essential workers and disadvantaged and vulnerable children and families.

The Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) has over the past few weeks focussed on developing a coordinated response for Greek citizens without Australian rights navigating the COVID19 pandemic alongside the response to its own affairs.

The President of the Greek Community of Melbourne, Mr. Bill Papastergiadis, and the General Secretary, Mr. Costas Markos, had a meeting with the Acting Minister of Immigration, Mr. Alan Tudge, on Monday, to discuss issues faced by Greek citizens who are in the country with temporary visas as a result of the coronavirus.

Συνάντηση με τον αναπληρωτή υπουργό Μετανάστευσης της Αυστραλίας κ. Αλαν Τατζ πρόκειται να έχουν τη Δευτέρα ο Πρόεδρος και ο Γενικός Γραμματέας της Ελληνικής Κοινότητας Μελβούρνης κ. Βασίλης Παπαστεργιάδης και κ. Κώστας Μάρκου, για να εξεταστεί το πρόβλημα που αντιμετωπίζουν οι Έλληνες πολίτες που βρίσκονται στη χώρα με προσωρινή άδεια παραμονής, και λόγω του κορωναϊού και των περιοριστικών μέτρων αντιμετωπίζουν πολλά προβλήματα, ενώ δεν έχουν τη δυνατότητα να επιστρέψουν στην Ελλάδα.

Άμεσα έδρασε η Ελληνική Κοινότητα Μελβούρνης (ΕΚΜ) στη νέα κατάσταση που έχει διαμορφωθεί με την πανδημία του κορονοϊού που έχει ενσκήψει και τις παράπλευρες επιπτώσεις που αυτή έχει επιφέρει στη μαθητική κοινότητα.

Greek Independence Day is usually a significant occasion for people of Greek heritage to recall a defining moment in history and to celebrate Greek culture.

I have often prepared for this most important of days on the Greek calendar, full of pride and often introspection. I have thought of the heroes of that revolution and the odds that they faced and I prepared in the knowledge that we celebrate today because of the sacrifice that those heroes made.

The "Greek History and Culture Seminars" are organised and hosted by The Greek Community of Melbourne and provide the opportunity for everyone to experience the long and fascinating history of Greece and Greek culture in its various forms and stages, aspects of which have formed the foundation of Western civilisation.

This year all our seminars are free and open to the general public, and unless otherwise noted presented in English.

Most seminars take place on Thursdays at Greek Centre, Mezzanine Floor, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.

All seminars are scheduled to start at 7:00pm. For details relating to each seminar please see the website calendar close to the day of the event.

Enrol to our seminars for free and be kept up to date with details of each Seminar and all events of the Greek Community.

 2020 Greek History and Culture Seminars Program 
Online Delivery Only

Opportunity for donations/sponsorships: Donate or sponsor one or more seminars and (optionally) let your name or brand be known as a patron of culture to our members, visitors and followers, as well as the broader artistic and cultural community of Melbourne. Individual, Corporate/Organisations and Naming Rights are available. If you find the seminars of value please consider contributing to help us keep the seminars free and open to the public.

Subscribe to our email newsletter and be kept up to date with the next Seminar and all events of the Greek Community.

In light of recent developments and on-going monitoring of the COVID-19 situation, the Greek Community of Melbourne has decided to suspend its seminar series for the next month and re-evaluate the situation after the Easter Break.

We believe that this is the responsible thing to do, there will be no seminars over the course of the next four-five weeks, however all cancelled events will be rescheduled for some future date.

We appreciate your understanding on this matter.

Are you a Victorian business interested in selling your product or setting up a business in Greece? You’re invited to an information session to hear from experts about opportunities in Greece with a focus on:

The Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) would like to express its support for Greece and by extension the European Union in their joint position on the forced expulsion of refugees and economic migrants by Turkey towards Greece and Europe.

The GCM remains concerned about the fate of these refugees and economic migrants that Turkey is forcefully expelling from its borders armed with false hopes and in clear contravention of its agreement with the European Union. Greece faces a crisis on its borders not of its own making.

European leaders have promised unequivocal support and now must deliver on that commitment as Greece’s efforts in managing this latest wave is not only a task it undertakes for its own sovereignty, but the sovereignty of the whole of Europe.

Dr Antonios Meimaris will present a lecture entitled A Brief History of Randomness: From divination and gambling to modern Probability Theory & Statistics, at the Greek Centre on Monday 16 March 2020, as a part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.