Alexandra Pascalidou Amplifies The Voices That Have Been Silenced

Alexandra Pascalidou is simply a Greek of the diaspora. Her dual practice is arsenic challenging arsenic it is beautiful.

She sees this travel arsenic a mode to embody Greece's deep-rooted contented and Sweden's egalitarian values.

Alexandra Pascalidou

Whether done TV shows similar Eurovision, documentaries, books, oregon her upcoming play astatine the Royal Dramatic Theatre, she aims to bespeak these values. Her enactment is driven by a consciousness of intent she inherited from her grandparents, who sacrificed their lives for state and democracy. Alexandra celebrates the stories, values, and resilience that link each Greeks!

Can you stock your travel into journalism and what inspired you to prosecute this career?

Growing up successful a tiny God-forgotten Greek colony with my grandparents and past successful the poorest suburb successful Sweden, I was surrounded by stories, myths and tales of wars and struggles, hardship and resilience. So, journalism became my mode to amplify voices, archer untold stories and question justness successful a satellite that doesn’t ever worth lives. Through projects like What’s Wrong with the Greeks? I managed to bring nuances and complexity to the Greek Crisis that excessively often was explained successful media with simplified stereotypes astir lazy Greeks. 

As a writer and a change-maker, however bash you equilibrium your media roles with your enactment for democracy?

There is nary ideology without escaped journalism and trustworthy news. Whether I’m filming a documentary, presenting a show, giving a motivational code connected a planetary signifier oregon moving connected my upcoming play astatine the Royal Dramatic Theatre, I privation to amplify the voices that person been silenced and crook the lights to the shadows. My TV show, with 7 episodes connected Swedish TV, The Mothers successful the Shadow of Violence, was a ngo to springiness dependable to women who mislaid their kids successful shootings. My enactment is rooted successful the content that ideology and equality aren’t conscionable ideals; they are urgent necessities and each communicative I archer is simply a measurement towards that.

What challenges person you faced arsenic a pistillate writer successful a predominantly antheral industry, and however person you flooded them?

One of the biggest challenges has been pushing against the labels others tried to enforce connected me. When I entered media, I was often told I was “too loud,” “too passionate,” oregon “too outspoken”-labels meant to tame oregon bounds me. They’ve been trying to alteration maine and to trim maine to saccharine and sexy, they tried to enactment maine successful boxes-but I broke the walls and their balls and I adjacent managed to marque abstraction for others.

You person hosted assorted TV programs; what bash you find astir rewarding astir being successful beforehand of the camera?

The astir rewarding portion is the quality connection. Hosting Eurovision and the Olympic Games was thrilling due to the fact that it allowed maine to bring some my Greek and Swedish identities to a planetary stage. It was a unification and a solemnisation of everything I emotion astir some cultures. In my speech shows, I’ve had the accidental to interrogation legends from Maradona to presidents and premier ministers to stateless humans and I learned truthful overmuch from them. Learning is life! Being successful beforehand of the camera is simply a accidental to span worlds, inspire, empower and connect.

How bash you attack storytelling successful your documentaries, specified as They Call Us Beggars and The Mothers successful the Shadow of Violence and what messages bash you anticipation to convey?

Storytelling starts with genuine curiosity and empathy. In projects like They Call Us Beggars, I wanted to displacement the speech from stigmatizing stereotypes to knowing to amusement that labels similar “beggars” are often rooted successful systemic issues. With The Mothers successful the Shadow of Violence, I felt a profound work to assistance these marginalized mothers. Each task has 1 goal: to link people, marque the invisible visible, and situation our assumptions and prejudices astir each other.

Your enactment often touches connected themes of diverseness and inclusion. How bash you deliberation the media tin amended correspond marginalized communities?

As Greeks with roots successful the cradle of democracy, we person a work to sermon and support democracy. Democracy demands diverseness and inclusion, and the media needs to halt “othering” people.  

First, we indispensable driblet the “othering” mentality and alternatively absorption connected connecting communities. Real inclusion means practice that is authentic, not tokenistic and allows these communities to archer their ain stories. I anticipation that with my upcoming play “The Fathers” astatine the Royal Dramatic Theatre, I tin bring this position into different realm, wherever we tin challenge, entertain and make an knowing of toxic masculinity and the consequences of the absent fathers.

Can you sermon a pivotal infinitesimal successful your vocation that importantly shaped your position connected journalism?

The archetypal hatred missive I received arsenic a young writer was a pivotal moment. The tsunami of hatred I received lone due to the fact that I presented myself arsenic being arrogant of being 100 % Greek and 100 % Swedish was ridiculous. It was a reminder that warring for equality and ideology would travel with costs and risks. Being a warrior of airy means you don’t springiness up owed to acheronian oregon fear. Since then, each task I person undertaken and each communicative I archer is fueled by the combat for ideology and justice.

Links to the abbreviated films I did connected escaped code and democracy.

and a shorter version

What relation does societal media play successful modern journalism, and however has it impacted your work?

Social media is simply a double-edged sword. On 1 hand, it is an amplifier and has allowed maine to stock my enactment with a planetary audience, which is captious for a journalist. On the different hand, it often turns journalists into casual targets. For me, it’s a reminder of the value of credibility, fact-checking and honorable reporting. I spot it arsenic a instrumentality for democracy, 1 that gives a dependable to the voiceless, but lone if we usage it responsibly. Social media is simply a almighty transportation instrumentality and a abstraction wherever hatred tin flourish.

You've been progressive successful assorted charitable initiatives; which causes are closest to your bosom and why?

Women’s rights and children’s rights and acquisition are closest to my heart. Growing up successful a mediocre migrant household successful Sweden, I witnessed the barriers kids from marginalized backgrounds look successful accessing prime education. Education is the cornerstone of equality, truthful I enactment initiatives that springiness each kid a just start. This isn’t charity; it’s astir philanthropy and quality rights and a cardinal portion of immoderate functioning democracy. I judge privileges travel with duties. With my occurrence communicative from zero to hero, from a cipher to idiosyncratic with a large platform, I indispensable adhd to humanity’s well-being!

Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for the aboriginal of journalism, particularly concerning ideology and quality rights?

I privation journalism to instrumentality to its roots arsenic the protector of information and to physique bridges betwixt radical by facilitating dialog and knowing successful times of misunderstandings. In today’s clime of misinformation, journalism indispensable instrumentality a bold basal for democracy, equality, diverseness and quality rights. I anticipation aboriginal journalists retrieve that each communicative they archer is portion of a larger tapestry, 1 that has the powerfulness to support oregon harm democracy. Journalism has ever been ideology successful action, and I’m hopeful that we tin proceed to signifier societies that are fairer, inclusive and conscionable to much than a few!

Vassilios Nicolaos Vitsilogiannis

Journalist

Vassilios Nicolaos Vitsilogiannis is portion of Greek City Times and its imaginativeness to marque quality known astir the world. Vassilios Nicolaos Vitsilogiannis is simply a salient writer and editor-in-chief of the luxury mag "Greece Now," which is featured arsenic an insert successful Harper's Bazaar Arabia and Esquired Middle East. He pursued higher acquisition successful Linguistics successful Canada and aboriginal studied Political Science and International Relations successful the USA. For the past decade, helium has been based successful Dubai, wherever helium has established a estimation for insightful interviews and engaging storytelling. Vassilios Nicolaos Vitsilogiannis believes successful the journalist's relation arsenic a nationalist watchdog, emphasizing the value of delivering untold stories to foster informed societies. His enactment spans assorted media platforms, including radio, wherever helium hosts a play quality report. With implicit 20 years successful the media industry, helium is recognized for creating a affable ambiance successful interviews, allowing for genuine conversations with celebrities and nationalist figures, which helium considers a captious facet of his journalistic approach.