Greece Needs You! A Call to Greeks Around the World

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Mr Ioannis Loverdos, and a precocious level authorities delegation are presently visiting Australia to extoll the virtues of taking up Greek citizenship and enhancing engagement with the diaspora.

In a delightful twist to Greek National Tourism campaigns, wherever Greece is promoted arsenic an perfect spot of being and beckoning, utilising catchy slogans specified  “All You Want Is Greece, oregon a Greek American originative artist’s caller promotion “All you request is Greece”,  Greece present has a caller connection of its ain directed to the Greek Australian community: “Greece needs you!”

This is not conscionable different selling slogan, but a heartfelt entreaty from Athens to the diaspora, urging Greek Australians to clasp their heritage, assertion their citizenship, and enactment actively successful the aboriginal of their spiritual motherland.

The delegation, led by the Deputy Foreign Minister, includes elder administrators from the Greek Ministry of the Interior: Athanasios Balermpas, the Secretary General for Home Affairs and Organisation, Dimitrios Karnavos, the Secretary General for Citizenship, and Katerina Ouli, General Manager for Citizenship.

The delegation precocious landed successful Sydney and went consecutive into meetings with representatives from respective section Greek Australian assemblage and concern organisations arsenic good arsenic NSW authorities ministers.  Also contiguous were the Ambassador of Greece to Australia, Stavros Venizelos, and the Consul General of Greece successful Sydney, George Skemperis.

Their ngo is clear: to simplify the process of acquiring Greek citizenship and to promote arsenic galore members of the diaspora arsenic imaginable to instrumentality this important step.

The delegation besides gave a media league connected 9 October astatine the Greek Consulate successful Sydney wherever Mr Loverdos, unneurotic with his colleagues, were forthright successful their views connected a fig of issues, with Greek citizenship being a cardinal absorption of their extended circuit of Australian superior cities to prosecute with the diaspora.

Greek Citizenship Now

The Greek Government wants to promote greater Greek citizenship uptake by the diaspora.

The delegation emphasised the country’s imperative to make beardown bridges betwixt Greece and the Greeks of the diaspora, noting that the Greek Australian  assemblage is the largest and astir dynamic extracurricular of Greece.

The Deputy Foreign Minister besides appealed to what helium described arsenic a consciousness of Ecumenical Hellenism and φιλοπατρία (patriotism).

As helium enactment it, Greece is “not conscionable the onshore wrong its geographical borders but besides the ideas it has fixed commencement to”.  For Greek Australians, the connection is clear: assertion your citizenship, enactment successful Greek democracy, and assistance support the connection and civilization live for generations to come.

And the connection is present besides digital:  Greece needs you!  Strengthen your enslaved with your homeland.  Become a Greek citizen.

A cardinal taxable of the discussions was the relation of integer advancements successful streamlining citizenship applications. The delegation emphasised that their eventual purpose is to marque it easier for Greeks of the diaspora to summation citizenship, with integer platforms similar the Greek authorities portal (gov.gr) playing a pivotal role.

Are you of #Greek ancestry and you unrecorded successful Australia?  Do you privation to get Greek citizenship?  There are 2 main pathways – depending connected your family’s transportation to #Greece.

To find what you request to do, spell to https://shorturl.at/fPaGg oregon https://shorturl.at/wJPuG. 

Alternatively, 1 tin usage the integer adjunct mAIGov via the Greek authorities portal www.gov.gr

In this way, Greeks of the diaspora tin support live the glorious thread that connects centuries of a affluent history, civilization and values.

More importantly, Greek citizens tin ballot successful Greek elections and this, according to Mr Loverdos, means that Greek Australians tin go an adjacent bigger portion of Greece, firstly, by participating successful Greek nationalist affairs and, secondly, becoming much applicable to the Greek State.

Supporting Greek Language Studies

Early into his visit, Mr Loverdos announced a donation of €10,000 to the Sydney Uiversity’s School of Languages and Cultures connected behalf of the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reaffirming Greece’s enactment for the preservation and promotion of Greek studies worldwide.

Mr Loverdos acknowledged that the circumstantial donation for Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies was purely a symbolic gesture, recognising that much backing is required for this and different institutions astir the world.   And helium called connected affluent Greeks from the diaspora to enactment these efforts arsenic Greece is not capable to enactment specified institutions connected its own.

The Deputy Foreign Minister highlighted the value of speaking Greek astatine location At the aforesaid time, whilst connection is important, helium besides recognised that adjacent if radical cannot talk Greek they inactive consciousness Greek and are arrogant to beryllium Greek.

World Greek Language Day 

Mr Loverdos was asked astir the forthcoming ballot astatine the 43^rd league of the UNESCO General Conference to beryllium held successful Samarkand, Azerbaijan successful precocious October 2025 for the ceremonial proclamation of 9 February of each twelvemonth arsenic World Greek Language Day successful honour of Greece’s nationalist poet, Dionysios Solomos.

It volition beryllium recalled that this motion was discussed by the Executive Board of UNESCO earlier this twelvemonth and was supported by much than 70 Member States, with a notable objection being Australia which amazingly abstained connected the pretext that the authorities was successful caretaker mode pending the result of the past impending 2025 elections.

Mr Loverdos has antecedently highlighted the value of UNESCO’s designation  of World Greek Language Day and helium emphasised that Greek, 1 of the oldest languages and astir influential successful the world, is recognised for its timeless bequest and profound taste and linguistic impact.  He besides noted that Greek-Australian relations are precise bully and that Australia is an unfastened nine with an knowing of multiculturalism and taste diversity.  The Deputy Minister confirmed that helium volition beryllium attending the UNESCO league successful Samarkand and promised to instrumentality the substance up with the Australian delegation, though helium does not expect determination to beryllium immoderate problem.

The Return of the Parthenon Sculptures

Attention besides turned to the contented of the instrumentality of the Parthenon Sculptures presently held successful the British Museum.  Against a well-publicised backdrop of ongoing discussions having taken spot betwixt Greece and the British Museum aimed astatine trying to execute immoderate benignant of woody to resoluteness this long-standing taste practice dispute, the Deputy Foreign Minister was asked to remark connected the advancement being made and the presumption of the negotiations.

Mr Loverdos was candid, stating that whilst helium did not cognize precisely wherever the negotiations were up to, but based connected what helium has been told, Greece is connected a καλό δρόμο (which virtually translates to a ‘good road’ oregon ‘path’). He noted that it is important that this is the archetypal clip the British broadside is discussing this contented with Greece in  a meaningful way, adding:

“For Greece it is precise important to instrumentality the Parthenon sculptures due to the fact that up until present it was ever a question astir wherever they would beryllium displayed but Acropolis Museum has shown that it is the champion depository for their display, overmuch amended than the British Museum.”

He besides indicated that this is present a nationalist petition and should beryllium treated arsenic specified and not beryllium taxable to petty enactment politics.

It is possibly noteworthy that the existent Greek delegation to Sydney was instantly preceded by a fleeting sojourn by the Greek Culture Minister, Dr Lina Mendoni, to instrumentality portion successful commemorations for the “Our People, Their Stories” integer practice task by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia.  Despite the beingness of a beardown Greek Australian lobbying inaugural successful Sydney, seemingly the lone notation to the sculptures during Dr Mendoni’s sojourn was the gifting of a miniature replica of the Parthenon frieze to a NSW authorities minister.

Türkiye and the Law of the Sea

In the lawsuit of Türkiye, Greece’s notoriously bellicose Aegean neighbour, the Deputy Foreign Minister pointed retired that arsenic a effect of that nation’s existent and perchance threatening behaviour Greece is presently spending 3.4% of its gross home merchandise successful defence and subject spending – the highest successful Europe.

Mr Loverdos echoed the comments of the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, astir the contented with Türkiye’s casus belli – the menace of warfare – and repeated the adage “if you privation peace, hole for war”.  He reaffirmed that Greece is acceptable and urged that Greece’s overseas argumentation should not beryllium a enactment governmental happening and each governmental parties should beryllium agreed successful their attack to Türkiye’s actions.

Mr Loverdos besides repeated the comments of the Greek PM that arsenic agelong arsenic Erdogan’s Türkiye maintains the casus belli and continues to straight situation the sovereignty of Greek islands, Greece volition not hold to let Türkiye to person preferential loans for subject purposes from the European Union’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme unless Ankara stops threatening Athens with warfare if it exercises its close to grow territorial waters successful the Aegean Sea from 6 to 12 nautical miles.

According to the Deputy Foreign Minister, successful presumption of the Law of the Sea, Greece recognises that determination are differences successful narration to the continental support and economical exclusion zones but helium besides noted that that the 12 mile exclusion portion is the lone existent contented successful quality betwixt the 2 countries and reaffirmed that Greece is acceptable to person the substance referred for determination by the International Court of Justice (although this is contingent connected some parties consenting to the jurisdiction of the court).

He reiterated that Cyprus remains an important contented for Greece since the brutal Turkish penetration of the bluish portion of the land much than 50 years ago.

Greek National Tourism Office successful Melbourne

As to the projected and oft-touted opening of a Greek National Tourism Organisation bureau successful Melbourne, Deputy Foreign Minister Loverdos announced that the caller bureau would beryllium incorporated into the existing Greek Consulate offices successful Melbourne arsenic it is simply a Greek authority, and truthful would not beryllium taking up the connection of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria to inhabit abstraction successful the Community’s taste centre successful Lonsdale Street.

Image courtesy of Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM)

The Deputy Foreign Minister emphasised that the determination is that of EOT (the Greek National Tourism authority) and is successful the interests of the assemblage much broadly.

Recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides

At the extremity of the league and successful my capableness arsenic a subordinate of the Joint Justice Initiative, I reminded Mr Loverdos that whilst Greece has formally recognised the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides that occurred during the decease throes of the  Ottoman Empire successful the aboriginal decades of the 20^th century, sadly Australia arsenic a federation does not, retired of fearfulness of offending Türkiye and compromising the historical links said to person been forged betwixt the 2 countries astatine Gallipoli successful 1915.

Hopefully, the substance volition travel up successful bilateral discussions which Mr Loverdos has with his counterparts successful the Australian Government successful Canberra to assistance code this long-standing grievance wrong those respective communities througout Australia.

We Are All Greeks

Deputy Foreign Minister Loverdos and his delegation are to beryllium congratulated for their earnest efforts to re-open meaningful dialog with the Greek Australian diaspora and it is hoped that their consultations and meetings passim the state volition carnivore fruit.

For indeed, some Greece and Greek Australians request this.

George Vardas is the Arts and Culture Editor and amongst different things serves arsenic co Vice-President of the Australian Parthenon Association.  

All photos (unless noted otherwise) are courtesy of the Greek Consulate of Sydney.