Reimagining Greek Australia: How GAS is shaping a new generation

The Greek Australian Society (GAS), oregon ‘Ελληνοαυστραλιανός Σύνδεσμος, according to George Mpliokas its president and 1 of the co-founders, was created arsenic an accidental to link antithetic generations of Greek Australians and assistance usher the assemblage into the future. They wanted to situation “preconceptions” astir the community—its creation today and its trajectory going forward.

An anchor for the future

For George Mpliokas, these “preconceptions” centre connected the conception that young Greek Australians are disengaged, starring to “a predestined end, oregon finality towards Greek assemblage participation.”

“We were uni-students successful Sydney and Melbourne chiefly to statesman with and it was hard for us to link with the broader assemblage peculiarly aft we graduated.

“Some of us person a proficiency successful Greek, some of us speak astatine slightest some Greek however, galore of our members bash not, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not passionate astir our civilization and language,” Mpliokas tells Neos Kosmos.

Many members of GAS, ‘Ελληνοαυστραλιανός Σύνδεσμος, travel from culturally mixed families—Greek Australians partnered with non-Greek Australians. However, arsenic Mpliokas notes, this does not mean that children of mixed families deficiency the spark of Hellenism.

That was then, this is now

Reflecting connected the pre-digital epoch of the 1980s, 1990s and adjacent the aboriginal 2000s, Mpliokas reflects connected the inter-generational shift.

“Students then were engaging much with elder Greek assemblage organisations instantly aft university.

“But for us, increasing up a Greek Australian successful the 2010s, oregon 2020s we recovered a increasing chasm betwixt these elder Greek Australian organisations and young people, and we wanted to beryllium capable to capable that spread to assistance easiness a transition betwixt the generations,” helium says.

Mpliokas, believes the organisation provides a space for third- and fourth-generation Greek Australians. “The GAS exemplary was to turn the existing assemblage infrastructure exemplary connected its head,” helium explains.

GAS has moved distant from the traditional geographic absorption of associations successful Greece tied to ancestral villages.

“Many of us who are third and 4th procreation person a broader affinity with Greece and Hellenism arsenic an ideal, not with a peculiar place, we whitethorn not person had firsthand acquisition with.”

George Mpliokas the president of GAS ‘Ελληνοαυστραλιανός Σύνδεσμος, with a caller harvest of Hellenes. Photo: Supplied

It’s not 1 size fits all

Being from Sydney, Mpliokas besides recognises the differences betwixt diasporas successful antithetic states.

“We wanted besides to honour those differences and interruption up the thought we grew up successful that Greek Australia that was a monolith, where each 1 size fits all.”

He recalls a lecture by Professor Nikos Papastergiadis connected “lateral engagements versus the horizontal” and reflected.

“We whitethorn person much successful communal arsenic Greek Australians of Sydney, oregon Melbourne, with Greek diaspora successful Buenos Aires and the Greek communities of Johannesburg than adjacent possibly some section Greek Australian communities.”

The GAS president besides highlights the value of recognising the antithetic waves of migration and the magnitude of clip communities person been successful Australia, which “created antithetic textures we should acknowledge.”

Moreover, helium believes these differences and commonalities are vital when considering the “underutilisation of the diaspora much broadly successful the efforts of Greece to beryllium prosperous arsenic a modern contributor to planetary society.”

“I think we person a communal value careless of the connection barriers that limits our quality to collaborate oregon engage.

“At GAS successful an Australian discourse we importune connected an inclusive environment, where radical tin link with 1 another. If we don’t cognize each different then we can’t work together, and if we can’t work together then we won’t beryllium capable to assistance our communities present oregon successful Greece,” helium states.

Mentoring the aboriginal

Among its initiatives, GAS has developed a mentoring program, which Mpliokas says gave the society “purpose.”

“We person been capable to implicit 5 years turn exponentially. We had 5 mentors and six mentees successful our archetypal year, and this year we person 27 mentors and 39 mentees successful this existent intake.”

The six-month GAS mentorship programme pairs mentors established successful their professions—who besides person lived acquisition of Greek assemblage engagement—with younger Greek Australians. The programme emphasises that nonrecreational acquisition indispensable beryllium enriched by a Greek Australian upbringing and its values.

He is not funny successful replicating manufacture training, noting that nonrecreational bodies already supply that. Instead, helium wants to connection nonrecreational and taste mentoring for emerging Greek Australian leaders and activists.

“Industry bodies are amended resourced to supply nonrecreational mentoring; what we connection is simply a space for mentors with acquisition successful Greek engagement to assistance meaningfully to younger generations of Greek Australians to plug-in and engage.

“We’re arrogant to person not lone done it successful our archetypal year but been capable to turn it each year since,” helium says.

Mpliokas with mentees. Photo: Supplied

A wide canvas for engagement

Looking ahead, GAS is exploring forums, discussions, travel and more. Over the past 5 years, the organisation has been progressive chiefly on the eastbound coast—in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane—through events and mentoring. They besides spouse with the Pharos Alliance Greek connection advocacy group, expanding from Victoria into New South Wales.

“We are looking to find immoderate accidental to collaborate and support the existing assemblage ecosystems successful Northern Territory, successful South Australia and Western Australia.”

“Now though we person to absorption connected a young leaders’ programme due to the fact that our assemblage needs radical of each ages and genders, with nonrecreational lived experiences to take positions of work successful our community.”

For Mpliokas, GAS is not astir preserving the past, alternatively it is astir engineering a future, by engaging caller generations of Greek Australians that whitethorn signifier the community’s aboriginal with purpose.

The day is accelerated approaching for the GAS 5th Anniversary Gala Ball successful Sydney connected Friday 1 October.