It’s been on our radar for some time now that the first generation of Greek migrants to Australia is dwindling. But with the gradual dissipation of a generation also comes the loss of information, knowledge, and stories of hardship, great contribution, and hope.

Having recognised this, the clubs behind Hellenism Victoria launched the Spirit of Hellenism Award competition in 2017, and after a positive response have run it for a second year.

Open to youth aged 15 to 25, the competition has been designed to encourage a younger generation of Greek Australians, whether born Down Under or newly arrived from abroad, to research, record and present stories of migration by engaging with the people behind the narratives and finding out about their contribution to Australian society, all the while preserving them, and building a bridge from one generation to the next.

While participants were given parameters to adhere to, creativity was encouraged, with the option to present their entries in a variety of forms, and entrants embraced the challenge says Olympian Society representative John Vithoulkas.

“It’s obviously difficult to tell stories, so to do an investigation and turn it into something creative, which hasn’t been done before can be even harder. Format shouldn’t get in the way of telling a good story, and that’s one thing we’re trying to encourage,” Mr Vithoulkas said.

“Entrants went onto all sorts of tangents, which is what we want; we had poetry, stories, biographies, even a little movie,” and added that it was encouraging to see young people’s eagerness to go above and beyond, to do the extra work.

Entries were short-listed with the winning entries selected by the sponsors of each award, which Mr Vithoulkas said was a good way of connecting clubs and boards with the younger generation.

Senior entrant Alex Vounisios was named winner of the Delphi Bank Spirit of Hellenism award, set to be presented in a branch of the institution, for the interview he conducted with a volunteer at Fronditha Care.

The first round of presentations took place at Oakleigh Grammar on Wednesday, with Kyri Derzotis named the Fronditha Spirit of Hellenism winner for his poem on the experiences of a Fronditha volunteer; Evan Koukounaras was awarded the Pammessinian Brotherhood Spirit of Hellenism for his video production on the life of his grandparents; and Angeliki Stamatopoulou was the Olympian Society Spirit of Hellenism winner with a short story of her grandmother’s life.

Meanwhile, South Oakleigh College’s Efthymia Delichristou won the Pancretan Association Spirit of Hellenism award for her short story on the life of a Greek migrant, set to be presented at an upcoming school assembly.

Each winning entry was awarded $250, donated by the sponsor of each award.

With the majority of entries focusing on individual stories of migration, and many involving participants own grandparents, Mr Vithoulkas said it was clear the Spirit of Hellenism is far more than merely a competition for the participants, whose eyes were opened to a different reality, and one very close to home.

“I think the kids don’t realise how much the first migrants faced leaving their country; loneliness, fear of the unknown, all those sorts of things that older people probably don’t communicate to their grandkids, and that came through in quite a few; a sense of appreciation for what they went through and that intergenerational connection,” he said.

“Everything that gets made is valid and we appreciate being able to read the work of students, but we also hope such a competition can be an example to clubs of new ways of engaging with the Greek community.”

To see the entries and find out more about the work and mission of Hellenism Victoria, visit the hellenismvictoria.com web page.