The Greek Community of Melbourne is organising a panel discussion entitled ‘Sexism, Misogyny and the Migrant Woman’, focusing on the experiences of migrant women in Australia.
The event will be held at the Greek Centre on the evening of Thursday 17 March, as part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars, facilitated by Professor Joy Damousi and journalist Dina Gerolymou.
Drawing from their own personal experiences and those of Greek women in Australia from past generations, panelists Melina Mallos, Fotini Kypraios, Anatoli Amanatides and Alkistis Pitsaki will look into the absence of migrant women voices from the current public discourse, the biases and stereotypes that persist, and the new faces of sexism and misogyny.
The discussion will also delve into the limited voices and often the exclusion of CALD women from the public discussion, and even institutions in an era dominated by the narrative of diversity.
THE PANELISTS
Melina Mallos: Melina Mallos is Visual Art Education Lecturer within the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. She was formerly the Education Manager at the Museum of Chinese Australian History in Melbourne’s Chinatown. For 15 years, Melina was responsible for developing education programs for families, schools and teachers at the Queensland Art Gallery ı Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA). She holds a Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood, a Master of Education (Research) and was a Queensland-Smithsonian Fellow 2009-2010. Her debut children’s bilingual book, Catch that Cat! received wide acclaim both nationally, and overseas. Whilst teaching at Melbourne University, Melina is finishing her PhD. Her research explores the way new media usage shapes the identities and sense of belonging for Greek migrant youths living in Melbourne.
Fotini Kypraios: Fotini is the Founder and Principal Lawyer at Prisma Legal, a boutique commercial legal practice, specialising in corporate legal and governance advisory services where she has over 20 years’ experience advising clients in range of legal areas, including litigation, management, international tax consulting, governance and commercial legal issues. Fotini holds Bachelors degrees from Monash University in Arts and Law, and is the Board Chair of the Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HACCI) where she actively mentors young professionals. Fotini was awarded her Graduate Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance in 2012 by the Governance Institute of Australia and is a regular presenter of their governance certificate courses while also undertaking governance advisory roles for private clients and Not-For-Profit organisations. Most recently, Fotini also joined the Faculty of Law at Monash University as a sessional supervisor of the Innovation and Start Up Law Clinic, teaching practical commercial legal skills to penultimate and final year law students.
Anatoli Amanatides: Anatoli has been with the University of Melbourne since 2015 and worked across a number of different departments across Student Services, Research and is currently an International Agreements Adviser in the University’s Chancellery division. She also co-owns Eleni’s Kitchen and Bar in Yarraville, with her sister Eleftheria. She has also worked with a range of culturally and linguistically diverse organisations including the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Japanese Society of Melbourne and ethno-specific service provider, Pronia, where she was also the youngest person elected to the Board of Directors (2016-2020). Anatoli holds a Master of International Relations and a Bachelor of Arts (Majors in Japanese and Political Sciences) from the University of Melbourne.
Alkisti Pitsaki: Alkisti is a young artist from Athens, Greece, that began her career as a singer/ actor on stage and TV. Upon graduating with a BA(Hons) in Theatre Arts and receiving an award for Best Graduating Artist, Alkisti directed self-written shows in Greece and Australia. As a director, Alkisti focuses on physical theatre plays and works that explore political and social issues, such as war and violence. Since moving to Australia, Alkisti has worked on professional shows at Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) and as a directing intern at “Harry Potter and The Cursed Child”. Alkisti is now focusing on her roots and aims to create performances based on Ancient Greek myths and other Greek stories. In 2021 Alkisti graduated with a Masters in Theatre Directing from the VCA. Her graduating piece Αριάδνη / Ariadne was a self-written, bilingual audio play that explored the ancient myth of Αριάδνη / Ariadne of Crete. Alkisti aims to bring Ariadne to Melbourne as a live performance later this year.
When: Thursday 17 March, 7.00pm
Venue: Mezzanine level, The Greek Centre, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Online Platforms: Facebook and Youtube