The Greek-Australian Society (GAS) held its first ever event in Melbourne on Friday 27 May, with a networking drinks event at the Corner Hotel in the inner city suburb of Richmond.
More than 50 Greek-Australians and Philhellenes from Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne took part in the Melbourne, Meet GAS social event, with appearances from interstate GAS Committee members, Melbourne based GAS Members, as well as local and student community leaders.
Mr. Bill Papastergiadis OAM, President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria, addressed attendees on the night, urging them to engage in historical community institutions while congratulating GAS on driving its collaborative programme, carving out pathways for continued membership and participation into the future. GAS President, Mr. George Psihoyios addressed those attending to thank them for their continued trust and support, celebrating the recent expansion of the GAS Mentoring Program following its dynamic success in 2021.
“It’s always made sense for GAS to have a presence in Melbourne,” Mr. Psihoyios said, adding that “We’ve had Melbourne-based members for some time now, as well as Dean [Kotsianis], Eleni [Nzifas] and Denise [Serdenes] on our Committee now so it’s a great fit.”
“We want to work together with existing communities, to ask for help and not to make too many assumptions. Bill [Papastergiadis] and the GOCMV team have been really supportive, and we hope that this will set the right precedent as we expand across the country.”
The GAS Mentoring Program, an initiative exclusive to members, connects students and young professionals with senior community leaders, providing a competitive edge in professional development while encouraging Greek-Australian community participation and leadership.
With close to 30 participants in the 2022 intake, including Mentors and Mentees from Melbourne, the GAS Mentoring Program has fast become a point of difference for GAS, and an innovation for engagement across generations and even between communities, with participants from non-Greek backgrounds encouraged to apply.
After the event on Friday night, Members of the GAS Committee met with a delegation from the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria on Saturday 28 May, discussing the revitalisation of the Modern Greek language in Australia and the potential for nationwide Greek-Australian cultural and social advocacy.
The members of the GAS Management Committee for 2021-2023 are:
George Psihoyios President
Vasiliki Boultadaki Vice-President
George Mpliokas Secretary
Dean Ohtaras
General Committee
Constance Piperides
John Georgaklis
Denise Serdenes
Dean Kotsianis
Eleni Nzifas
The Mentors 2022 intake for the GAS Mentoring Program are:
The Hon. Mrs. Courtney Houssos MLC, Member of the Legislative Council – Parliamentof NSW
Paul Nicolaou Executive Director – Business Sydney
George Karagiannakis Executive Director, Government Relations – IAG
Emmanuel Alfieris Executive Director, Banks, Government & Education – Commonwealth Bank
Jim Tatsis National Manager, Operations – Brookfield Properties
Katarina Kvitkovic Manager Complaints & Proactive Compliance – Information & Privacy Commission NSW
Nick Gonios Founder & CEO – Circulist
Peter Filopoulos Head of Marketing, Communications & Corporate Affairs – Football Australia
Sia Tsoutsas Head of Talent – Scentre Group / Westfield Australia & New Zealand
Peter Doukas OAM Managing Director – Denison Toyer
Eleni Tatsis Director of Learning – St Andrew’s Cathedral School, Sydney
Harry Mavrolefteros Founding Director – First Education
George Psihoyios President – Greek-Australian Society
