Three Greek-Australians were among the 27 inductees to the first-ever Victorian Multicultural Honour Roll 2022 for individuals in Victoria who have made an exceptional and lasting contribution to multiculturalism in the state.
Former vice-president of the Greek Community of Melbourne, Tammy Iliou, historian and educator Dr Christos Fifis and long-serving multicultural advocate Elias Diacolabrianos were on the roll that was unveiled in a ceremony held by the Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC) on Tuesday, 31 May.
The VMC said the new honour roll was created as a separate awards platform to shed light on those who “promote multicultural civic participation, and social, cultural and economic benefits of diversity, in line with the VMC’s legislative objective under the Multicultural Victoria Act 2011.”
Ms Iliou was inducted for her work as a “trailblazer and community leader for Melbourne’s Greek community. She has actively engaged in Greek community activities for more than 30 years and led of the development of numerous welfare, arts and community programs,” the VMC said.
“Across different cultural groups, Tammy has been focused on developing young female leaders and programs for the elderly who typically face a distinct set of challenges around language, and access to and use of technology.
Dr Fifis was recognised for his more than 50 years of initiating and supporting the establishment of Greek translation services, historical documentation and literary work.
“Christos is a prominent advocate for social and community services, a broadcaster for Greek Australian media and has been a volunteer broadcaster for Melbourne’s multicultural radio 3ZZZ program for over 30 years,” noted the VMC.
Of Mr Diacolabrianos, the VMC said that since he came to Melbourne 50 years ago, he had made lasting contributions to multiculturalism in Victoria. He was a champion of accessible translation, welfare and community support services.
“Elias also advocates for increased diversity in Australia’s media landscape and is himself a media broadcaster, having been involved in the expansion of community radio since the 1970s,” said the VMC which also noted that he was one of the first broadcasters to work for radio 3ZZZ and continued to present a weekly program and was a member of the station’s board.
The new honour roll replaced the Meritorious Service to the Community category in the the Victorian Multicultural Commission’s (VMC) annual Multicultural Awards for Excellence.
