The Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM)will run a cultural and educational tour in the Attica region of Greece in September of next year for Australian students.
GCM President Bill Papastergiadis and Governor of Attica Giorgios Patoulis recently met, and in those meetings, they decided on an additional tour to the one held in July this year, by the GCM and Ministry of Foreign of Affairs.
Papastergiadis says the tours are important for the seminal development of young Greek Australians.
“The success of these joint initiatives with Ministry of Foreign Affairs demonstrated the need for more engagement of our students with Greece,” he said.
“Such engagement is important in developing a broad understanding of Greece beyond the well-known tourist spots of Mykonos and Santorini.
“The tours are available to all Greek Australians from all parts of the country hence bringing all of us closer together.”
One of the recent attendees of the July tour held in Macedonia, Helena Kayalikos shared her experience on the trip, which helped her find her ‘home’.
“Thessaloniki is a living breathing historical artefact,” she said.
“Throughout the summer camp, we visited dozens of museums, archaeological sites and ancient ruins, each enriched with their own history … I struggled to wrap my head around the fact that I was seeing sites that were over 300 years old.
“Being surrounded by the culture of my ancestors, hearing their language and eating their food, I immediately felt like I had found my home away from home.”
The GCM also note that despite this being the last term of Governor Patoulis, they have spoken and written to the new candidates.
The New Democracy candidate Deputy Minister Chardalias fully supports the initiative.
The GCM have also written to the Pasok candidate, Yiannis Sgouros and the candidate of Syriza, Giorgos Ioakeimidis who has responded favourably to the initiative.
