Listeners and supporters of the Sydney and international broadcast radio station, Symban World Radio all gathered at Lakemba’s Greek Community Club.
Symban World Radio which broadcasts out of Hurlstone Park in Sydney on 2369AM, has been been led by Elena and Angelos Matsoukas in recent years. Angelos established the radio project 28 years ago.
The full house of 250 people were treated to an afternoon of entertainment, with what turned out to be, inadvertently, a Lesvos themed afternoon. Elena, a Greek school teacher, is from Mytilene, moving to Sydney for love and a new life before the Covid era and has helped build the radio program into a well listened to program that’s on air throughout the week.
Many broadcasts are live streamed and uploaded to YouTube.
Cultural performances for the day included singer Stratis Keligiannis, who arrived from Lesvos a few years ago, and a zebekiko performance from Nikos Vasilas.
Nikos whose heritage is also from Lesvos, is just 16 years of age. He has earned a great reputation for his masterful performances in Sydney and Melbourne.
Other performances included the Sydney Greek Dancing School who are based at Mytilenean House and performed in traditional costumes. They were followed by the youth group of Paroula’s Greek Dancing School.
The event also heard speeches from the President of the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW Harry Danalis and the Member for Canterbury Sophie Cotsis. Cotsis’ parents are from Lesvos.
Birthday boy Uncle John provided a Welcome to Country in the language of the Bundjalun Nation. Uncle John is married to a Greek woman, Aunty Liz. The “Welcome to Country” is a reminder of how ancient Uncle John’s culture is and how ancient the Greeks are; both peoples have a road ahead to preserve languages under Western colonial regimes.
*Billy Cotsis has heritage from Lesvos and is the author of Aegean Seven Take Back The Marbles
