A petition with over twenty two thousand signatures gathered by Neos Kosmos in support of Modern Greek with the help of community organisations and businesses were tabled in Federal Parliament last week.
The petition was tabled by the Greek Federal members of Parliament, Ms Maria Vamvakinou from Victoria and Steve Georganas from Adelaide.
Ms Vamvakinou used her speech to inform the House of Representatives about the campaign waged by the Greek community to have Modern Greek included in the national curriculum for languages.
The petitions are only the second bilingual petitions ever presented to the federal parliament and the 22 405 signatures are part of an ongoing nationwide campaign ensure the importance of Modern Greek as a language of cultural, historical and economic importance to the broader Australian community was recognised.
“The number of signatures gathered for the petition I present this evening are the first of more to come and are a strong indicator that in this case the Modern Greek language has become not only a relevant working language and resource for the 365,000 people who identify with Greek ancestry but also a linguistic means for future generations of Australians to connect with the global community,” Ms Vamavakinou said.
The Victorian Federal MP went on to say: “The petition to include the Modern Greek language in the national curriculum is also about giving the wider community the choice to get involved and benefit from a culture that forms a large sector of the Australian population. The sheer volume of signatures in this petition is testament to how genuine the community is in giving the Australian nation the opportunity to embark on a journey to experience and learn more about the Greek language and culture. Community languages are, after all, about the journey of sharing with others what is uniquely important and relevant to the multicultural fabric that makes up our nation of Australia.”
Ms Vamvakinou also thanked Neos Kosmos for its initiative to gather signatures with the support of Greek community organisations and motivated individuals.
The Modern Greek Teachers Association of Victoria, La Trobe University’s department of Modern Greek language, and the other Greek departments in schools and universities across Australia, the Greek Orthodox community of Melbourne and Victoria, the World Council of Hellenes Abroad, the Australian Hellenic Council, SBS, 3ZZZ community radio, other media outlets were thanked for their support fo the campaign to have Modern Greek included into the national curriculum.