Two sides have emerged in the lead up to Sunday’s Greek Community elections in Melbourne. The opposing groups have reconfirmed their respect for each other and their commitment to the community.
Neos Kosmos has confirmed that both current President Mr. Bill Papastergiadis and Mr. Theo Markos have assured the electorate that whoever wins they will work together for the greater benefit of the community.
Mr. Papastergiadis told Neos Kosmos that he wants to continue to build on his vision and that means a “broad representative team with more women and young people because that way we will move forward, into the future”.
Mr. Theo Markos, in a surprise move, is tilting for more power, but until last week was supporting Mr. Papastergiadis. Mr Markos said that Mr Papastergiadis did not accept some of his nominations for a joint ballot.
Mr. Papastergiadis refused to be drawn into the conflict and said that he desired unity and progress.
Some members or the Community Board, talking anonymously to Neos Kosmos said that Mr Papastergiadis has tried to reach out to Mr. Markos for months, but “Theo ignored him.”
Six members of the Board of Directors will be retiring, and Mr. Papastergiadis saw this as an opportunity to increase the number of women.
Of the five women nominated, three were by Mr Markos.
Theo Markos in a statement to Neos Kosmos said that Mr Papastergiadis, “rejected people we proposed for reasons that he only knows.”
Mr Papastergiadis said that despite them not reaching an agreement, he remains “confident of continuing to work with Theo, and any other members elected.
“I remind everyone that we have worked together for twelve years, and I look forward to working with anyone who has been elected.”
“Unity and warm relations defined the Greek Community for the last decade, and unity will continue to define the Community.”
PAPASTERGIADIS’ VISION
Papastergiadis is pitching “stability and growth” and issued Neos Kosmos with a vision statement outlining past achievements and future programs.
THE BUILDING BLOCKS
- The Community’s achievements over recent years have made us very proud, and we want to maintain this momentum in the next phase of work in the Greek Community.
- We will complete the update of the Greek Centre which includes a redesign of the Centre’s lobby and the installation of the completed Panathenaic Frieze. The Frieze will adorn the Centre and is the only replica of its kind in the world.
- We will transform our Russell Street site into a Greek Centre Hub with support from the Federal and Victorian Governments.
- The Hub will be open to all the community as a venue and meeting place and will include a great performance space.
- Importantly, it will house a library and street front for programs in Russell Street.
- Our cultural program in the Hub, will be open for Greek as well as other cross-cultural artists, contemporary and traditional.
- We will complete the major reinstatement work at the historic Evangelismos Church with the generous philanthropic support of Nick Andrianopoulos and his family.
HELLENIC EDUCATION
- We will develop a five-year plan and ensure the future of our Greek language schools’ program.
- We want to expand our Ancient and Modern Greek across the state.
- We will provide further professional development of our teaching staff and will explore career pathways for our teachers.
- We commit to the new and unique GCM Hellenic Chair in Diasporic Studies at the University of Melbourne.
- We will explore education programs in the areas of cultural practice, and the performing arts – such as music, dance, and theatre.
- We seek to further support the La Trobe Modern Greek program and enhance links between Australian and Greek academic institutions.
- We will develop educational and cultural camps to Greece for Greek Australian students
ADVOCATING FOR AND SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY
- We will continue to service and assist the Greek community, in meeting the challenges raised by the COVID19 pandemic.
- We will continue to build good relations with government leaders in Australia and Greece for the benefit of our community in Victoria.
- We will continue to engage and partner with other organisations and explore common causes and projects that benefit our community.
HELLENIC CULTURE AND THE ARTS
- We will continue our cultural programs with a fresh approach to the performing, and fine arts while never forgetting our traditional and folk arts.
- We commit to the Antipodes Festival, the Greek Film Festival, and the Writers and Flavours of Greece Festivals – all now fixtures in Melbourne’s cultural life.
- We will continue to forge partnerships with arts institutions and festivals, as we had before COVID19, with Melbourne Fringe, Melbourne International Jazz Festival, the Arts Centre and more.
- We will develop international cultural and arts exchanges with Greece and the global Diaspora.
- We will continue to present the Greek Language and Culture seminars and the annual, John Berger seminar.
Theo Markos on the offensive
In sharp contrast to Mr Papastergiadis, Mr Theo Markos provided a long-written statement to Neos Kosmos, underscoring his newfound opposition to the incumbent president. “Following my statement last Thursday, I regret to inform [you and our members] that our talks with Bill Papastergiadis on a joint ballot bore no fruit.”
Theo Markos in his statement welds himself, and his brother Costa Markos, to the history of the Community.
While a fulsome statement, there is little detail on proposed future programs for the Community. Mr. Markos is saddened by Mr. Papastergiadis rejection of some of his proposed candidates.
Costas Karamarkos, the one-time political adviser for Greek Australian politician, and later PASOK Minister, Demetri Dollis, was rejected. Mr. Markos found that “unacceptable.” “Costa Karamarkos has “vast experience in Greek and Australian political life”.
Mr. Markos’ other proposed candidates, Meni Christofakis, a former Greens candidate for Prahran, was also rejected by Mr. Papastergiadis as were, architect Costas Stefanidis, Elias Diakolamprianou and Anita Filopoulou.
“Costas Stefanidis is a newly arrived Greek, while Elias Diakolamprianou and Anita Filopoulou, have years of multicultural activity,” wrote Mr. Markos in his statement to Neos Kosmos.
“The rejections force me to withdraw from a joint ballot with Bill,” Mr Markos writes.
Mr. Markos stresses his commitment to the Community which “extends over twenty years, especially in education.”
“I seek a position on the Board of the Community where my brother, Costas Markos, has given even more years of service.
“I dare say that if he was not there, there’d be no Greek Film Festival in Melbourne today.”
Mr. Costas Markos in his statement suggests that he and his brother (Theo Markos) have a natural connection to the Community given they were born “in Lonsdale St, at the then Queen Victoria Hospital, 200 meters from the Community.”
“My father Thanasis was a member of the Community from 1956 until his death in 2008, my uncle George, now 92, has been a member of the Community since he set foot in Australia in 1959 and my mother, now in her 90s the same, as well as my aunt Theodoula and my uncle Pavlos.”
Mr. Markos highlights how he and his brother have been active in the community since the early 1980s. “First with the student movement and later with the Community.”
“We were present at the meetings of the Boards led by Papasavva, Katsimantakou, Founta and Argyropoulos, who bought the land where Alphington Grammar is today and [the property in] Bulleen.
THIS YEAR’S CANDIDATES
Jim Bossinakis, Meni Christofakis, Alexi Costa, Nick Dallas, Spiridoula Demetriou, Elias Diacolabrianos, Christos Fifis, Mena Giannellis, Eleni Hiotis, Kostas Karamarkos, Michael Karamitos, Dean Kotsianis, Nick Koukouvitakis, Vicky Kyritsis, Aggelos Makrigiorgos, Costas Markos, Theo Markos, Spiro Papadopoulos, Bill Papastergiadis, Anita Philopoulos, Marinis Pirpiris, Nicholas Poulakos, Tass Sgardelis, Anthea Sidiropoulos, Chris Sikavitsas, Kostas Stefanidis, Manuel Tsimiris, Jeana Vithoulkas, Leonidas Vlahakis, Vasso Zangalis, Efstathia Zarifopoulos.
