The Australian Hellenic Memorial Foundation has announced the 2023 School Competition open for its 14th consecutive year, continuing its mission to encourage students to learn and engage with the events and history in Greece during World War II.

The Competition is for all schools in Victoria where the Greek language is taught, with students from year 1 to year 12 eligible to submit an entry.

It is designed as an independent exercise, with students allowed to submit anything related to the Greek Campaign and the ANZACs in Greece during the War, whether it be a story, poem, essay, a drawn picture of soldiers.

“We leave it up to the individual students to send us whatever they feel comfortable with,” said Steve (Anastasios) Kyritsis, President of the Australian Hellenic Memorial Foundation, Melbourne.

Cash prizes will be given to the best entries, ranging up to $250, while every participant will receive a badge of the Memorial and a certificate of Participation.

The awards for the Competition will be given on Sunday 22 October, 12 pm, at the Australian Hellenic Memorial.

For years, the Competition has afforded students an opportunity to learn and reflect about the history of World War II and thus understand even greater why the Australian Hellenic Memorial in Melbourne was built, with as many as 400 participating in the past.

“It’s nice to see the number of students that take part in the competition. It looks to me that they already know about the events in World War II from the Greek Campaign. This makes it easier for them to send us whatever they feel like about the events that took place during the Second World War,” Mr Kyritsis told Neos Kosmos.

Mr Kyritsis, a Vietnam war veteran himself, admitted it gives him great pleasure to see the youth engage with the history of the War,

“I get a lot of satisfaction when young people learn or already know about the sacrifice of their allies, Australians, New Zealanders, British, that came to support Greece in a time of need,” he said.

“We also cannot forget about the ιστορικό ΟΧΙ Day (October 28th) which means a lot to Greece and to everyone that knows about the history of the Second World War.”

Mr Kyritsis stressed the significance of the Australian Hellenic Memorial, built 22 years ago), which acknowledges the service and sacrifice of all those who gave so much to Greece in the Second World War, ensuring the servicemen and servicewomen are not forgotten.

The Competition is also supported by the Melbourne Greek Consulate for Educational Affairs.