More than 70 people gathered at Philhellene Restaurant last Friday, to raise funds for Food for Thought Network’s (FFTN) global conference for women in Greece.
Attendees included Greek Australian individuals, groups, and organisations, with notable guests such as Bill Papastergiadis, President of The Greek Community; Maria Dimopoulos AM, Global Cultural Diversity Consultant and Founder and Chair of several organisations; Nikki Ephraimidis, Acting CEO of Pronia; Leonidas Vlahakis, Chair of the Antipodes Festival; Councillors Virginia Tachos and Theo Zografos; Sotiris Hatzimanolis, Editor-in-Chief of Neos Kosmos; Konstantinos Kalymnios, writer and lawyer, Nikki Manjiaris Garay President of Iliades, to name a few.
Varvara Athanasiou-Ioannou AM, FFTN’s Founder and Chair, expressed gratitude for the community’s support and highlighted the event’s goals, raising funds for the conference and promoting awareness.
“We had two main objectives with the Tavern Night,” Athanasiou-Ioannou said touchjing on FFTN’s 23 years of empowering women.
“The first was obviously to raise as many funds as we can for the Conference, as we do not receive any government or other funding and we solely rely on fundraising and sponsorships in order to organise the conference. All the funds gathered will go towards subsidizing conference costs making it accessible to all women from all walks of life.
“Our other goal was to simply let the community know about the conference, invite people to join us in Greece and take part in this historic event, the first conference of its kind that will bring together women from all over the world in the city of Ioannina in order to connect, educate and plan for the future. We want to be able to provide a space of thought, discussion and action to all women of Greek heritage in an inclusive and embracing environment that celebrates our achievements and knowledge”.
The five-day conference, scheduled in Ioannina, aims to connect and empower women of Greek heritage worldwide. So far, over sixty women globally have submitted abstracts, and more than one hundred have registered. The event will include presentations, panel discussions, and cultural activities.
After acknowledging sponsors and donors, a fundraising target of 25,000 euros was set by Athanasiou-Ioannou.
The event raised $1400 from raffle tickets, and donations are still welcome.
Registration for the conference is open until July, with early bird registration extended to April 29.
More photos below:
