The Greek Australian Society (GAS) celebrated its fifth year of operation last Friday with a ball at the Grand Alpha in Sydney. The event brought together guests from across NSW, Queensland, Victoria, and even overseas.
The celebration was attended by leading members of the Greek community, media representatives, Greek and Cypriot diplomats, NSW government and opposition leaders, and Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia.
George Mpliokas, President of GAS, spoke about the founders of the organisation — George Psihoyios, John Georgaklis, and himself. Mpliokas joked that “George, George, and John were the founding members, and it was simple to contact them — just call out George, George, and John.”
Steve Kamper, Minister for Multiculturalism, also a Greek Australian, lauded the work of GAS in maintaining Greek tradition and language within what he described as a unique Greek Australian diaspora.
“If you take out the ‘Australian’ from Greek Australian, then I am not who I am, because I am Australian. And if you take out the ‘Greek’ again, I am not who I am, as I will have lost thousands of years of civilisation and culture,” Kamper said.
“How lucky are we to be representatives of two of the most beautiful nations on earth — Greece and Australia!”
The Leader of the NSW Opposition, Mark Speakman, also addressed the crowd, congratulating GAS and highlighting the significant contributions of Greek Australians “in the economy, the arts, in science and medicine, and of course, in law.”
George Skemperis, the newly appointed Consul General of Greece for NSW, spoke and described Greece as “middle class” and “old money,” implying that the Greek diaspora represents “new money” — aspirational and ambitious. Antonis Sammoutis, High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus, also congratulated GAS for its achievements.
The event included the presentation of the Emmanuel Alfieris Award to a mentee “who had shown initiative and growth,” said Mpliokas.
Speaking to Neos Kosmos, Mpliokas said he was “thrilled” with the event.
“To have guests travel from across the country and even overseas to attend our event is a tribute to the community we’ve built together. To have the support of the Minister for Multiculturalism and to have the Leader of the Opposition dancing tsamiko is very special.”
Mpliokas said he welcomed young GAS members to the Hellenic Club, “some for the first time, alongside Greek Australians from different generations, professions, and all walks of life, celebrating together.”
“We connect with our past in subtle but powerful ways to help shape our future.”
Reflecting on the organisation’s growth, Mpliokas said that in five years GAS had “established solid foundations.”
“We have grown our Mentoring Program every year, we are taking principled action to revitalise our Greek language, and now we have the quality and quantity of membership and goodwill to achieve incredible things.
“Our Young Leaders Program will be an opportunity to cultivate our next generation of Greek Australian leadership. Our expansion beyond Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane will cement our place as a truly national organisation.”
The mentee who received the award was Ari Paraskakis, who also serves as Vice President of the Cretan Association of NSW.
Several appreciation awards were also presented to various patrons and supporters, including the publisher of this masthead, Christopher Gogos. The formalities concluded with the cutting of a large birthday cake for GAS, which was shared among guests.
After the formalities, organisers, dignitaries, and attendees wasted no time hitting the dance floor.
