Events organised by the Press Office in Sydney - 2008
The Consulate General of Greece in Sydney honors the newly elected municipal councilors of Greek descent (05.11.08)
A reception organized by the Consulate General of Greece in Sydney was hosted on the 5th of November 2008 for the 21 newly elected Greek-Australian municipal councillors of New South Wales.
The Consul General, Mr Vasilios Tolios congratulated the newly elected councillors on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and handed them a congratulatory letter by the Deputy Minister, Mr Theodoros Kassimis as well.
The Press and Communication Office of Sydney offered to the Greek-Australian councillors copies of the publications About Greece and About Brand Greece together with a DVD on the new promoting campaign of the National Tourism Organization.
The event was also attended by the Coordinator of SAE in Oceania and Far East, Mr George Angelopoulos, the ex Director of the former Prime Minister John Howard’s office, Mr Athanasios Synodinos and representatives of the Greek community and the Greek-language Μedia as well.
Opening of the exhibition ‘Point of Origin’ with the participation of the Greek artist Dora Economou (11.09.08)
Τhe Press and Communication Office in Sydney collaborated with the Artspace Visual Arts Centre in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, with an aim to present ‘Point of Origin’, an exhibition that positions art at a place to start over.
‘Point of Origin’ opened, at the Artspace Visual Arts Centre, housed in the historic Gunnery Building in Woolloomooloo, fronting Sydney Harbour, on Thursday, September 11, 2008, at 6 p.m. Participating in the exhibition, Greek artist Dora Economou, contributed a work entitled Amy Foster. During the exhibition visitors will have the chance to wander in Artspace’s library and browse through such publications as Greece Unfolds, Greek Culture Yearbook 07-08, Customs and Traditions Around The World, and pamphlets and CDs provided by the Tourism Office of Greece in Sydney.
The theme of the exhibition, curated by Gary Pearson , was the point of origin, the ground zero constituent in contemporary art, the point from which each artist attempts to redefy art idioms in the wake of the legacies of aesthetic and anti-aesthetic traditions. Besides Dora Economou, other participating artists were Canadians Kelly Wood, Jack Jeffrey and Taras Polataiko, Berlin-based Ceal Floyer and Australians Huseyin Sami and Rolande Souliere.
Present at the opening were members of the Consulate General of Greece in Sydney and the Press and Communication Office, the Consulate General of Canada in Sydney, the head of the Tourism Office of Greece in Sydney, art school students and Sydney art lovers.
Suzanne Currie, President of Artspace, expressed her thanks and wished for further collaboration with the Press and Communication Office of Greece in Sydney.
The exhibition will take place until October 12, 2008.
21 May, 2008 - Book presentation in Sydney
Οn May 21, 2008, the Press and Communication Office in Sydney hosted a presentation for Peter Ewer’s book “Forgotten Anzacs: The Campaign in Greece, 1941”. Panel speakers included Dr Nicholas Doumanis, Senior Lecturer & Postgraduate Coordinator of the School of History and Philosophy at the University of NSW, who provided the historical background, Angelo Loukakis, writer and author of “The Memory of Tides”, who reviewed the book briefly, and the author himself, who highlighted crucial events and presented filmed excerpts of interviews with veterans.
As Dr Ewer explained, the term ‘Anzac’ is synonymous with the Gallipoli campaign in WWI, yet a generation later (and the only other time in history), Australians and New Zealanders joined forces again to form an Anzac Corps in the 1941 campaign in Greece. “Forgotten Anzacs” describes that fateful campaign — the Anzacs were desperately outnumbered, and fighting in deeply inhospitable conditions — but, as Dr Ewer emphasized in his speech, the heroism and the hospitality of the Greek people helped them balance the deficit.
Period photographs and two short videos with moving interviews of WWII veterans complemented the presentation.
Attending the event were the Consul General of Greece in Sydney and other Greek delegation representatives, a representative of the Archbishop of Australia, the Deputy Commissioner of the Australian Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the Director General of the Australian Ministry of Transport, officers of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet of NSW, officers of other diplomatic missions, academics, Australian WWII veterans, journalists, as well as Greek community representatives.
The presentation concluded with a small reception, offering Greek appetizers and wines.
