The Greek Australian parliamentarian who is also president of the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association, participated recently in a virtual meeting discussing the roll-out of upcoming commemorative events for the completion of 200 years since the Greek evolution.
“Without doubt, the anniversary for the 200 years since the revolution is a major historic event not just for Greeks across the globe but the whole world too,” Mr Katsambanis tells SBS Greek.
Highlights
- The Greek Parliament and the Committee of “Greece 2021” are setting out a collaborative agenda for a joint bicentennial celebration of the 1821 Revolution with the Greek diaspora.
- Politicians of Greek background and Greek community members worldwide are asked to submit ideas and proposals for promoting the importance of the anniversary to an international audience.
- Peter Katsambanis MLA, who is also the head of a peak body linking together politicians of Hellenic heritage worldwide, envisions a big campaign spearheaded in Australia that would contribute to the celebrations.
Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Greeks abroad Kostas Vlasis along with the president of the “Greece 2021” Committee, Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, have called on elected officials of Greek origin across the globe to put forward suggestions, brief the Committee on related commemorative events under preparation and ask for help required by the Greek state and the committee.
Mr Katsambanis believes that representatives of the Greek Australian can play a crucial role in this common endeavour.
“We have an abundance of representative bodies, elected politicians, community groups and the Archdiocese, we can all together join in for truly memorable celebration,” he says.
The overarching purpose, Mr Katsambanis explains, is not only to highlight the significance of the revolution for international audiences who might not be aware of that part of Greece’s history, but also promote the country’s contemporary presence and tap into opportunities to reimagine its future.
“People can learn about how democracy was revived at the very place it was ‘born’, how Greeks and Philhellenes abroad had helped these efforts […] this key chapter in Greek history should not be forgotten,” Mr Katsambanis notes.
A formal invitation is expected to be sent by the “Greece 2021” Committee and the country’s Department of Foreign Affairs addressing Greek organisations internationally to participate in the commemoration initiatives.
Proposals and ideas are most welcome from community members and can be submitted via the website
