Greek History and Culture Seminars

20 Apr, 2026

The "Greek History and Culture Seminars" are organized and hosted by The Greek Community of Melbourne and provide the opportunity for everyone to experience the long and fascinating history of Greece and Greek culture in its various forms and stages, aspects of which have formed the foundation of Western civilization.

This year all our seminars are free and open to the general public, and unless otherwise noted, presented in English.

All seminars are scheduled to start at 7:00pm and will be held either at the Mezzanine Level of the Greek Center (168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne) or Online (see under 'Venue' on table below)

For details relating to each seminar please see the Events menu on this website close to the day of the event.

Date: Thursday 23rd April 2026, 7pm (12pm Athens time)

Speaker: Prof Vlasis Vlasidis

Topic: Gallipoli and evolving commemoration – the new Turkish perspective

Platform: Online through Youtube or Facebook (Online)

Language: English

Vlasis

BIOGRAPHY

Vlasis Vlasidis studied history at the School of Philosophy of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He completed his graduate studies and wrote his dissertation at the same school. He has received numerous scholarships, the most significant of which was from the German Marshall Fund. He has published many articles in academic journals on the interwar period. He is a member of the editorial team at www.macedonian-heritage.gr.

He is a research associate at the Macedonian News Agency and teaches the history of the Balkan media in the Department of Balkan Studies at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His main research interests are Media Studies, Mass Communication, New Media, Media History in Greece and the Balkans, Propaganda, News Agencies, Cold War, Cold War Propaganda, Cultural Industries, Migration and the Media, Military cemeteries. He is fluent in Greek, English, French, German and Bulgarian.

ABSTRACT

The Gallipoli campaign is considered among the military failures of the British and French during World War I. It left a very strong imprint on the memory of the British, Australians and New Zealanders. Already from the interwar period hundreds of veterans took cruises to visit the battlefields and their cemeteries, built by the Imperial War Graves Commissions (IWGC). At the end of the 20th century there were tens of thousands of British, Australians and New Zealanders who participated in Anzac Day and the parade at Canakkale. The Turks had their own monuments and their own ceremonies, on different dates. There was space for everyone. In the most recent decade the Erdogan regime has changed both the landscape and the events format, by building gigantic museums for every major battle and has surrounded all the British and ANZAC memorials and cemeteries with replicas of monuments with the Mustafa Kemal figure and information signs thus reducing the presence of the ANZAC and the British in the field. All this has created negative feelings among the CWGC authorities and veterans' associations, resulting in reduced visitor numbers.

Vlasis Vlasidis

Assistant Professor for Political Communication and Mass Media

Department for Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies

University of Macedonia

Egnatia 156, Thessaloniki, GR 54006, GREECE

Tel. 00302310891318

Mob.00306973357925

E-mail. vvlasidis@uom.gr, vvlasidis@hotmail.com

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GREEK COMMUNITY OF MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA

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