Greek News and Radio FL, through its journalist Mr. Ioannis Mitsakou, had the pleasure and honor of speaking with the Secretary General of Hellenism Abroad and Public Diplomacy, Mr. Chrysoulakis regarding his visit to the State of Florida, his contacts, and to convey to us extremely important and interesting information about the Greek expatriates, especially about the postal vote.
-Mr. General Secretary of Hellenism Abroad and Public Diplomacy, Mr. Chryssoulakis, what were the issues on which you informed the Community during your visit to Florida? What contacts did you make?
First of all, I had the opportunity to inform about the recent initiative of the Greek government to lift the restrictions on the voting of Greeks abroad in the elections and the postal vote, as well as the ongoing "National Strategy for Hellenism Abroad", with a three-year horizon (2024 -2027), which emphasizes Greek studies, education, culture, the role of the Church and the Diaspora approach. The integrated Strategic Planning for Homogenia puts the focus on relations with young Greeks abroad. It also foresees the mobilization of Diaspora networks, the support of Greek education abroad and of course the strengthening of relations with the Church. And it is of course indisputable that the prestige and the international position of our country are connected and strengthened by the continuous cooperation with the communities of Greeks all over the world.
I spoke about the project of Transformation of Consular Services Processes by digitalization and reduction of bureaucracy through alternative ways of processing requests, beyond the personal presence of citizens. The redesigned procedures will be applied to all 126 Consular Authorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 85 different countries and will provide, among other things, a virtual assistance service as well as Digital Submission of documents and electronic payments services, while the interconnection with the digital platforms of the General Government will be achieved .
I also referred to the hosting programs for young people of the Community implemented by the General Secretariat of Hellenism Abroad and Public Diplomacy, as well as the actions to promote Greek learning, with the most important being the online platform staellinika.com which is the result of our excellent collaboration with "STAVROS NIARCHOS" Foundation and the Center for Greek Studies operating at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. The platform aims at learning the Greek language and is aimed at both expatriates and foreign students who wish to learn Greek and get to know Greek culture. To date the platform has users in 158 countries.
Following the invitation of the Supreme President of the expatriate organization AHEPA, Savvas Tsivikou, I participated and was a speaker at the annual Epiphany Dinner established in 1934 at I.N. of the Holy Trinity in Clearwater, which was attended by the Consul General of Greece in Tampa, Loukas Tsokos, the Most Reverend Archbishop of America, Mr. Elpidophoros, the Most Reverend Archbishop of Thyatira and Great Britain, His Eminence and Exarch of Western Europe, Mr. Nikitas, who was the honoree, federal MP Gus Bilirakis and many Homogenes.
I also participated in the brilliant Epiphany celebration and Consecration of the Waters in Tarpon Springs, the largest Epiphany ceremony outside of Greece, attracting thousands of believers and media attention. I greeted the Tarpon Springs community while meeting with the youth who participated in the Consecration of the Waters ceremony.
I met with the Mayor of Tarpon Springs, Costas Vatikiotis, and discussed the organization of joint actions and events to strengthen relations with the Community there, as well as with representatives of expatriate organizations, expatriate scientists and academics, and I discussed issues concerning the Expatriates. I also participated in events for the new year, organized by our Consulate General in Tampa, while I visited educational institutions of the Greek community in Miami.
In Miami I visited, among others, the Archimedean Academy and was guided by the Director, Georgios Kafkoulis, to the educational institution with 1300 students, who are taught many courses in Greek.
- Mr. Secretary General, you mentioned the issue of the vote of Homogenes. Can you inform us about the issue of Homogeneous voting and in particular the postal vote?
There are messages of clear satisfaction on the part of the emigrants, as expressed by their institutional representatives and as conveyed to me personally by the contacts I have every day. The messages are indicative of the very positive reception, on the one hand, of the historic reform of the postal vote in the European elections, but the extension to the national elections is also requested, because they consider it to be a democratic social conquest, which they have been entitled to for many years.
This change, i.e. the extension of the postal voting measure, will certainly lead to much larger numbers of expatriate voters. I can't identify them right now. My assessment, however, is that from each electoral process the numbers will increase, because the time period now - if we go to the European elections - is not huge. The platform of the Ministry of the Interior was opened on February 19 to register and then they will register up to 40 days before the elections, that is until April 29.
In the European elections, those people who in the years of the crisis left and went to the USA, Germany and even the United Kingdom also have the opportunity to vote. It is the brain drain generation and there are around 650.000 to 700.000 young children, who left and went mainly to European countries and some of them who went to the United States or other regions of the planet. Of course, they can vote by mail as well. After all, postal voting is an option. On the other hand, it is mandatory for the outside (we are talking about the European elections), and for the inside it is optional. So for abroad, anyone who wants to vote must vote by mail. So, all these young people, if they are interested - which I think most of them are - are entitled and legalized to vote by mail.
In our difficult times, the unity and solidarity of Hellenism is our strongest strength. Our homeland recognizes in you, the Greeks Expatriate, an integral part of itself, and looks forward to your creativity and your belief in our common ideals. That is why, with a historic political reform, we are making the postal vote a reality for all Expatriate Greeks. This is a democratic and social conquest, which brings Greece closer to international practice. The exercise of the right to vote is facilitated, not only for Greeks living abroad, but also for many categories of citizens, for whom physical presence at the polls is not easy. Everyone will now be able to vote by postal vote without commuting and without inconvenience. The introduction of postal voting concerns all Greek citizens who are registered in the electoral rolls, whether they are in Greece or abroad. Thus, the voice of all Greeks inside and outside Greece will be heard more loudly.
-What is your opinion regarding Greek Charter Schools and their role in the development of Greek consciousness in the diaspora?
Your question about charter schools in the US gives us an opportunity to discuss the countless possibilities that a Greek education offers and to consider the ways in which we can continue to spread Greek culture and its universal values around the world.
It is important to emphasize that in Charter Schools, children of every color and race, including Greek children of the Homogenia, are taught the Greek language, Greek history, Greek culture. Charter schools are aimed at everyone, they help to maintain and cultivate ties with mother Greece, they act as channels of two-way communication and they contribute in a substantial way to the creation of new Philhellenes.
At this point, allow me to express my gratitude and say a big "Thank you and Bravo" to the Greeks and expatriate teachers and professors as well as to those who support them in their work. We are grateful to those people who fight for Greek education. These great teachers transmit their knowledge, but above all their love for the Greek language and Greek culture.
The Greek language is a priceless trust of our ancestors, it is our greatest treasure. The Greek language has been sculpted for more than 35 centuries in the expression of subtle concepts of philosophy and science, coarse concepts of political discourse and state institutions, complex concepts of evangelical discourse and patristic theology as well as deep contemplative concepts of ancient drama, prose and poetry. It is no coincidence that foreigners resort to Greek when they want to express ideas and concepts that other languages are unable to express. Sciences such as Medicine, Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy use many Greek words but also give Greek names to everything new they discover. As our great poet Odysseus Elytis said in his historic speech to the Greek immigrants of Sweden: "We are the only ones in the whole of Europe who have the privilege of calling the sky "sky" and the sea "sea" as they used to call it. Homer and Plato two and a half thousand years ago. That's not much. Language is not only a means of communication. It carries the soul of our people and all its history and all its kindness".
The General Secretariat of Hellenism Abroad and Public Diplomacy supports with all its might the dissemination of Greek cultural heritage abroad. All the universal values of Hellenism, global values and concepts that we find everywhere, from politics and economics to art and science, are based in the Greek language and culture.
Greek culture and the Greek language are essentially the bond that connects Greeks everywhere. At the same time, they are also the solid bridges that unite us with all those who love and study our country. We at the General Secretariat of Hellenism Abroad and Public Diplomacy are and will continue to be helpers and conductors of every initiative, every project, every action, which moves in this direction. It is our duty to be next to all the teachers and students who fight for the Greek language and Greek culture in the whole world!
Thank you for your valuable time and the help of your people who were able to organize this important interview with information for expats everywhere.
photo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anh_2oEdZc8 – by onlarissa.gr
