Press Releases

Joint actions on the education and promotion of the Greek language abroad at the centre of the discussions

On the side of the World Conference of Overseas Cypriots deliberations, which are held in Lemesos, the Presidential Commissioner had a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Education and Religious Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, Ms Zetta M. Makri, and the Chairman of the Special Permanent Committee on Greeks Abroad of the Hellenic Parliament, Mr Savvas Anastasiadis.

Following his meeting with Ms Makri, Mr Photiou, referring to the Conference, said that this is a very important conference, a station for the expatriates – and of course, Greece has an important place in it, in the sense that expatriate Hellenism is one, is united, is strong – promoting national issues in the governments, in the countries where they live and in decision-making centres. And he added: “I had the opportunity to discuss with the Deputy Minister issues related to education and schools in the places where we have both large communities, such as in London, New York, Melbourne, Sydney. We have close cooperation, as when one visits schools abroad one does not see only Greek Cypriot children or only Greek children; they see them together. We need to continue our close cooperation”.

Furthermore, Mr Photiou referred to the discussion on holding a major event abroad regarding the Greek language, before the end of the year. “I think we all have to be proud of the Greek language and want our new generation of Diaspora to know the Greek language, to know our history. We want them to come close to their roots. Only in this way will we be able to keep the new generation close to us, as they are tomorrow’s leaders of expatriate Hellenism”. In addition, he said, various programs were discussed, such as learning the Greek language remotely.

Ms Makri agreed with Mr Photiou and said, among other things, that the Conference deliberations and conclusions will be very supportive to their actions. Furthermore, she said that the Greek Diaspora and the Diaspora of Cyprus are common with common aspirations, common principles, common values, common actions and will be coordinated even better now. With regard to the proposals made by Mr Photiou, Ms Makri said that the Deputy Ministry accepts them unconditionally. “Our cooperation will continue to the same extend and with the same efficiency at a faster pace”, she completed.

(ΕΚ)