Celebration of
the Greek President in the EU and the upcoming Olympic Games in Athens
By
Pandelis Halamandaris, Ph.D. Ed.D. (HC)
President
The
Canadian Hellenic Congress of Manitoba
Deputy
Director
The
Center for Hellenic Civilizations
University of Manitoba
His Excellency the Greek Ambassador to Canada, Leonidas
Chrysanthopoulos, participated in the week long celebration (February 4 to
9, 2003), organized by the Canadian Hellenic Congress of Manitoba (Messinians,
Macedonians, Cypriots, St. Demetrios Parish, Greek Professionals, Greek
Hellenic Student Association and Brandon Greek Cultural Association) and
the Centre for Hellenic Civilization of the University of Manitoba (CHCUM).
His Excellency, as the first Greek Ambassador to Armenia since its
independence, 1993, he presented the topic, "Nation Building and
Diplomacy in Armenia, 1993", at the University of Manitoba. He
described vividly the stages that a country goes through in becoming a
nation. These excerpts from his book, The Caucasus Chronicles, provided
an interesting question and answer period for the audience.
Following
the lecture the Director of the CHCUM Dr. Rory Egan held a reception at
his residence, in honour of his Excellency. Faculty members of the
University of Manitoba and members of the Greek community were invited to
meet the Greek Ambassador.
A second lecture was given at the CHCUM, "The Priorities of
the Greek Presidency in the European Union, January to June 2003".
Dr. Egan introduced our distinguished speaker on this very important topic
as the world focuses on Greece at this critical period of the Presidency
of the EU. At the end of the lecture, the Deputy Director of the Centre,
Dr. Pandelis Halamandaris, on behalf of the CHCUM and the Congress,
thanked Mr. Chrysanthopoulos for his presentation.
A
reception with Greek delicacies was held in honour of Mr. Chrysanthopoulos,
by the CHCUM. A great number of members of the Greek community of
Winnipeg, and faculty members of UM were present.
During the week, the Ambassador met with the Premier of Manitoba,
the Hon. Garry Doer, the Mayor of Winnipeg, several Ministers of the
Manitoba Government, held several press conferences, visited the Greek
School, attended a reception by the Board of St. Demetrios Parish and held
several meetings with the CHCUM and the Greek community, where he
clarified certain policies of the Greek Government.
The culmination of the various events this week, was the Gala
Celebration that was held at the Fort Garry Place, in Winnipeg. This Gala
Celebration was the initiative of the Youth of the Congress: the Hellenic
Student Association of the Canadian Hellenic Congress of Manitoba. The
whole event was, "A Tribute to the Athens Olympic Games 2004".
The keynote speaker of that event was his Excellency the Greek Ambassador
to Canada Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos. Dr. Pandelis Halamandaris, the
President of the Canadian Hellenic Congress of Manitoba, introduced our
distinguished speaker, who presented the history, the present and the
future of the Olympic Games. At the end of Mr. Chrysanthopoulos’
presentation, Miss Niki Ashton, President of the HAS, and the MC for the
evening, thanked his Excellency, assuring us that the Olympic Games in
Athens, will be the successful event in 2004, in Greece.
The
Gala Celebration, a well organized event by the Hellenic Student
Association and the Canadian Hellenic Congress of Manitoba, provided a
display of creativity and class, from the colorful tickets and booklets to
a silent auction, to a skit in how the Olympic Committee in Greece
operates, a new choreographic dance of our young men of APOLLO Dancers and
the sounds of EVEXIA BAND and the voice of Giorgos Spyrou. The Gala
Celebration included some video clips of Greece's athletes participating
in the Olympic Games. Kara Solmudson, a Canadian Olympic Athlete herself,
spoke about the preparation of an athlete getting ready to participate in
the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004.
Distinguished
guests in this Gala Celebration were: the Hon Garry Doer, Premier of
Manitoba, the Hon Ed Schrieyer, Past Premier of Manitoba, Past Governor
General of Canada, Past High Commissioner of Canada to Australia, and
Chancellor of Brandon University, with Mrs. Schrieyer. The indefatigable
Hon Steve Ashton, Minister of Conservation for Manitoba and a very strong
advocate for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, and Mrs.
Ashton. Representing the Mayor of Winnipeg, Lillian Thomas, Deputy Mayor
of the City of Winnipeg. From the University of Manitoba, Dr. Emïke
Szathmary, President of the University of Manitoba, and Mr. Szathmary, Dr.
Rory Egan, Director of the Center for Hellenic Civilization, at the
University of Manitoba, Mrs. Egan, and other administrative officials from
the University of Manitoba. We recognized presidents and members of the
various organizations of the Congress, and many other distinguished guests
from the community at large in Winnipeg.
The
Organizing Committee of this successful Gala Celebration of the Canadian
Hellenic Congress of Manitoba consisted of Takis Iacovides, Niki Ashton,
Andreas Lekatsas, Kyriakos Hadjipanayis, and Andreas Christodoulides. Many
other members of Congress organizations participated and gave their time,
skills and financial support in making this event a success. They deserve
a BIG EFCHARISTO and SYNCHARITIRIA for a job well done.
ENA
MEGALO EFCHARISTO SE OLOUS.