Greek wine festival 26/7 June 2009

This is a London wide event organised by the left wing Parykiaki Haravgi newspaper which attracts a good number of exhibitors and ordinary people who come to meet and take part in whatever is going on. Only criticism is that it is low on politics and has not, in the past, been used to organise the community.

Byzantinos editorial board members will be making arrangements for a stall and we will be there for 2010. The strategy for this year is to start advertising and publicise what we are, who we are and what we do in the press. Our campaign will start in September and the student and Trade Union wing of Byzantinos will be putting together the adverts soon.

In the mean time we hope the wine festival goes well.

Helen Nicholas

Peter Droussiotis and the Cypriot Federation

There is no doubt that the Cypriot Federation of Great Britain has a role to play but it also needs to modernise and look at new ways of reaching second and third generation British citizens of Greek origin living and working in the UK. The language of 'today' must be adopted and used and old ideas and theories should be put where they belong.

The decision to re elect Peter Droussiotis to the position of General Secretary sends a good message out and the signal could be a positive one. Peter Drousiotis wants to move the organisation towards the right direction and move away from ideas and thoughts that dominated the previous generation. That does not mean that there is no role for those who help build what we have today and the first generations contribution must never be forgotten but times have changed.

On the other hand it is clear that the majority of Brits of Greek origin who are under 50 have no idea of what the Federation does or what aspirations or objectives it tries to promote. I was amazed, for example, to find that of the 6 members of the editorial board of Byzantinos, the only member that had any contact with the Federation was Nick Venedi and even he had some serious doubts about how integrated the Federation or its ideas are within the London Greek community. Roulla and Christos who are also prominent members of the Trade Union movement in Britain had no contact with the Federation at all. But I will quote Nick Venedi, who is possibly the most prominent member of the editorial board, who said that the Federation and its work will become meanigful if more effort was made to reach out the second and third generation before its members lost interest in anything Greek. Nick feels that Peter Drousiotis is the right man to do this but also thinks that concentrating simply on electing the first Greek MP (even though that Lord Adonis had already done that years ago) will not, in itself achieve much.

We wish the Federation the best of luck and welcome the fact that its board now has more women members than before. that is a positive step.

Andreas Cristou

Cypriot Federation elects new Secretariat

The member organisations of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK last Thursday held the Federation’s biennial elections for its Secretariat.

The incumbent Federation President, Peter Droussiotis, was returned to the post unopposed for a second two year term. Similarly, the three Vice Presidents, Christodoulos Stylianou, Andreas Papaevripides and Michael Kashis and the incumbent Treasurer, Ninos Koumettou, were re-elected unanimously. Mr Bambos Charalambous was newly elected unanimously as General Secretary of the Federation.

The elections also returned a higher representation of women onto the Federation’s expanded 37-strong Secretariat than ever before.

In statements made to the media following his re-election, Mr Droussiotis expressed his gratitude to Federation members for their continuing support saying that he was humbled by the unanimous support that he had received from the membership of the Federation and pledging to work even harder in the future.

“Our efforts to renew the Federation and upgrade its work over the last two years have meant that it is now the acknowledged voice of the UK Cypriot community, able to reach politicians and policy-makers across the whole political spectrum in this country.

The Cyprus problem is at a critical point in its long history with ongoing negotiations between President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Mehmet Ali Talat aimed at reuniting the island accelerating. In these circumstances, we will intensify our programme of work in this critically influential country in order to support the process of the island’s reunification.

“Stability and continuity are absolutely vital during this crucial period. I am, therefore, grateful to our members for returning me to the role of President for a second term, and give my sincerest assurance that I will continue to commit my efforts wholeheartedly. In Andreas, Christodoulos, Michael and Ninos, and our new General Secretary, Bambos Charalambous, I have a very capable team to support me and our Secretariat’s endeavours, and I look forward to getting back to business with them all.”

Newly elected General Secretary, Bambos Charalambous, said:

“I am honoured to serve in this important position and the Federation’s members can be assured that I will give my all in the post. We have a robust forward strategy and actions that will help to enhance the goals of the Federation and our community’s presence in Britain, as well as its contribution both to the cause of Cyprus and to the national life of this country. I am delighted to be given this opportunity to play a part.”

A full list of the newly elected members of the Federation’s Secretariat will be posted on the Federation’s website.

Return the Parthenon Marbles...

The new museum underneath the Acropolis build to house the complete set of the Parthenon Marbles has just been completed. The President of the European Union is in fact attending the ceremony together with other major international guests. The notable exception is the British Prime Minister who has in the recent past been soliciting the support of the British Greek community.

It makes me angry to see that the curators of the British museum are continuing to ignore the legitimate requests of the Greek government to return the marbles to their home ground. The entire incident makes a total non sense of the notion that the two countries, Greece and Britain are allies both within Europe and in NATO. More should be done by the Greek community in Britain to exert pressure on Gordon Brown and others and a fresh campaign must be started.

Nick Venedi

The struggle to organise starts

The London Greek community has shown evidence that it can mobilise and support politicians who have declared their interest in serving the community. The election of Marina as a London MEP proves this.

Byzantinos will be meeting with those interested in the debate to make decisions as to where, how and who to try and promote. The message is clear that the Greek community can mobilise.

Andreas Synodinou

Marina Yannakoudakis

Well done to Marina but lets also start the debate about who else we can promote, as a Greek community, to serve in Parliament. We must lobby now to ensure that those who can do it are supported by the major political party's here in London. Nick Venedi, well known in the Greek community of London, Peter Drousiotis, also well known should be selected. It makes sense for the Labour party to make this wise move.

Helen Nicholas

Marinas victory signals a new start

Marinas decisive victory for the MEP position in London has started the debate on whether other Greek born British citizens should be selected by the major party's to fight winnable seats especially in the North London area.

The top names for this are Peter Drousiotis, President of the Cypriot Federation of GB, Nick Venedi, well known Trade Union activist and long standing Union Secretary of the largest Trades Union in the U.K Unison and Bambos Charalambou who has been already selected to fight the Southgate constituency by Labour.

More should be done by the relevant party's to make this happen. We have the people with the profile lets make it happen!

Helen Nicholas

Marina wins the Euro seat...

Well done to Marina the first Greek born female politician to have succeeded in an election contest of immense importance here in the U.K She now becomes an MEP for Britain.

Speculation now is whether the other party's will be wise enough to select Greek born British citizens to fight seats in North London. Names mentioned for this are Peter Drousiotis, Nick Venedi and of course Bambos Charalambou who has already been selected to fight the Southgate seat for Labour. Will the Labour party be wise enough to do this?

Andreas Synodinou

Support Marina Yannakoudakis in the Euro poll on the 4th

The first Brit of Greek origin, Marina Yannakoudakis, is standing for election on Thursday to become an MEP. The community should actively support Marina on the basis that she has good and sound policies that will be supportive of our community.

Helen Nicholas

Cyprus wine festival

A reminder that the Cyprus wine festival is coming up this month. Its a fun event with many people from the Greek community attending and having fun. A very Greek thing to do. The festival is on the 27th at Alexandra palace and it is organised by Parikiaki.