09-2006

In accordance with its constitution, the Hellenic Society Prometheas will convene a General Assembly meeting on Friday, October 26, 2007 to vote for a new Executive Board. The departing Board will report on its accomplishments during the last two years; and, the new Board will announce and discuss briefly an outline of the program of future activities.

All members in good standing (those who paid their dues for 2007 by the date of election) are eligible to vote (including their spouses).

Those members who wish to serve on the Executive Board may do so by contacting through e-mail or telephone the Elections Committee members (Costas Doultsinos, Despina Fourniadis, Lefteris Karmires) and express their desire to be candidates for the Board. Please communicate your intention, preferably by October 22.

We take this opportunity to encourage our members and especially new ones, to join either the Executive Board or the Team of Friends and help our Society with new ideas, energy, experience etc so that we can continue to present diverse cultural programs and thus serve our membership and community well. We particularly need to bring new and young people into the Society as this is the only guarantee for its future. The eleven-member Board meets once a month for regular meetings and as needed to handle special events. We would appreciate it if you give serious thought to getting involved for the next two years.

Since 1978 Prometheas has played a leading role in our community’s cultural and social activities. With your help and support we can do even better in the future.

Following the elections (which we plan to complete in about one hour), there will be a video presentation of a documentary film. Light refreshments will be available.

“The Tragedy of Greek Politics: 50 Years since Nikos Kazantzakis’ Death"

**Please R.S.V.P. to the AHI by Tuesday, October 9, 2007 at (202) 785-8430 or via e-mail at info@ahiworld.org.**

THE NEW ACROPOLIS MUSEUM

Image credit: Organization for the Construction of the New Acropolis Museum. Photo: Nikos Daniilidis

Under the Auspices of

The Archeological Institute of America and

The International Council on Monuments and Sites, United States Committee (US/ICOMOS)

The Embassy of Greece presents a lecture and exhibition on:

The New Acropolis Museum

Professor Dimitrios Pandermalis

President

Organization for the Construction of the New Acropolis Museum

and

Bernard Tschumi

Architect

With remarks by Dr. C Brian Rose, President, The Archeological Institute of America

and Gustavo F. Araoz, Executive Director, US/ICOMOS

Thursday, October 18, 2007

7:00-9:00 p.m.

Embassy of Greece

2217 Massachusetts Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20008

With breathtaking views of the Acropolis and a 360-degree panorama of modern and historic Athens, the New Acropolis Museum is designed by world acclaimed architect Bernard Tsch,umi to house the wealth of recovered antiquities on the Acropolis and reunify all the surviving pieces of the unique architectural sculptures of the Parthenon.

Under the auspices of H. E. the Ambassador of Greece, Alexandros P. Mallias

The World Council of Hellenes (S.A.E.)/U.S.A. Region, the Hellenic American National Council and the American Hellenic Institute

“MEETING THE NEEDS OF YOUNG GREEK AMERICANS: OPPORTUNITIES AND PERSPECTIVES”

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS: concert by renowned Greek singer, Elly Paspala, at National Geographic Society

Film: “The Journey: The Greek American Dream” at American Film Institute

The descendants of Greek immigrants who generations ago braved a new world in search of opportunity are today successful and productive Americans, boasting of successes in all areas of human activity, having inherited strong values and an appreciation for education.

And as the world evolves, so do the needs, aspirations and priorities of the new generations of Greek Americans, as they search new ways of nurturing their sense of cultural identity, in a way relevant to them.

We can best pay tribute to those pioneering Greek Americans by promoting the evolution of Greek Americans institutions to meet their needs of the times and remain relevant.

Towards this result, we invite Greek American youth to engage in a dialogue with the leadership of G/A institutions, with other Americans of Greek descent; with our compatriots in Greece; to engage ourselves in a kind of “soul searching”.

News related to the fire destruction in Greece

As soon as the catastrophic impact of the recent fires was realized, a world-wide campaign began by the Greek Government and numerous international organizations requesting help to address immediate humane problems in the affected areas as well as longer- term reconstruction concerns. The response so far has been overwhelming.

Prometheas’ Contribution and Follow-up Efforts (Announcement).

The Board of the Hellenic Society Prometheas has felt the same anguish as every Greek anywhere in the world about the inconceivable destruction caused by the recent catastrophic fires in Greece. Mourning the about seventy people who died in those fires and grieving for the unthinkable and unimaginable tragedy, the Board has decided to donate the amount of $5,000 for the relief of the victims of fire.

Please note that the Greek Ministry of Economy and Finance has set up a “Special Account for the Relief of the Victims of Fire” at the Bank of Greece (SWIFT: BNGRGRAA, IBAN: GR 9801000230000002341103053), to which funds can be transferred in any currency.

For further information about donating funds to the above account, please contact Mr. Konstantinos Alexandris, Consul of the Embassy of Greece in Washington (phone: 202-939-1331, fax: 202-939-1324, or e-mail: Alexandris@greekembassy.org (mailto:Alexandris@greekembassy.org) ), as well as Consular Offices of the Embassy of Greece around the country.

Misc news and articles

The Gazette (Montreal)

Greek schools quietly lose funding: Community closely monitoring elections in Ontario, where 100% funding of religious schools is proposed

by DAVID JOHNSTON

It's been a long time since a provincial election campaign, other than a Quebec one with national-unity overtones, has resonated as strongly on the national stage as the current contest in Ontario, where voters go to the polls Oct. 10.

Quebecers who have been paying attention have had a distinct sense of déjà vu, watching the generally negative public reaction to the opposition Progressive Conservative Party's pledge to provide full public funding to faith-based schools.

Almost three years ago, the Charest government's proposal to extend full public funding to private Jewish schools created a storm of controversy. It turned out to be the first of a series of multiculturalism-policy road bumps that led to Quebec creating the current commission of inquiry into reasonable accommodation of minorities.

After considerable public opposition to the idea of 100-per-cent taxpayer funding of Jewish private schools, the Charest government backed off in January 2005. But it all turned out to be a nightmare for Montreal's Greek community, which had been receiving full public funding since 1978 under a special francization deal.

Under the deal, the Greek schools agreed to bolster instruction given in French. But after it emerged that most Greek children go on to attend English CEGEP anyway - a pattern the government saw as evidence of the special deal's failure to prevent anglicization - the education minister at the time, Pierre Reid, said the government would have to revisit the Greek question.

And that it has, quietly, during the past two years, while also reviewing the broader question of state support for faith-based or ethnic-based schools. As a result of that internal review, completed early this year, Greek schools have been told their 100-per-cent funding entitlements will end next June.

"From now on, there will be no differences from one (private school) to another," as far as public funding is concerned, said Jean-Pascal Bernier, an aide to Education Minister Michelle Courchesne.

Private schools that receive public funding will be subject to the same cap of 60 per cent of the cost of a public education. Parents will have to make up the other 40 per cent. In return for money, these schools have to obey certain rules, such as Bill 101, which restricts English education to children of parents educated in English in Canada. Private schools that operate at greater arm's length from government don't receive any public funding.

Now, the five Greek schools in greater Montreal that had been operating under the 1978 agreement are trying to persuade the government to consider alternative solutions.

"There are talks going on," said Jean-Pierre Archambault, an official of the Commission scolaire de Laval, which is linked to two of the five Greek schools. Two are on Montreal Island and one is on the South Shore.

Greek-community leaders have been reluctant to discuss the negotiations publicly, but one source, not speaking for attribution, said there is hope that a Tory victory in Ontario on Oct. 10 will make Quebec reconsider the whole question. "We're really hoping for some good news," the source said.

But the news hasn't been good in Ontario, from the Montreal-area Greek community's perspective.

The PC proposal in Ontario to extend full funding to Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and other faith-based schools - as Catholic schools are entitled to under constitutional guarantees - has failed to win broad support from the mainstream Ontario electorate, according to Nelson Wiseman, a University of Toronto political science professor.

Instead, the proposal has hardened attitudes in Ontario on both sides of the question, as different notions of equality rights have clashed.

In Alberta, faith-based and ethnic schools, like the Greek schools in Montreal, are funded entirely publicly. In Edmonton, there are Arabic, Mandarin, Hebrew, Spanish, German and Ukrainian schools, as well as French schools. Gloria Chalmers, the Edmonton School Board's director of programming, said this has not been a sore point with the public.

By bringing faith-based and ethnic schools into the public system, it is easier to prevent the rise of extremist or supremacist ideologies, according to some observers. The Tories have tried to point that out in Ontario, but not many voters are buying that argument.

Balducci’s Taste of Greece is a month-long celebration of the intense flavors, dietary simplicity, and culinary trends that have made Greek cuisine so popular in the United States.

From September 29 to October 20, as a result of collaboration with the Greek Economic and Commercial Offices in Washington, D.C. and New York, all ten Balducci’s stores in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, New York, and Connecticut will feature over 50 new products from Greece, host free master chef classes with area restaurateurs, and offer a chance to win a vacation for two to Athens, Greece.

Each Balducci’s store has prepared a full calendar of in-store sampling events for Saturdays September 29, October 6, October 13, and October 20, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Greek products showcased include extra virgin olive oil, wines, cheeses, fruit sweets, wafers, and olive oil cookies. Each store’s prepared foods case will also include htipiti, moussaka, and spanakopita, as well as various fresh salads and wraps.

During October, there will be free master chef demonstrations by Chef Mike Isabella of Washington, D.C.’s Zaytinya Restaurant, Chef Tim Reardon of New York’s Barbounia Restaurant, and Chef Michael Marchetti of Stamford, CT’s Columbus Park Trattoria at Balducci’s stores in Bethesda, MD, Chelsea, NY, and Westport, CT respectively.

There will be entry boxes in each Balducci’s store for a chance to win a six day vacation to Athens, with a final drawing scheduled for October 31. No purchase is necessary.

Newsletter 57

October 2007

Mark your Calendar

The Hellenic Society Prometheas

(An Evening of Elections and Fellowship)

Friday, October 26, 2007, 7:30 pm.

THE NEW ACROPOLIS MUSEUM

News related to the fire destruction in Greece

Prometheas’ Contribution and Follow-up Efforts (Announcement).

Misc news and articles

The Gazette (Montreal)

Greek schools quietly lose funding: Community closely monitoring elections in Ontario, where 100% funding of religious schools is proposed

by DAVID JOHNSTON

Newsletter 57

October 2007

Mark your Calendar

The Hellenic Society Prometheas

(An Evening of Elections and Fellowship)

Friday, October 26, 2007, 7:30 pm.

THE NEW ACROPOLIS MUSEUM

News related to the fire destruction in Greece

Prometheas’ Contribution and Follow-up Efforts (Announcement).

Misc news and articles

The Gazette (Montreal) Greek schools quietly lose funding: Community closely monitoring elections in Ontario, where 100% funding of religious schools is proposed

by DAVID JOHNSTON

The Gazette (Montreal)

Greek schools quietly lose funding: Community closely monitoring elections in Ontario, where 100% funding of religious schools is proposed