ATHENS – The President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos had the opportunity to meet and talk with the Third Members of the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (WHIA), who are in Athens during its 11th General Assembly held in the Greek Parliament.
On July 24, during the inaugural meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Terence Quick pointed out the necessity of reforming the functioning of WHIA at all levels.
“After two decades, and today’s election of its new bureau, WHIA itself should assess itself and take into account what it did or did not do in its two decades of operation. Let the organization itself consider amendments to its articles of association and its operation in the interest of the Greek community abroad, as well as in the interest of Greece,” said the Deputy Foreign Minister.
Quick noted that it is very important to see young and middle-aged members in the WHIA classes at the regional, federal, or national, levels, encouraging the new generation of the Diaspora, which has reached the third, fourth, and even fifth, generation.
“Of course, there are the older and more mature generations, who, by positions of responsibility, especially of the Diaspora organizations, have much to offer with their wisdom. We must connect this wisdom with the youth in terms of education and energy,” he added, however that Greece cannot continue to rely on the financial support of the Diaspora in many parts of the world, where the community has already given so much.
Quick also advocated the creation of a Global Network of Greek Cypriots elected to the local government either as mayors or as members of municipal councils.
“Elected mayors, like Alahouzos in Tarpon Springs and Cretekos in Clearwater, Florida, exist in many countries. Local people are more accessible to local communities. Their voters are not necessarily of Greek descent. They are also citizens who have their origins in other countries or are native-born, locals. They are the ones that we ought to have in mind to promote Greece at all levels – national issues, cultural issues, Greek products, tourism promotion, etc…,” he said and added:
“In short, a WHIA which operates properly at the government level as a global/local government network, connected to local societies, can be achieved with good co-operation.”
Special mention was made by the Deputy Foreign Minister to the upcoming bill for the World Council of Hellenes Abroad, reiterating that by law it will be self-organized and self-financed.
After highlighting the distinct role that the state and the Church have to play in their work, Quick stressed the need for the two Diaspora “arms,” organizations and the Church, to be fellow travelers and to be pro-active, where both parties consider it necessary, in the interest of the Greek community.
“No one can remove the Church from its role. In any country where Greek immigrants settled, the first thing they were looking for was a Church. A parish around which they gathered. Over the years, parishes have become communities, followed by associations, then federations. The Church, Orthodoxy to be more accurate, was and remains a powerful bridge between the Diaspora and Mother-Greece,” he noted.
Finally, speaking on the issue of the Greek expatriate vote, Quick said that governmental processes had already begun.
“The issue of voting is the responsibility of the interior ministry. Significant public statements have already been made by the Secretary General of the ministry, Costas Poulakis,” said Quick. In fact, special reports have also been made about the “brain drain” affecting the youth of the nation and their action and implementation plans jointly explained by the respective secretariats of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance and Development.
(Material from ANA-MPA was used in this report)
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