The Greek Embassy in Canberra, in cooperation with The Hellenic Initiative, hosted a conference aimed at highlighting the multifaceted role of Greek women in Australian society and promoting networking among participants.

Approximately 140 guests, 120 of whom travelled from other Australian cities, attended the conference, held at the theatre of the Federal Parliament.  Twenty-four Greek-Australian women, seven of whom have been awarded the highest distinctions of the Australian state, participated across five thematic panels. The Hellenic Initiative (THI), Australia, undertook the secretariat and financial support of the Embassy for the organization of the event.

On behalf of the Australian Prime Minister, Mr Albanese, the conference was addressed by the Minister for Housing, Homelessness and Cities, Ms Claire O’Neil, as well as by the Ambassador of Greece to Australia, Mr Stavros Venizelos.

The Minister for Industrial Relations, Work Health and Safety of New South Wales, Ms Sophie Cotsis, and federal MP Mr Steve Georganas were present as well as the Executive Board of THI Australia, whose members had travelled from various cities across Australia. At the conclusion of the event, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Milton Dick, received a group of Forum participants in his office.

The “Entrepreneurship” panel was chaired by Ms Kathy Karabatsas, senior executive of the Myer department store group (approximately 800 stores in Australia and New Zealand). Participants included Ms Marika Kalfas, CEO of Ports New South Wales, with parallel responsibilities in government bodies related to port infrastructure and insurance, who referred to the contribution of Greek shipping to Australia’s export trade. Dr Elena Limnios, a first-generation migrant and President of the Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HACCI), spoke, among other topics, about the promotion—through her company in Australia—of the Hellenikon investment project in Greece. Ms Helen Mastrocostas, with a background in banking and senior investment roles at Goldman Sachs and ANZ, who manages a 3 billion construction investment on the Gold Coast belonging to her brother, Mr G. Mastrocostas, Honorary Consul of Greece in Brisbane, spoke about the investment opportunities offered in Queensland ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games. Businesswoman Ms Violet Roumeliotis focused on social support for entrepreneurship through her own non-profit NGO, “Settlement Services International”, which provides assistance to 55,000 new migrants seeking to engage in business activities.

The “Politics and Law” panel, moderated by lawyer Ms Erin Feros, included the aforementioned NSW State Minister Ms Cotsis, a successful Labor Party politician, and Ms Fiona Douskou, a councillor in Bayside, NSW, who is beginning her political career with the Liberal Party. Ms Cotsis spoke about the concept of justice in politics, while Ms Douskou highlighted the need to support small family businesses from which migrants often begin, as did her own family. Ms Douskou works at Microsoft and serves as a Cybersecurity Advisor to the AUKUS Forum. In the field of Law, the panel included retired Supreme Court Justice of Queensland Ms Anthe Philippides, a scholar of the philosophy of law in ancient Greek city-states and modern representative democracies. Ms Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson, Justice of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory and a charismatic figure also participated.

Three of the five participants in the “Science and Health” panel rank among the top 1% of global medical researchers. These included Professor Ms Vasso Apostolopoulos, specializing in immunology and cancer vaccines, who has received over 100 awards worldwide, including from the Prime Minister; Professor Ms Maria Kavallaris, a pioneer in cancer biology and nanomedicine research; and the panel coordinator, Professor Ms Helen Zorbas, specializing in breast cancer treatment. Professor of Nutrition Ms Maria Makrides, an expert in maternal and neonatal nutrition, and Dr Melina Georgousakis, founder of Franklin Women, an organization aimed at supporting women scientists and researchers, also participated, generating enthusiastic interest from the audience.

The “Philanthropy” panel was chaired by the Executive Director of the Melbourne-based “Fronditha Care” Foundation, Ms Faye Spiteri, who has been repeatedly honored by the State of Victoria and the Federal Government for her social work, which extends beyond the Greek community. Ms Vasiliki Antoniou, founder and president of The Children’s Golden Angels, spoke about care for children with dementia, intellectual disabilities, syndromes and disabilities, as well as support for their families. Ms Alexandra Vakitsidis, active in Adelaide for over 40 years, spoke about her work in organizing soup kitchens, caring for the elderly, home visits, social support programs and health services, for which she has been awarded. Ms Stergitsa Zamagias-Hill, Executive Secretary of THI Australia, spoke about THI’s work in Greece during the financial crisis and today, providing primary healthcare support to vulnerable and uninsured individuals in Greece. The participants’ contributions highlighted the values of solidarity and humanity embodied by Greek women in Australia, moving the audience deeply.

The final panel, “Arts and Culture”, was moderated by Dr Helen Vatsikopoulos, ABC and SBS journalist. Participants included Ms. Effy Alexakis, an award-winning photographer with Australian and international honors, who, since 1980, has traveled across the Australian continent, creating a rich photographic archive of the Greek Diaspora entitled “In Their Own Image: Greek Australians.” Ms Elizabeth Kaydos, specializing for 25 years in documentary filmmaking, highlighted through her work the history of the ANZACs on Lemnos, bringing it to wider public attention. This led to the joint visit to Lemnos in 2023 by the then President of the Hellenic Republic and the Governor-General of Australia for the inauguration of the Lemnos Remembrance Trail. Ms Nina Angelo, awarded for her social work with Aboriginal communities, is the author of the book “Don’t Cry, Dance”, which recounts the story of her Greek-Jewish father and Polish-Jewish mother, who met at Auschwitz, survived, married, lived briefly in post-war Greece and later migrated to Australia.

The event received coverage from Greek-Australian media, Canberra public television, and the SBS network.