«The 13th World Conference of Thessalians completed with great success by the feet of the Meteora mountains»
The utilization of local products and alternative forms of tourism as means of development of the Municipality of Meteora were the central themes of the 13th World Conference of Thessalians, which was held with great success in the Municipality of Meteora over three days of July 29, 30 and 31, 2022. The current conditions of the pandemic allowed the people of Thessaly the world over to return for another year to their homeland with feelings of love, pride, emotion and nostalgia, and to feel a warm hospitality from the Municipality of Meteora and the Mayor, Mr. Theodoros Alekos. This year's conference was held under the auspices of the General Secretariat of Hellenes Abroad and Public Diplomacy with co-organizers the Municipality of Meteora, the Region of Thessaly and the Regional Union of Municipalities in Thessaly.
The
three-day schedule of events began Friday, July 29, 2022 with a visit to the LOUDA
Winery, in the village of Diava in the Municipality of Meteora, where delegates
were given a guide by Mrs. Zaharoula Giavrouta - Louda, to learn about
the wine production process, to taste various types wines and enjoy local
dishes.
The
event continued on the second day, Saturday July 30, 2022, with the conference held
in the Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Meteora, where Mrs. Fotini
Michou, General Secretary of the World Confederation of Thessalians
"ASKLIPIOS", welcomed the expatriate Thessalians, the representatives
of the organisations, presenters, the World Youth of Thessaly, as well as the
multitude of people who responded to the call, either in person or online.
Special thanks were extended to the Mayor of Meteora, Mr. Theodoros Alekos,
with this year’s World Conference being hosted in the beautiful Municipality of
Meteora.
The
members of the Presidium, Mr. Dimitrios Lypas (Chairman - representative
of the Municipality of Meteora), Mr. Ilias Koutseris (Journalist), Mr.
Apostolos Houteas (Representative of the Thessalian Federation of
Australia), Mr. Antonis Koukouravas (Representative of the European
Thessalian Federation) and Ms. Konstantina Skreka (Representative of
Global Youth of Thessaly) gave their respective addresses and wished every success
at the conference.
The
event was graced by the presence of the His Grace the Metropolitan of
Stagion and Meteora, Theoklitos, who blessed the course of both the work
and the actions of the Confederation, stated that he was happy to attend the
beautiful assembly of Thessalians and emphasised the great importance of the
work of the World Confederation of Thessalians.
The
Mayor of Meteora, Mr. Theodoros Alekos, as co-host of this year’s World
Conference of Thessalians emphasized in his greeting that "it is a
particularly important event characterised by the extroverted and unifying
orientation of Thessalians everywhere".
Mr.
Ioannis Chrysoulakis, Secretary General for
Hellenes Abroad and Public Diplomacy expressed his certainty that the worldwide
Thessalian community, with their love for the history, culture, values and
traditions of Thessaly, but also with valuable experience from life abroad, have
a lot to offer, to propose and discuss about the development of the region and
about the issues of the Conference. He also emphasised that the General Secretariat
for Hellenes Abroad and Public Diplomacy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is
happy to grant its patronage to the Conference, and would continue its cordial
cooperation with the World Confederation of Thessalians, both to respond to the
needs of the Diaspora, and for its advocacy on behalf of Greece
.
The
representative of the Region of Thessaly, Mr. Konstantinos Bardas –
Regional Councilor of the Regional Unit of Trikala, conveyed the greetings of
the Regional Governor, congratulated the World Confederation of Thessalians on
the initiative and pointed out that "it is a great pleasure to have people
here who clearly love their homeland".
The
Mayor of Trikala and President of KEDE, Mr. Dimitrios Papastergiou,
emphasised the importance of the establishment of the World Conference by the
World Confederation of the Thessalians, welcoming the actions and sessions in the
three-day Conference.
Greetings
were also sent by the Minister of Justice, Mr. Konstantinos Tsiaras, the
Minister of Environment and Energy, Mr. Konstantinos Skrekas, the President
of the PED of Thessaly, Mr. Athanasios Nasiakopoulos, the Member of
Parliament for Magnesia, Mr. Alexandros Meikopoulos, as well as the Association
of Worldwide Karditsians. The conference was also attended by Trikala Member of
Parliament Ms. Katerina Papakosta, Karditsa Member of Parliament Ms.
Asimina Skondra, the representative of the major opposition of the Thessaly
Region Mr. Nikolaos Tsilimigas, the representative of the Trikala Police
Department Mr. Athanasios Kappas, the Commander of the Meteora Police
Department Mr. Evangelos Lafazanis, the President of the Trikala
Association of Thessaloniki, Mr. Kostas Oikonomou, the President of the Thessalians
of Xanthi Association, Mr. Themis Angelakopoulos, Deputy Mayors,
municipal councilors and media representatives. We thank Mr. Krupis who
attended and distributed the new issue of the periodical "XENIOS THESSALOS".
The
President of the World Confederation of Thessalians, Mr. Diamantis Gikas,
referred to the 15 years of the World Confederation of Thessalians, presented
the second issue of the periodical "THETTALON DRASEIS" and welcomed
all the delegates with special reference to the World Youth of Thessaly which carries
the flame of continuation of Thessalian tradition. Mr. Georgios Mpliokas
from Sydney, Australia, First Vice-President of the World Confederation of
Thessalians, also gave a live address via the internet.
The
presentations started with Fr. Theodoros Papanikolaou – Archpriest of
the Holy Metropolis of France, Priest of the Greek Orthodox Parish of Bordeaux,
France and university lecturer, who developed the topic "Orthodoxy in
France and the promotion of the religious wealth of Meteora", continued
with Mr. Spyros Nikologianni - Special Advisor to the Mayor of Meteora
on Tourism and Finances, who referred to the promotion and promotion of the
wider cultural stock in the Municipality of Meteora. Mrs. Ioanna Zacharaki
- President of the Local Government Network of Electors of Europe and Mayor of
Solingen, presented the Development of cooperation of the Municipality of
Meteora with Municipalities of Europe - Promotion and extroversion of Meteora.
Finally, Mr. Giorgos Machairas, First Secretary of the World Youth of
Thessaly and (undergraduate) student of the School of Architecture and
Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens, presented the
architecture of the monasteries of Meteora as a reflection of the tourist
attraction and global symbol of Thessaly.
The
highlight of the event came from the World Youth of Thessaly, where the
President of the World Youth of Thessaly, Ms. Anastasia Kerasovitis and
the Minister of Public Relations of the Global Youth of Thessaly, Mr. Theoharis
Giannakopoulos, presented the work and the remarkable actions of the newly
established Global Youth, receiving applause by the delegates. On the sidelines
of the conference, the bridges of friendship and deepening cooperation were
built by the Global Youth of Thessaly with a group of young people from the
regions of Kalambaka and Trikala, organised by Mr. Stelios Abrazis, an
educator in the Prefecture of Trikala.
The
World Confederation of Thessalians, celebrating its 15-year anniversary,
honored and awarded 15 Thessalians originally from Kalambaka as a sign of honor
for their valuable contribution to Hellenism abroad and their worthy work in
society that makes all Thessalians proud. These are: Mr. Siomos Panagiotis,
Mr. Efstathiou Vasilios, Mr. Stergiou Sotirios, Ms. Toula Agoros, Mr.
Mylonas Kostas, Mr. Kerasovitis Efthimio, Ms. Rossidou Aspasia, Mr. Flokas
Athanasios, Ms. Kanzoura Vasiliki, Mr. Houteas Apostolos, Mr. Tasikas
Theodoros, Ms. Tasikas Chrysoula, Mr. Georgios Skourtis, Mr. Theodoros Papanikolaou
and Ms. Zacharakis Ioanna.
In
a beautiful atmosphere of dialogue, exchange of opinions, submission of
proposals and recording of any problems that the expatriates have identified,
the discussion panel moderated by the journalist Mr. Ilias Koutseris, on
the topic of "Development and utilisation of the Meteora area", took
place afterwards, where were put on record, all these facts, which can give a
vision for our place, with the protagonist of Thessalians across the world. The
discussion table was attended by: Mr. Theodoros Alekos - Mayor of the
Municipality of Meteora, Mr. Nikolaos Saroukos - Head of Control,
Inspections and Tourism Development of Thessaly, Mr. Efthimios Kerasovitis
- World Confederation of Thessalians and Mr. Spyros Nikologiannis -
Special Advisor to the Mayor of Meteora Municipality in matters of Tourism and
Finance. Some main general conclusions from the discussion were the application
of tourism throughout the year and not only in the summer months, the support
of Kalambaka as a main railway connection hub with neighboring large
municipalities and the maximum possible exploitation of its wider cultural Municipality
and the rich agri-food sector throughout.
In
the evening, the Municipality of Meteora held in honor of the Thessalians a
special cultural evening in the packed square of Kalambaka with the musical
orchestra: Takis Bekas (clarinet), Lefteris Schoretsianitis
(violin), Alekos Chlyvas (accordion), Nikos Dokos (laguto) and Giorgos
Tsaoussis (song). The evening's program was presented by the University
Professor of Greek Dances Mr. Ioannis Dimas. At the Cultural evening,
the Kalambaka Dance Club "METEORA" of the Municipality of Meteora
presented traditional Levantine dances. A highlight was the participation of
the Dance Group from the World Youth of Thessaly, who wore for the first time
the new costumes supplied by the World Confederation of Thessalians.
The
conference concluded on Sunday 31 July 2022 with a guided tour of Meteora, the
Monastery of Agios Stefanos as well as corresponding visits to the Museum of
Geological Formations in Kastraki and the Museum of Digitization in Kalambaka.
In the middle of the tour, the World Confederation of Thessalians cut a cake to
celebrate 15 years in the beautiful cafe MIKIO at the foot of Meteora,
which was also filmed by the state broadcaster, ERT.
The
President of the World Confederation of Thessalians, Mr. Diamantis Gikas,
on behalf of all the Thessalian expatriates, thanked the General Secretariat for
Hellenes Abroad and Public Diplomacy under whose auspices the conference was
held, the Region of Thessaly, the PED of Thessaly and the Municipality of Meteora
for the excellent cooperation in the co-organisation of the conference, as well
as for the warm hospitality received by all the Thessalian delegates. The
President of the Federation of Thessalian Associations of Australia, Mr.
Apostolos Houteas, and the Secretary of the Federation of Thessalian
Associations of Europe, Mr. Polyanthi Giannarou, also expressed their
satisfaction and joy for today's conference.
In
the organizing committee were: Mr. Diamantis Gikas, Mrs. Fotini Mihou, Mr.
Ilias Koutseris, Mr. Dimitris Lypas, Mr. Spyridon Nikologiannis and Mrs.
Konstantina Skrekas, while in the Secretariat of the Conference were: Fotini
Katroulas, Mrs. Ioanna Sakellaridis and Mrs. Maritini Protogera.
The
World Confederation of Thessalians warmly thanks the major sponsor of the
event, the BOLOSSIS company, for its sensitivity and for supporting the
Thessalian Community.
Finally,
we would like to thank all the people who took part in the organisation of this
great event, and we wish them well and hope we will meet again next year.
Sincerely – on behalf of the Board of Directors
The President Diamantis Gikas |
|
The General Secretary Fotini Michou |
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