On Tuesday 22 February, the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria (GOCMV) hosted an event to welcome and honour the newly appointed Consul General of the Hellenic Republic Ms Eleni Lianidou, at its community centre. The event was a huge success attracting over 150 representatives of Greek organizations, benefactors, members and supporters of the GOCMV.

The President of the GOCMV Mr. Papastergiadis opened his speech by welcoming Ms Lianidou to the Greek Community centre and wished her every success in her role as Consul General. A role that can only be described as demanding, considering that Melbourne has the largest Greek population outside of Greece.

In continuation Mr Papastergiadis noted that he and the Board of Management had discussed issues relating to Greek Community matters with Ms. Lianidou and stated that "We found her, from the first instance, to be an excellent diplomat, who is eager to learn of the matters that concern the Greek diaspora of Melbourne and indicated her willingness to assist and respond immediately. Her ability to display sensitivity and awareness with respect to issues the Greek community faces stems from her previous posts in several large expatriate centres, like Canada, the Middle East and her last post in the European Union, where she was responsible for foreign policy issues.”

In turn Ms Lianidou thanked both the GOCMV and the broader Greek community for their warm welcome and said "that it is indeed an honour and pleasure to be here this evening, my first opportunity in an official capacity to meet representatives of Greek organisations of Melbourne.” She continued by thanking the President Mr. Papastergiadis and Board of Management of the GOCMV who took the initiative to organise this evening and stressed importance of the role that the GOCMV played by assisting thousands of newly arrived migrants to settle in Australia.

In conclusion the newly appointed Consul General emphasised “that from you, the representatives of the Greek organisations of Melbourne, I seek your support and assistance. Our aims are common and our priorities are foster and promote the Hellenic, language, religion and traditions. We should all be proud of our heritage.”