Workshop in NYC Discusses Importance of the Greek Language

Three Greek language organizations hosted an informative Greek language workshop on Saturday evening, April 8^th in the conference room of the Jay Suites, 6^th floor, at 575 7^th Avenue, New York City. A well-received number of New York residents were in attendance. The Federation of Hellenic American Educators and Cultural Associations of America, The Organization for the Dissemination of the Greek Language with the cooperation of the “Blue Money Show” and Hellenic Paideia of America, Inc. hosted the event where the timelessness and importance of the Greek language was discussed.

The speakers included: Emeritus Professor Aristea Tolia, Univerity of the Peloponnese; Veloudia Papadopoulou, Theology professor at Athens University; civil engineer Costas Katsigiannis, vol. Gen. ESO Director; Catherine Chatzinikolaou, Administrative Officer of the Ministry of Education in the New York consulate; Nikos Papapostolou businessman, Vasiliki Filiotis President of  Hellenic Paideia of America, Inc. and Adriana Filiotis founding member of  Hellenic Paideia of America, Inc.

Points of discussion were: The importance of languages and cultures of the world; Greek as the basis of languages; every language contains Greek words; the language spread Christianity; European culture and civilization, of which Greece is a part, are rooted in ancient Greece;

Greece is the land of heroes, martyrs, poets, philosophers; it is an eternal symbol of Western civilization; the entire Western world has turned to Greek in its quest for a cultural identity;  Greek is important to the languages and cultures of the world. Greek recorded ancient philosophy and is the basis of languages; every language contains Greek words; the language spread Christianity.

Tourism, he said, is a key pillar of growth for the Greek economy, with a large contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), creating new jobs. Greece has 20,000 historical monuments. The history in combination with unparalleled natural beauty ranks Greece first worldwide in number of tourists.

President Vasiliki Filiotis stated that “we support Modern Greek language studies. We must transmit to future generations, the knowledge, culture, traditions preserved and passed on to us. The Greek language survives today because it has offered the world a unique contribution.”

President Stella Kokolis of the Federation of Hellenic-American Educators & Cultural Associations of America and President Vasiliki Filiotis of The Hellenic Paideia of America Organization worked behind the scenes to make this event a success. For more information, email kstellasr@gmail.com and vfiliotis@aol.com.