In his welcome address to 350 young Greeks from every corner of the globe who joined forces within the framework of the two-day ‘Hellenic Youth in Action’ Forum which took place at Zappeion Megaron, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Terens Quick, stressed the following:“For the Greek diaspora community to have the continuity it deserves, we have to invest in its youth. Young people who are educated, who have vision, who have proven their love for Greece. It is time for them to take the baton from their grandparents, who, in difficult times, in the first years of mass Greek immigration abroad, ‘established’ Hellenism abroad.And in those times, let’s not forget that one of the main pillars was the Church, because wherever Greeks settled in a new place, a Parish was established and later took the form of a Community, organizations, Federations, etc.”The Deputy Minister also made special mention of the unity of all Greeks:“We are very honoured to have you here. We know that you are proud of your Greek identity. It is a proven fact that local organizations throughout the world are working collectively and with determination for the parts of Greece they hail from, as well as for the homeland, Greece. And of course, we must not forget the Greeks of Africa, who, like you, are keeping their relationship with Greece alive through religion and language. It is our duty as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help unite diaspora Hellenism.”Mr. Quick also noted that the various Greek communities abroad must support each other, from continent to continent, with, for example, the Greeks of America, Europe and Australia coming into real contact with the Greeks of Africa or the former Soviet Republics, where Greeks mainly of Pontic origin reside.“The mobility of young people – in other words, the mobility of Hellenic Youth – can play a catalytic role in what I am talking about,” Mr. Quick underscored.The opening of the events was attended by the Cypriot Commissioner for Overseas Cypriots, Fotis Fotiou, who in his address called on the attendees to “participate actively in the life of the countries where they reside in order to strengthen the Hellenic spirit throughout the world.”Following the opening ceremony, Mr. Quick and Mr. Fotiou had a one-on-one meeting on the agenda for the trilateral actions with the diaspora communities of Israel, Egypt and Armenia, and in view of the launching of trilateral cooperation with the large Lebanese diaspora, as was agreed in the meeting held in Beirut by Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Ioannis Kasoulides.
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