News and Events

2006 Media Releases

Supreme accolade for National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research of La Trobe University

The NATIONAL CENTRE FOR HELLENIC STUDIES AND RESEARCH at La Trobe University has received the supreme accolade of being awarded one of the two 2006 ONASSIS INTERNATIONAL PRIZES for its promotion of Hellenism. This Prize is widely regarded as second only to the Nobel Prize in international recognition and prestige.

The Prize, along with a grant of (US)$200,000, will be presented to Professor Anastasios Tamis, the Director of the Centre, by the President of the Hellenic Republic, His Excellency Mr Karolos Papoulias, in a ceremony in Athens on 18 October, 2006

The principal benefactor of the Centre, Dr Zissis Dardalis, the President of the Society for Hellenic Studies and Research, Mr Tassos Revis, the Chair of the Society and co-founder of the NCHSR and Professor Michael Osborne will also attend, accompanied by Mr Steve Angelodemou.

Previous recipients of this award include Harold Macmillan, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Helmut Schmidt, Vaclav Havel, Jimmy Carter, Eduard Shevardnadze, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, and the Greek composer, Mikis Theodorakis.

This occasion is unique since both awards have gone to universities - La Trobe University, Australia, and Harvard University. It is the first time that such an award has gone to Australia.

In welcoming the achievement, Professor Brian Stoddart, Vice-Chancellor of La Trobe University, paid tribute to the National Centre. 'This Prize is a deserved reward for the contributions of the energetic Director of the National Centre, Professor Anastasios Tamis, and his colleagues and staff. It also represents a tangible and impressive return on investment for the many members of the Hellenic community in Australia who have co-operated to establish and enhance this Centre', Professor Stoddart said.

The Director of the National Centre, Professor Anastasios Tamis, said: 'We feel privileged and humble. We feel privileged because the awarded Onassis International Prize constitutes an irrefutable acknowledgment of the quality of study and research on Hellenism conducted in this Centre, since 1997. We also feel humble because we now feel stronger the responsibility to strive for excellence in our effort to enhance the precious values of Greek civilization, history, language and heritage in Australia and the wider region of Australasia, including China.'

Professor Michael Osborne, Chair of the Society for Hellenic Studies and Research, added that the National Centre would continue to expand its operations in the promotion and dissemination of Hellenism and that in this regard it was already successfully developing programs of study and research in China.

Professor Tamis expressed his deep gratitude to La Trobe University for the unfailing support. He also acknowledged his gratefulness to the benefactor of the National Centre, Dr. Zissis Dardalis and Marathon Food Industries, the leadership of the Society for Hellenic Studies and Research, the wider Greek community in Australia, the Societies of Friends of the NCHSR in Australia, Greece, Cyprus and the Americas and the Board of the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation for the distinction and the honour.

 

Greek Government grant for La Trobe Hellenic studies and research

Greece’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Mr Theodore Kassimis, visited La Trobe University on Saturday, 2 September 2006 to announce a research grant worth $850,000 to La Trobe University’s National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research.

The Minister was accompanied by the newly appointed Greek Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency, Mr George Zois and the Greek Consul General in Victoria, Mr Eleftherios Kouvaritakis.

Head of the NCHSR, Professor Tassos Tamis, said the grant will be offered in ten annual instalments of $85,000 and will be used to carry out research projects on the Greek language, history and Greek migration and settlement in Australia and the wider Australasian region.

La Trobe University Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Erich Weigold, said the University was extremely grateful for this latest support from the Greek Government.

‘The award highlights the excellent work of the National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research. The National Centre is one of the distinctive features of La Trobe University and forms an important bridge between academic work and one of the key community groups in Australia and elsewhere,’ Professor Weigold said.

The University received the Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mrs Kassimis in a special ceremony at the Ernest Jones Hall at the NCHSR in front on some 150 guests, including visiting Greek dignitaries and journalists.

The La Trobe University National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research was established in 1997 with the generous support of Melbourne business man and philanthropist, Dr Zisis Dardalis.

It has helped develop and maintain strong academic links between Metropolitan Greeks and Cypriots and Hellenes of the Diaspora, to enhance social, cultural, historical, linguistic, anthropological, scientific and other research.

Professor Tamis said: ‘The Centre brings practical benefits by enriching both the lives of Greeks and Cypriots and the wider Australian society in which they live.’

Centre Patrons include the President of the Hellenic Republic, the President of the Republic of Cyprus and former Prime Minister of Australia, the Right Hon. Malcolm Fraser.

* The University’s Greek Studies Program, in the School of Historical and European Studies, also provides one of the most diverse and dynamic Programs of its kind, in a city claimed to be the largest Greek-speaking polis outside of Greece and Cyprus.

It offers units in Greek language, culture and history from antiquity to the present day, at undergraduate, honours and postgraduate levels.

Its undergraduate program in Modern Greek is offered both on the Bundoora Campus for La Trobe students, and at Parkville for students of The University of Melbourne. It also holds regular research seminars, occasional national and international conferences and public lectures.

 

For further information:

Professor Michael Osborne, Chair, Society for Hellenic Studies and Research

Professor A. M. Tamis, Director, National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research, La Trobe University

Tel: (03) 9479 3713.