A Journal of Foreign Policy Issues
In 1997, more than 5 million Greeks (or more than half of Greece's
native population) live outside of Greece's borders.
From the United States to the former Soviet Union, from Canada
to Australia, from Latin America to Central Europe, from South
Africa to Germany or England, there is hardly a large international
city that does not contain an active Greek population-in most
cases a population thriving in its midst for many decades.
The existence of this vibrant and diverse Diaspora constitutes
a unique privilege-and also a heavy responsibility-for Greece's
political, scientific, economic and cultural communities and institutions.
E
ven though the economic and social conditions of the world's
Greek communities vary dramatically according to those in existence
in their host countries, most Greeks of the Diaspora possess at
least two strong unifying characteristics:
These two-largely complementary-qualities render Greeks abroad
an ideal bridge of friendship and Cooperation between Greece and
a host of foreign nations.
A prosperous and active Hellenism abroad can lead to a prosperous Greece
in the international community,as well as to the multicultural enrichment
of the host countries, including, of course, the Greek communities living
within their borders themselves.
It is in accordance with this principle-of an independent and
thriving world Hellenism, which will keep its ties with Greece
while building ever stronger ties with its adopted homelands-that
the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad attempts to structure
its activities.
By way of a brief introduction, two of these activities are described
in greater detail below.
Connecting Greeks Abroad through the Internet
On February 20, 1997, the General Secretariat launched its world-wide
INTERNET site for Greeks Abroad.
The site includes, among other things, a summary of the most important
Greek laws that pertain to the rights and obligations of Greeks
abroad, but also of those Greeks who choose to return to Greece
(taxation, military, duty, insurance, investment laws, etc..)
as well as other useful information that we hope will facilitate
the everyday lives of the Greeks of the Diaspora.
At the same time, it also includes summaries of the immigration, education and employment laws of the host countries themselves, which were kindly given to us by their respective diplomatic missions in Athens.
This comprehensive and ever-enriched legal compilation can serve
not only as an invaluable resource for Greeks of the Diaspora
but also as a useful search and research tool for all those who
wish to look into or even compare immigration laws of a number
of other countries around the world.
Most important, the INTERNET site contains live chat and newsgroup channels, which allow its users to exchange views, information, ideas, documents, and even pictures and sounds, in "real time", no matter where they live. By bringing Greeks directly closer with each other the world over, without the intervention of the Greek government, our hope is to strengthen the independence and the ties that bind world Hellenism and to allow the ideas and imagination of the Greeks abroad to establish new channels of world-wide cooperation in all fields of activity (cultural, economic, academic, etc.).
The address of the INTERNET site is
http://www.mfa.gr/ggae/ (in Greece)
or http://www.hri.org/ggae/
(in the United States).
Greek Cultural Months
The General Secretariat helps organise and fund a number of so-called "Greek Cultural Months" around the world each year.
The purpose of these months is to bring the Greek communities abroad together in the context of a multitude of cultural events, both from Greece and ones involving local Greek artists in the host countries. At the same time, a number of lectures and meetings (of a financial, cultural or other nature) between entrepreneurs, professors, artists, etc. from Greece and from the local (Greek and non-Greek) populations aim at incorporating the broader host-country societies into the festivities and at helping develop ties of friendship and cooperation that will outlast the relative brief duration of the "months" themselves.
The "Antipodes" Festival in Australia, in March, constituted the first such "month" for 1997. In April 1997, the General Secretariat is organising the first month of its kind in southern Russia, and efforts are underway to organise a similar month in the United States in October 1997, in cooperation with the Council for Hellenes Abroad (or "SAE").
With these and other activities like them, we hope to contribute
to the building of ever-stronger bridges between Greeks Abroad
and Greece, but also between Greeks Abroad (and Greece in general)
and host-country societies. In the long run, if we succeed, this
enriching interaction can only help bring about a new diverse,
peaceful and prosperous world.
|
Population appointment of Greeks living abroad |
| America | 3402220 |
| Oceania | 710000 |
| Asia | 69200 |
| Europe | 1286740 |
| Africa | 139790 |
| Total | 5607950 |