International Greek Language Day Certificates of Attainment in Greek Award Ceremony

On February 9, the Consulate General of Greece in New York celebrated the International Greek Language Day by organizing a special ceremony at the Greek-American school of Saint Demetrius Astoria, during which, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of the Diaspora Greeks Konstantinos Vlassis, awarded the certificates of attainment in Greek to Greek-American students who succeeded in the examination.

Addressing the students, the Consul General of Greece in New York stressed that human prosperity is based on innovation. "This presupposes the existence of two major skills: the ability to discern the bad ideas and reject them, as well as our ability to identify the good ideas and capitalize upon them. Through the millennia, the Greek language has been just this: a good idea. I look at you and I admire you. I wish that you continue to draw inspiration -the same way thousands of students before you did- and start creating your own path of knowledge. May you find your own innovative idea. And once you succeed, may you build upon it for the generation to come”.

Taking the floor, Deputy Minister Vlassis said that “throughout my visit, while I meet hundreds of Greek Americans, there has not been a better word to describe my feelings than the word pride. I feel proud to be a Greek and be amongst you. I feel proud to be watching you waging your own struggle to preserve our values, our customs, and our tradition. I feel proud to see you keeping the faith and your connection to our motherland alive”.

As of May 2011, the Centre for the Greek Language based in the city of Thessaloniki organizes global examinations for six levels of attainment in Greek on an annual basis. The New York examinations are run by the Office for Education of the Consulate General of Greece in New York.

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