Remarks by H.E. the Ambassador of Greece to the U.S.A. Mr. V.Kaskarelis on the occasion of the 8th Annual Conference on the futur of hellenism

It is a pleasure to be here, and thank you for inviting me to share your concerns and your contemplations about the future of Hellenism, your future, in the United States. 

The borders of Hellenism have never been confined within the borders of Greece proper. The Greek people have spanned the globe for thousands of years, creating culturally rich communities in some of the world’s oldest cities. These communities were an integral part of Greece, impacting its history and its development as an independent sovereign state.

The Greek communities in the new world, the United States, Canada, Australia, are the latest version of these communities, defined by changes in Greece itself.  As Greece has changed over the years, so has the nature of the Greek Diaspora, and the Greek American community is no exception. With Greece no longer sending off its children in droves, there is no replenishing the immigrant melting pot. 

This is a good thing.

On the other hand, with descendants of Greek immigrants having entered mainstream America, I understand your concerns about maintaining our cultural heritage and identity. Yet, reality is reality.  All immigrant groups have gone through this process, and new immigrant groups will go through it in the future.  There is no doubt that the Greek American community is in transition.  I do believe, however, that there is no cause for serious concern.

To begin with, let’s take a look at the flourishing number of newly established Greek American organizations. Granted, these institutions are taking on new forms; but this is dictated by reality, by the new priorities of these young Americans of Greek origin.

It is unrealistic to expect that new generations of Greek Americans will be interested in the same things as earlier immigrants. Young people in Greece itself have different priorities than their parents and grandparents. Consequently, it seems to me that the connection with their cultural identity is not diminishing, but rather, it is the nature of that connection that is changing. 

The connection with Greece that existed earlier through the arrival of new immigrants, can, and I believe is, now cultivated through other means. Traveling to Greece is much more commonplace, and young Greek Americans visit the homeland much more often than older generations used to, not only because it is the land of their forefathers, but because it is fun, it is interesting, it is exciting.  It is the gateway to Europe.  There is a surge of young people, 2 and 3 generations removed from Greece, choosing to become Greek citizens. They travel all over Greece, not only to the small village where they families came from, and not only for vacations; they go to Greece for internships, they attend college, they attend summer seminars, they take courses at Greek universities, they even choose to complete their undergraduate work in Greece and conduct business there. In addition, more college-age students than ever choose to study the Greek language, Greek history and culture, in universities throughout the U.S.

Today, young people everywhere, including Greece, take a more global approach to major issues. While young people in Greece genuinely care about Cyprus, Macedonia and the state of Greek-Turkish relations, they are also busy texting each other, or exchanging views on Facebook, about their own aspirations. They are concerned with the bad economy, the lack of jobs, global warming, poverty, crime, violence, terrorism. They are busy contemplating their future, the future of the world, of the community in which they live.

Patriarch Bartholomew, whom many of you had the opportunity to hear only a few weeks ago, a man concerned with the spiritual and the divine, urged us to concern ourselves with humanity at large.  After all, this has been the core of Greek culture:  public service, concern for our fellow men and women, concern for the world around us.

Thus, I truly believe that if you want your children to stay within your community and your institutions, you must broaden the breadth and scope of those institutions to reflect global concerns, to reflect what is of interest to them, not to you. You will be able to maintain interest in the Greek heritage, not by obsessing over preserving it.  Preservation implies inflexibility, lack of evolution. Culture, just as language, are evolving and ever changing.

My assignment today is to talk about what Greece can do to help maintain and cultivate the connections between Greek Americans and Greece. 

To start with, I will tell you what Greece is doing already.  Among several initiatives:

The Greek Ministry of Education has sent about 200 Greek teachers from Greece, teaching at American charter schools, as well as schools of the Archdiocese.  There are more than 21,000 students learning Greek in primary schools.  There are about 6 college levels teachers, teaching Greek at Modern Greek study programs in universities. In addition, the service of American teachers of Greek descent who teach at school of the Archdiocese has been recognized, and they receive pensions from Greece.

The University of Crete organizes seminars and refresher courses for Greek language teachers from abroad; the cost of travel and room and board are paid by the Greek government.

In addition, the Greek Language Center in Thessaloniki offers continuing education courses to teachers abroad through the web. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, and in cooperation with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Culture, this leads to certification for teaching Greek. 

Greece also provides educational materials, books and software to the aforementioned schools.

There are also four Greek education offices at the Embassy and consulates in Washington, DC, New York, Chicago and San Francisco, which have the responsibility to promote the Greek language in various states.

These offices, in cooperation with the Greek language center in Thessaloniki, conduct language proficiency examinations and provide certificates of proficiency.

Special conditions apply to children of the Diaspora who want to attend university in Greece, exempting them from the very strict conditions that Greek students have to abide by.

The Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Culture and Education provide funds to many Greek studies programs at colleges and universities throughout the United States, ranging from $5,000 to $ 50,000 per program. Some programs have received much larger amounts. To mention only three: Georgetown University received half a million dollars; the University of Maryland received $250,000; the Greek program at Columbia University also receives a healthy annual amount. 

The Greek Government also provides limited amounts annually to various regional and cultural Greek organizations in the U.S. 

Children of Greeks abroad are invited to Greek camps every summer. Thus far, more than 50,000 children have participated in these camps.

In addition to government funds, there is also considerable private sponsorship of various undertakings.  For instance, the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation is a major promoter of Greek culture in the United States, and for that, I congratulate the Executive Director of the U.S. branch, Ambassador Loukas Tsilas, who is here with us tonight.  Their exhibits in New York make headlines in The New York Times, and I have to ask, how many parents make it a point to take their children to such venues?

To put these things in perspective, let’s remember that:

• Greece is barely the size of Alabama;
• The Greek population is barely that of Manhattan
• Greece’s military expenditures are enormous, making its defense budget the 25th highest in the world;•Greece also spends an enormous amount to protect its cultural and archaeological heritage.  

Greece, to the measure that it can, supports many endeavors abroad.  I am sure it can do more. 

Greece, however, is not in a position to know exactly what is important to you and to your children.  You are the only ones who know that. 

You must organize yourselves in unity. Instead of hundreds of organizations, individually and haphazardly presenting various programs, which express individual ideas and desires, the Greek American community, in direct communication with its young people, must carve an organized path and ultimately discuss with Athens specific programs, which can lead to closer ties between young people in both Greece and the United States.

In this regard, and as I have already stated on many other occasions, I offer my services and the services of my staff at the Embassy.  We will be happy to discuss ideas that you, as an organized community, feel will be beneficial to the future of Hellenism in the U.S.  I will be happy to be the intermediary between you and Athens towards realizing some of these ideas and programs that are reached at through unity and consensus.  Here, too, as I have done in the past, I would like to make clear that I have no intention of imposing on you any views, ideas or initiatives.

Having said all this, I must point out that Greece is grateful for the support it receives from Greek Americans on our national issues; we recognize and appreciate your efforts.  We consider you children of Greece and we want to do the best we can to make sure that Greek culture and the Greek heritage thrive in the U.S. 

This is as important to Greece, as it is to you. 

But, we need your help to find the best possible ways to maintain this connection between the two sides of the Atlantic and to strengthen the bonds between our peoples everywhere.