Greek ministerial visit for LOGOS Centre

Professor Michael Tsianikas (left) with Mr Kostas Tsiaras, Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister

Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr Kostas Tsiaras, visited Flinders University yesterday.

Mr Tsiaras, who is travelling to several capital cities during his official Australian tour, made his visit to the LOGOS Centre at Flinders the focus of his Adelaide schedule. The Modern Greek Program at Flinders is currently the most popular and dynamic in Australia, delivering courses to Adelaide University, Darwin University and, from 2014, to Griffith University.

Greek teaching and research at the University is based at the LOGOS Australian Centre for Hellenic Language and Culture, which was established in 2011 with $600,000 of funding over four years from the South Australian Government. The main focus of the centre is to support the teaching of Modern Greek in Australia and develop a full online program available nationally and internationally.

LOGOS Director Professor Michael Tsianikas said that it was the first time a significant figure from the Greek Government had come to the Centre. He said it was particularly appropriate, as the Foreign Ministry is the portfolio that represents the interests of Greeks overseas.

“The visit underlines the significant developments that the teaching of Modern Greek language and culture has made at Flinders, and the Deputy Minister was especially interested in the online resources that we have developed to extend our language teaching capacity,” Professor Tsianikas said.

Mr Tsiaras was accompanied by senior staff from the Foreign Ministry, as well as the Greek Ambassador to Australia, Mr Haris Dafanaros, and SA Greek Consul General Mr Cristos Maniakis-Grivas.

After talks with senior University staff, Mr Tsiaras inspected the bust of Aristotle donated to the University last year by the Australian Greek community before meeting staff and students of the LOGOS Centre.

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