Panagiotis Baladakis, President of the Federation of Greek Communities of South Africa, spoke on the program about the history of Hellenism in South Africa—from the first migrants in 1860, to its flourishing in the 1960s and 1970s with around 120,000 Greeks, to the present day, when, as he noted, the number stands at approximately 50,000.
Mr Baladakis highlighted the importance of preserving the Greek language and issued an appeal to Greeks who would like to live in South Africa and teach Greek to younger generations. He himself was born in South Africa to Greek parents who had migrated from Egypt, and, as he characteristically said: “I may not have been born in Greece, but I am proud to be Greek.”
Finally, he referred to the celebratory events organized by the Federation and the SAHETI School for the national anniversary of 25 March. These events are expected to be attended by officials from Greece, including representatives of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports—specifically Panagiotis Passas, Head of the General Directorate for International and European Affairs, Diaspora Education and Intercultural Education, as well as the Ministry’s Service Secretary, Giannis Vlassis.