«The 13th World Conference of Thessalians completed with great success by the feet of the Meteora mountains»

 

The utilization of local products and alternative forms of tourism as means of development of the Municipality of Meteora were the central themes of the 13th World Conference of Thessalians, which was held with great success in the Municipality of Meteora over three days of July 29, 30 and 31, 2022. The current conditions of the pandemic allowed the people of Thessaly the world over to return for another year to their homeland with feelings of love, pride, emotion and nostalgia, and to feel a warm hospitality from the Municipality of Meteora and the Mayor, Mr. Theodoros Alekos. This year’s conference was held under the auspices of the General Secretariat of Hellenes Abroad and Public Diplomacy with co-organizers the Municipality of Meteora, the Region of Thessaly and the Regional Union of Municipalities in Thessaly.

The three-day schedule of events began Friday, July 29, 2022 with a visit to the LOUDA Winery, in the village of Diava in the Municipality of Meteora, where delegates were given a guide by Mrs. Zaharoula Giavrouta – Louda, to learn about the wine production process, to taste various types wines and enjoy local dishes.

The event continued on the second day, Saturday July 30, 2022, with the conference held in the Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Meteora, where Mrs. Fotini Michou, General Secretary of the World Confederation of Thessalians “ASKLIPIOS”, welcomed the expatriate Thessalians, the representatives of the organisations, presenters, the World Youth of Thessaly, as well as the multitude of people who responded to the call, either in person or online. Special thanks were extended to the Mayor of Meteora, Mr. Theodoros Alekos, with this year’s World Conference being hosted in the beautiful Municipality of Meteora.

The members of the Presidium, Mr. Dimitrios Lypas (Chairman – representative of the Municipality of Meteora), Mr. Ilias Koutseris (Journalist), Mr. Apostolos Houteas (Representative of the Thessalian Federation of Australia), Mr. Antonis Koukouravas (Representative of the European Thessalian Federation) and Ms. Konstantina Skreka (Representative of Global Youth of Thessaly) gave their respective addresses and wished every success at the conference.

The event was graced by the presence of the His Grace the Metropolitan of Stagion and Meteora, Theoklitos, who blessed the course of both the work and the actions of the Confederation, stated that he was happy to attend the beautiful assembly of Thessalians and emphasised the great importance of the work of the World Confederation of Thessalians.

The Mayor of Meteora, Mr. Theodoros Alekos, as co-host of this year’s World Conference of Thessalians emphasized in his greeting that “it is a particularly important event characterised by the extroverted and unifying orientation of Thessalians everywhere”.

Mr. Ioannis Chrysoulakis, Secretary General for Hellenes Abroad and Public Diplomacy expressed his certainty that the worldwide Thessalian community, with their love for the history, culture, values ​​and traditions of Thessaly, but also with valuable experience from life abroad, have a lot to offer, to propose and discuss about the development of the region and about the issues of the Conference. He also emphasised that the General Secretariat for Hellenes Abroad and Public Diplomacy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is happy to grant its patronage to the Conference, and would continue its cordial cooperation with the World Confederation of Thessalians, both to respond to the needs of the Diaspora, and for its advocacy on behalf of Greece

The representative of the Region of Thessaly, Mr. Konstantinos Bardas – Regional Councilor of the Regional Unit of Trikala, conveyed the greetings of the Regional Governor, congratulated the World Confederation of Thessalians on the initiative and pointed out that “it is a great pleasure to have people here who clearly love their homeland”.

The Mayor of Trikala and President of KEDE, Mr. Dimitrios Papastergiou, emphasised the importance of the establishment of the World Conference by the World Confederation of the Thessalians, welcoming the actions and sessions in the three-day Conference.

Greetings were also sent by the Minister of Justice, Mr. Konstantinos Tsiaras, the Minister of Environment and Energy, Mr. Konstantinos Skrekas, the President of the PED of Thessaly, Mr. Athanasios Nasiakopoulos, the Member of Parliament for Magnesia, Mr. Alexandros Meikopoulos, as well as the Association of Worldwide Karditsians. The conference was also attended by Trikala Member of Parliament Ms. Katerina Papakosta, Karditsa Member of Parliament Ms. Asimina Skondra, the representative of the major opposition of the Thessaly Region Mr. Nikolaos Tsilimigas, the representative of the Trikala Police Department Mr. Athanasios Kappas, the Commander of the Meteora Police Department Mr. Evangelos Lafazanis, the President of the Trikala Association of Thessaloniki, Mr. Kostas Oikonomou, the President of the Thessalians of Xanthi Association, Mr. Themis Angelakopoulos, Deputy Mayors, municipal councilors and media representatives. We thank Mr. Krupis who attended and distributed the new issue of the periodical “XENIOS THESSALOS”.

The President of the World Confederation of Thessalians, Mr. Diamantis Gikas, referred to the 15 years of the World Confederation of Thessalians, presented the second issue of the periodical “THETTALON DRASEIS” and welcomed all the delegates with special reference to the World Youth of Thessaly which carries the flame of continuation of Thessalian tradition. Mr. Georgios Mpliokas from Sydney, Australia, First Vice-President of the World Confederation of Thessalians, also gave a live address via the internet.

The presentations started with Fr. Theodoros Papanikolaou – Archpriest of the Holy Metropolis of France, Priest of the Greek Orthodox Parish of Bordeaux, France and university lecturer, who developed the topic “Orthodoxy in France and the promotion of the religious wealth of Meteora”, continued with Mr. Spyros Nikologianni – Special Advisor to the Mayor of Meteora on Tourism and Finances, who referred to the promotion and promotion of the wider cultural stock in the Municipality of Meteora. Mrs. Ioanna Zacharaki – President of the Local Government Network of Electors of Europe and Mayor of Solingen, presented the Development of cooperation of the Municipality of Meteora with Municipalities of Europe – Promotion and extroversion of Meteora. Finally, Mr. Giorgos Machairas, First Secretary of the World Youth of Thessaly and (undergraduate) student of the School of Architecture and Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens, presented the architecture of the monasteries of Meteora as a reflection of the tourist attraction and global symbol of Thessaly.

The highlight of the event came from the World Youth of Thessaly, where the President of the World Youth of Thessaly, Ms. Anastasia Kerasovitis and the Minister of Public Relations of the Global Youth of Thessaly, Mr. Theoharis Giannakopoulos, presented the work and the remarkable actions of the newly established Global Youth, receiving applause by the delegates. On the sidelines of the conference, the bridges of friendship and deepening cooperation were built by the Global Youth of Thessaly with a group of young people from the regions of Kalambaka and Trikala, organised by Mr. Stelios Abrazis, an educator in the Prefecture of Trikala.

The World Confederation of Thessalians, celebrating its 15-year anniversary, honored and awarded 15 Thessalians originally from Kalambaka as a sign of honor for their valuable contribution to Hellenism abroad and their worthy work in society that makes all Thessalians proud. These are: Mr. Siomos Panagiotis, Mr. Efstathiou Vasilios, Mr. Stergiou Sotirios, Ms. Toula Agoros, Mr. Mylonas Kostas, Mr. Kerasovitis Efthimio, Ms. Rossidou Aspasia, Mr. Flokas Athanasios, Ms. Kanzoura Vasiliki, Mr. Houteas Apostolos, Mr. Tasikas Theodoros, Ms. Tasikas Chrysoula, Mr. Georgios Skourtis, Mr. Theodoros Papanikolaou and Ms. Zacharakis Ioanna.

In a beautiful atmosphere of dialogue, exchange of opinions, submission of proposals and recording of any problems that the expatriates have identified, the discussion panel moderated by the journalist Mr. Ilias Koutseris, on the topic of “Development and utilisation of the Meteora area”, took place afterwards, where were put on record, all these facts, which can give a vision for our place, with the protagonist of Thessalians across the world. The discussion table was attended by: Mr. Theodoros Alekos – Mayor of the Municipality of Meteora, Mr. Nikolaos Saroukos – Head of Control, Inspections and Tourism Development of Thessaly, Mr. Efthimios Kerasovitis – World Confederation of Thessalians and Mr. Spyros Nikologiannis – Special Advisor to the Mayor of Meteora Municipality in matters of Tourism and Finance. Some main general conclusions from the discussion were the application of tourism throughout the year and not only in the summer months, the support of Kalambaka as a main railway connection hub with neighboring large municipalities and the maximum possible exploitation of its wider cultural Municipality and the rich agri-food sector throughout.

In the evening, the Municipality of Meteora held in honor of the Thessalians a special cultural evening in the packed square of Kalambaka with the musical orchestra: Takis Bekas (clarinet), Lefteris Schoretsianitis (violin), Alekos Chlyvas (accordion), Nikos Dokos (laguto) and Giorgos Tsaoussis (song). The evening’s program was presented by the University Professor of Greek Dances Mr. Ioannis Dimas. At the Cultural evening, the Kalambaka Dance Club “METEORA” of the Municipality of Meteora presented traditional Levantine dances. A highlight was the participation of the Dance Group from the World Youth of Thessaly, who wore for the first time the new costumes supplied by the World Confederation of Thessalians.

The conference concluded on Sunday 31 July 2022 with a guided tour of Meteora, the Monastery of Agios Stefanos as well as corresponding visits to the Museum of Geological Formations in Kastraki and the Museum of Digitization in Kalambaka. In the middle of the tour, the World Confederation of Thessalians cut a cake to celebrate 15 years in the beautiful cafe MIKIO at the foot of Meteora, which was also filmed by the state broadcaster, ERT.

The President of the World Confederation of Thessalians, Mr. Diamantis Gikas, on behalf of all the Thessalian expatriates, thanked the General Secretariat for Hellenes Abroad and Public Diplomacy under whose auspices the conference was held, the Region of Thessaly, the PED of Thessaly and the Municipality of Meteora for the excellent cooperation in the co-organisation of the conference, as well as for the warm hospitality received by all the Thessalian delegates. The President of the Federation of Thessalian Associations of Australia, Mr. Apostolos Houteas, and the Secretary of the Federation of Thessalian Associations of Europe, Mr. Polyanthi Giannarou, also expressed their satisfaction and joy for today’s conference.

In the organizing committee were: Mr. Diamantis Gikas, Mrs. Fotini Mihou, Mr. Ilias Koutseris, Mr. Dimitris Lypas, Mr. Spyridon Nikologiannis and Mrs. Konstantina Skrekas, while in the Secretariat of the Conference were: Fotini Katroulas, Mrs. Ioanna Sakellaridis and Mrs. Maritini Protogera.

The World Confederation of Thessalians warmly thanks the major sponsor of the event, the BOLOSSIS company, for its sensitivity and for supporting the Thessalian Community.

Finally, we would like to thank all the people who took part in the organisation of this great event, and we wish them well and hope we will meet again next year.

Sincerely – on behalf of the Board of Directors

The President Diamantis Gikas

The General Secretary Fotini Michou