SAE U.S.A - World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) - Greek Diaspora Women honored for second consecutive year by the prefecture of Thessaloniki in cooper

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Greek Diaspora Women honored for second consecutive year by the prefecture of Thessaloniki in cooper

Thursday, 12 March 2009

Greek expatriate women from all continents will be honored by the Prefecture of Thessaloniki in cooperation with the World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) in recognition of their contribution to World Hellenism.
The event “Tribute to the Greek Diaspora Women” held for the second consecutive year on the occasion of the International Women’s Day will take place on Wednesday, March 18 at 7.30pm at the Macedonia Pallas Hotel. Among the sponsors of the event is ANA-MPA news agency.
The selection of the honorees was made by the seven SAE Regions. They are: Nina Gatzoulis (USA) President of the Pan-Macedonian Association, Inc., USA, Lucy Grigoriadis (Canada) active in volunteer work, Sophia Papadopoulou-Tagaropoulou (Panama) active in omogeneia issues, Alexandra Protsenko-Pitsatzi (Ukraine) President of the Federation of Greek Associations in Ukraine, Dr Katerina Harvati (Germany) distinguished research scientist, journalist Katerina Katopodi (South Africa) and Voula Mesimeri-Kianidis (Australia) Australian-Greek Welfare Society Director.
“The Prefecture of Thessaloniki celebrates and honors great women who are distinguished internationally for their social and professional contribution,” Prefect Panagiotis Psomiadis stressed in his message thanking SAE and its President Stefanos Tamvakis for the good cooperation and the priceless service to the Greek expatriates.
“They are honored by the Prefecture of Thessaloniki in a show of respect and appreciation to the limitless contribution of the Greek expatriate woman and the Diaspora Greeks in general. In their adopted countries the Greek expatriate women get recognition and admiration through their hard work and sacrifice,” the prefect stressed.
On his part, SAE President Stefanos Tamvakis pointed out that the event honors the Greek Diaspora women for their significant and valuable work in their families, professional field and community.
“We are very proud of the dynamism displayed by the Greek Diaspora women and their pure Greekness,” Tamvakis stated adding: “The Greek women worldwide are strong, recognized and acknowledged by the young generations because thanks to them the Greek identity is preserved. Their presence, love and cooperation are valued by all of us.”
Brief biographical notes of the honored women:

• Nina Gatzoulis (USA)
Nina Gatzoulis comes from the village of Pentalofos in Kozani. She graduated from high school in Greece and studied at the University of New Hampshire in the United States. She lives in Dover, New Hampshire with her husband Vassilis and their two daughters.
She is a professor at the Department of Classical Studies in the University of New Hampshire and the director of the Greek programme. She has written and translated a number of commentaries for the Hellenic Communication Service.
Since 2001 she is actively involved in the Pan-Macedonian Association, Inc., USA, first as its secretary, then as the vice-president and since 2007 as its president.
She is known for her research and studies on the “Skopjan propaganda” and for her political interventions on the issue as the president of the Pan-Macedonian Association, Inc., USA.
In recognition of her contribution she has been honored with the New England Federation Morris Award, the Serres Prefecture, the Serres Association “Orpheus” and Saint Nicolas Community in Portsmouth.

• Lucy Grigoriadis (Canada)
She was born in Thessaloniki in 1932. She studied at the New York University in the United States and Seneca College in Toronto, Canada. She speaks Greek, English and Turkish.
She worked with numerous organizations teaching small children with behavior and adjustment problems. She worked with the Greek Orthodox Church in Canada for the support of the Greek family and against the violence targeting women.
Working with many Greek-American organizations, she focused on the teaching and preservation of the Greek language and was actively involved in events aimed at strengthening relations between the members of the Greek community in America.
She is a member of women organizations in Canada blending different origin backgrounds and cultures, always supporting women actions. She has received numerous awards for her volunteer work. She is married to Emil Grigoriadis and has three children. She lives in Ontario, Canada.

• *Katerina Katopodi (South Africa) *

Katerina Katopodi, 34, was born in South Africa. She studied Greek and English Literature and International Relations. She is the News Director of the Eye Witness News in Johannesburg’s Primedia Broadcasting Group drawing an audience of four million people in South Africa.

She has interviewed international figures among them, Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton.

She is a member of the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) and was recently honored for her contribution to journalism by the Lyceum Club of Women.

She is known for her actions in support of human rights. In 2008 she was a member of a group protesting against the exclusion of white journalists from a luncheon with African National Congress President Jacob Zuma, a symbolic move against racially motivated exclusion.

She is married to Kostas Kosmas and has a son.

• *Voula Mesimeri-Kianidis (Australia) *

She was born in Kalabaka, Trikala and at the age of 12 she and her family migrated to Melbourne, Australia where she currently lives. She is a social worker with postgraduate studies in social development and social service administration. She is active in social services, intercultural relations and women’s issues in particular.

Since 1989 she is the director of the Australian-Greek Welfare Society, an organization with a wide spectrum of activities and services. She was the first woman to chair the Federation of Ethnic Communities in Australia and served as a vice president in the Language Network Council, VITS. She was a member of the Ethnic Communities Council in Victoria.

In 2007 she was among the Distinguished Women in the State of Victoria in recognition of her work in support of women’s rights, while in 2008 she was honored with the Medal of Honor for her social work for women and immigrants in Australia.
• Sophia Papadopoulou-Tagaropoulou (Panama)

She was born in 1931 in Costa Rica to Greek parents and grew up in Colon, Panama where she studied the piano. She founded the Greek Community Youth Choir in Panama and for the past 54 yeas is its president. She taught music at the Greek Community School.

She was actively involved in the Social Solidarity Caravan founded by women diplomats in Panama in 1961 to help the people in need. She offered her support to the social work done by the Pan-American Group of Women she chaired in 1970, 1977 and 1982. She was elected president of the Greek Community in Panama in 2003, the only woman ever to be elected to the specific post. Today, at 77 she is still actively involved in the Greek community.
She is married to a Greek and has two sons.
• Alexandra Protsenko-Pitsatzi (Ukraine)
She was born in 1949 to a Greek family in the village of Kyrillovka in Ukraine. She graduated from the State Pedagogical Institute in Donetsk and was a teacher for 38 years promoting the Greek education in the expatriate community.
She was honored by the Ukrainian State and the Ukrainian and Greek Orthodox Churches for her contribution to the propagation of the Greek culture and Greek-Ukrainian cooperation (received honorary diploma by the President of the Ukraine, Princess Olga Medal).
She is a member of the National Policy Committee to the Ukrainian Presidency and a vice-president of the Council of Presidents of Ukrainian Community Organizations of Ethnic Minorities in the State Committee of Ukraine on Nationalities and Religions.
Under her guidance, the Federation of Greek Associations in Ukraine works to raise the ethnic conscience of the Greeks and solve the social problems faced by the Greek expatriates.
She is active in the SAE humanitarian aid sector in Ukraine and has played a leading role in the medical and hospital programmes underway in the 35 Greek villages in Ukraine.
• Dr. Katerina Harvati (Germany)
She was born in Athens in 1970 to parents originally from Epirus. In 1988 she was admitted to the Athens Law School but soon she realized that she wanted different things. She decided to leave for the United States where she received a degree in biology.
Dr. Harvati studied at Columbia University (BA, summa cum laude) and the City University of New York (MA, PhD), and held a doctoral fellowship at the American Museum of Natural History, New York. Before joining the Max Planck Institute for Human Evolution in 2004, she was Assistant Professor at the Dept. of Anthropology, New York University. In addition to her current post as senior researcher at the MPI, Harvati is adjunct Associate Professor of Anthropology at the City University of New York Graduate Center.
Her research is published in Nature, Science, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Human Evolution, American Journal of Physical Anthropology and International Journal of Primatology.
She was a member of the international group of geologists, archaeologists, biologists and anthropologists who proved that human beings have their roots in Africa, placed by TIME Magazine among the TOP 10 scientific discoveries in 2007.
Source: ANA-MPA