Tuesday, March 8, 2016
By Chris Malaspina
On the 20th of May 2016 the first official celebration of the World Day of Greek Language and Greek Culture is scheduled to be celebrated with solemn events in the Italian Diaspora. As Dimitris Plevrakis, Deputy Director General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad stated at the Special Committee House for the Greek Diaspora (sic) the relevant law will have passed by April.
The enactment of the Law, associated with the Greek Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Education and Culture, will pave the way for submitting a request to UNESCO for the establishment of the World Day of Greek Language and Culture.
Speaking in the Panhellenic Post, Mr. Plevrakis stressed that celebrations this year will be taking place in Italy and in particular in Naples "because the whole idea sprang from Jannis Korinthios, ex Chairman of the Federation of Greek Communities and Brotherhoods of Italy". By establishing the World Day of Greek Language, events will start widespreading wherever there is organized Hellenism and of course in Greece.
The General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad plans to celebrate the establishment of the Greek Language Day with conferences and various events in schools, universities and even in Italian Diaspora organizations, a fact that needs immediate action since the remaining time is not enough.
THE BACKGROUND
The proposal to introduce the World Day of Greek Language was principally attested by Jannis Korinthios in October 2014 in Parliament. In December 2014 at a joint session of the Parliamentary Cultural Affairs' Committee and the Greek Diaspora on "Hellenism and Philhellenism Italy-Joint Actions for viewing the Greek Language and Greek Culture". Marco Galdi, Mayor of Cava de Tirreni and President of the Philhellenic Company in Italy, Jannis Korinthios, ex Chairman of the Federation of Greek Communities and Brotherhoods of Italy and Dimitris Kafantaris, Vice President of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece, on behalf of Georgios Patoulis, President of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece, supported as well the idea.
The initiative was launched in Italy and adopted by the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece during a recent meeting in Rome, with the participation of George Patoulis, Dimitris Kafantaris and Giannis Karagiannis with Marco Galdi and Jannis Korinthios.
The Municipal Councils one after another began to adopt the proposals with their resolutions.