The La Trobe University Greek Society and the Modern Greek Studies Program of La Trobe have collaborated for this year’s “Speak Greek in March” campaign, to encourage the continuation of the Greek language.
“Everyone has to learn Greek, because it is through Greek that one can understand one’s own language”. These are the famous words spoken by Jacqueline de Romilly.
This famous quote best describes the “Speak Greek in March campaign”. It is a marketing strategy aimed to encourage schools, universities and other organizations around Victoria to speak and teach the Greek language.
As part of this year’s “Speak Greek in March” initiative, the La Trobe University Greek Society and the Modern Greek Studies Program of La Trobe, created a podcast to inspire students, parents, teachers and other individuals within the wider community to speak Greek, not only in March, but all year around.
The podcast consisted of interviewing the chairman of the “Speak Greek in March” campaign Mr. Mike Zafiropoulos, who provided an exclusive insight as to why the program was established and its lasting impact on the Greek community.
The Coordinator of the Modern Greek Studies program, Dr. Stavroula (Stephie) Nikoloudis and instructor Dr. Dimitri Gonis took part in the podcast.
Their main focus was to discuss the significant influence the Greek language has had at La Trobe’s campus. They also discussed various Greek words that are used every day within the English language. For example, the central hub of La Trobe is called the “agora”. “Agora” is an ancient Greek word that means a “public meeting space”, often utilized for assemblies and markets.
At La Trobe, the central meeting space is surrounded by shops, cafes and small restaurants.
Lastly, the La Trobe University Greek Society members discussed their different experiences in using and learning the Greek language. The six members who took part in this podcast include, Anthea Banousis, Leigh Mihailidis, Xenia Albanis, Foteini Sismanis, John Charalabidis and Constantina Sapantzis.
The main focus of this podcast is to inspire students across Victoria to undertake Greek as part of their tertiary education.
The Modern Greek Studies Program provides La Trobe University students and other students from various institutions across Victoria, the benefit of a comprehensive program.
The Greek language program consists of three levels, beginner, intermediate and advanced, which students can choose based on their level of competence.
The program also includes cultural subjects furthering a student’s knowledge in Greek history, traditions and their sense of identity. At the end of their studies, a student will be qualified with either a bachelor or a diploma of languages.
Finally, collaborating with the Modern Greek Studies Program, the La Trobe University Greek Society’s mission is to assist the program by further promoting and encouraging young students to undertake Greek.
Anthea Banousis
Co-President of the La Trobe University Greek Society.
