A strong display of solidarity from numerous Hellenes in Australia has seen a collective effort made to support schools in Greece with significant donations made in the form of audio books.
The contributions from numerous Greek Australians have been made with the aim of upgrading school libraries, with the audio books playing a part in trying to help meet daily educational needs.
All the books come from author Elias Bountouris.
The 30 of them include short stories with heroic old professionals, as told by well-known artists, accompanied by sounds of each era and appropriately adapted music by artists like Mikis Theodorakis, Stamatis Kraounakis and Stefanos Varelas.
The other eight audio books belong to the ‘Μικρά Οδοιπορικά’ series and offer audio tours of the historical and cultural route of Greece, highlighting the unique local culture.
During the receipt of the donations, the school principals expressed their warm thanks to all the individuals and businessmen in Greece and the Greek Diaspora who contributed to this very substantial and kind offer.
As they stated: “The donations of audio books by author Mr Elias Bountouris, with their unique narratives and musical accompaniment by great Greek creators, are not only a cultural gift for our students, but also a valuable educational tool for our teachers.”
“The addition of these books to our school libraries strengthens our effort for creative and experiential learning, while also cultivating imagination, historical awareness and love for Greek tradition.”
The significance of the initiative cannot be understated, particularly given the importance of quality education for the development of children.
Although these audio books are aimed at all ages, their appeal to young people is particularly interesting, an age group that, by common admission, has moved away from traditional books.
Perhaps that is why the educational community has warmly embraced them, with the result that they have already been included in the libraries of hundreds of schools throughout Greece.
Regarding the donors’ commendable offer, the author of the donated books stated:
“During the academic year that just ended, the libraries of many schools in Greece were strengthened with my books, which present Greek culture with modern methods. Their selection by educators is an honour for me. At the same time, however, this year we also witnessed an initiative that mobilized and rallied the Greek community, highlighting the humanity and anxiety of Greeks for the future of their children. May the imitators that this movement will find know that they are capable of changing our world for the better.”
Among the sponsors and donors are many Greeks from the Greek Diaspora, some of whom chose to remain anonymous. Of the rest, the following Greeks from Australia are listed:
Elpida Avramidou
Asimina Angelaki
Elpida Akrivi
Myrsini Anagnostopoulou
Maria Anastasopoulou
Nikolaos Argyris
Zoe Varaka
Niki Vlamakis
Alexia Vrana
Marina Gerakou
Sofia Yalama
Iliana Gioldasi
Styliani Glynou
Apostolos Delagrammatikas
Ioannis Delligiannis
Margarita Dermitzaki
Nikolaos Despyris
Despina Dramali
Xenia Dritsa
Elpida Zerva
Athina Zisi
Manolis Zymarakis
Argyris Theonas
Aris Thraskias
Anastasios Thomaidis
Christos Thomakos
Anastasia Ioannou
Angeliki Kalamioti
Alexis Kalogeropoulos
Eleftherios Karnezis
Eleni Karouzou
Anna Ketime
Theano Kirmitzi
Maritsa Kloni
Evangelos Ktenas
Artemios Kouropoulos
Xenia Lianta
Paraskevi Liodaki
Paraskevi Mavili
Eirini Martaki
Andreas Mellios
Kleio Mitrousi
Aristotelis Begnis
Panagiota Bitha
Efthymios Braimiotis
Andriani Dela
Elina Detsika
Georgia Xanthippi
Ioannis Orfanos
Theano Parlavantza
Evanthia Paschali
Eirini Patera
Ioanna Petralia
Gerasimos Petridis
Aphrodite Plakia
Marianthi Plantzou
Eleni Prousali
Georgios Repanis
Anastasia Reppa
Alexandros Roilos
Sotiris Sinopoulos
Apostolos Stamelos
Anestis Triantafyllidis
Katerina Ypsilanti
Olga Fatourou
Dimitrios Filippou
Sotiria Ftelia
Myrto Fytraki
Erato Fytrakou
Maria Psoma
