For more than four decades, Associate Professor George Frazis has dedicated his life to teaching Greek in Australia, preserving its cultural heritage and ensuring that future generations remain connected to the language of their ancestors.
Now, a $30,000 funding contribution from the Greek Government is providing further support for Greek language and cultural studies at Charles Darwin University (CDU), where Frazis has played a central role in developing Hellenic Studies and strengthening connections between Australia, Greece and the wider diaspora.
The funding, provided through Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was welcomed by the Consul General of Greece in South Australia, Alexandra Theodoropoulou, who congratulated Frazis on his contribution to Greek language and cultural education.
Speaking to Neos Kosmos, Frazis explained that the financial assistance forms part of the Greek Government’s broader commitment to supporting Greek Studies internationally.
“The Greek Government always is supporting chairs of Greek Studies around the world,” he said.
He explained that CDU applied for the funding through the Greek Embassy and Consulate, with the university receiving support for the second consecutive year.
“This is the second time in a row we have the support from the Greek Government,” he said.
While the funding will provide greater flexibility for the university’s Greek Studies activities, Frazis emphasised that its primary purpose is to support academic publications, particularly the fourth volume of Perspectives on the Hellenic Diaspora.
“It gives us more flexibility to publish our volumes on the Hellenic Diaspora and organise also other activities,” he said.
“This current grant is mainly for publications.”
The publication series forms part of CDU’s wider efforts to document the experiences, contributions and history of Greek communities in Australia and internationally.
For Frazis, however, the significance of the funding extends beyond its monetary value. It represents continued recognition of the importance of Greek language education and the academic work being undertaken to preserve Hellenic history and identity.
Hellenic Studies has been delivered at Charles Darwin University since 2004, offering students opportunities to study Greek language and culture through a range of undergraduate qualifications.
Greek can be studied from beginner to advanced level, including as a major within university degrees, with further pathways into Honours, Masters and doctoral studies.
Frazis said the program combines language teaching with research, international collaboration and community engagement.
One of its major research areas involves documenting the experiences of pioneer Greeks who settled in the Northern Territory, with the history of Hellenic migration to the region extending back to the 19th century.
His own academic work has focused extensively on Modern Greek literature, migration history and the experiences of Greeks in northern Australia.
Another important initiative is CDU’s In-Country Study Program, which provides students with opportunities to experience Greek language and culture firsthand.
Students from universities across Australia and from different academic disciplines can apply to participate.
Through fundraising supported by the Guardians of Greek Language and Culture, the program has been able to cover students’ meals and accommodation during its three-week study experiences in Greece.
Frazis also revealed that he hopes to take students to Cyprus in 2027, further expanding the opportunities available to those studying Greek.
International academic collaboration is another important part of CDU’s work.
Frazis said the fifth International Conference on the Hellenic Diaspora took place in 2026, with conference sessions associated with Charles Darwin University in Darwin, the University of the Aegean in Rhodes and the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki.
According to Frazis, a new memorandum of understanding with the University of Crete is expected to make a fourth conference day possible in future.
Despite CDU’s location in the Northern Territory, its Greek Studies program attracts students from across Australia.
“We deliver all our units online because we’ve got students from different states in Australia,” he said.
“We’ve got students from Melbourne, from Sydney, from Adelaide, from Canberra, from everywhere.”
The university also serves as a Darwin examination centre for the Certificate of Attainment in Greek, known as Ellinomatheia, with examinations conducted annually in May.
One of the most distinctive features of CDU’s Greek Studies program is the diversity of its students.
Frazis said the university attracts second, third and fourth-generation Greek Australians, including descendants of pioneer Greek migrants to Darwin, alongside students with no Greek heritage.
Their ages range from just 19 to 86.
While encouraging younger generations of Greek Australians to reconnect with their ancestral language remains a priority, Frazis said he also finds great satisfaction in teaching students who are discovering Greek language and culture for the first time.
“It gives me great satisfaction to see their journey to learn the language and the culture from the beginning to the end,” he said.
Some students, he added, develop such a strong connection with Greek Studies that they continue learning for years.
He attributes much of the program’s accessibility to two characteristics of CDU: its connection with communities and its flexible approach to education.
“We connect with local communities, with families, with broader communities, Greek and non-Greek,” he said.
Through live online classes and interactive learning tools, students can participate in lessons or study independently at times that suit their circumstances.
This flexibility has allowed Greek Studies to reach students who might otherwise have limited opportunities to study the language at university level.
For Frazis, preserving Greek in Australia is not simply an academic responsibility. It is his life’s work.
“My life. I have given all my life to this purpose,” he said.
Having taught Greek in Australia since 1983, he continues to approach every semester with the same enthusiasm for sharing the language with his students.
“I take every semester part in this journey with my students, and I love doing that,” he said.
His philosophy is grounded in the belief that learning a language means understanding the history, values and identity of the people who speak it.
“Language is the custodian of culture. It is the custodian of civilisation,” he said.
Referring to Greece’s national poet Dionysios Solomos, Frazis explained that learning Greek involves far more than memorising vocabulary.
It is about experiencing the Greek way of life, understanding cultural values and discovering meanings that cannot always be directly translated into other languages.
“It’s a matter of identity,” he said.
“For me, it’s a continuous journey.”
His dedication is so deeply ingrained that he even imagines continuing his work beyond his lifetime.
He joked that even in the next life he would take books with him to continue his teaching duty.
Asked whether enough is being done to preserve Greek among younger generations of Australians, Frazis acknowledged the extraordinary efforts of earlier migrant communities.
He said Greek migrants arriving in the 1950s and subsequent decades worked tirelessly to maintain their language, often despite difficult circumstances and limited access to qualified teachers.
Today, his greatest hope lies with young Australians who choose to study Greek at university and pursue careers teaching the language.
“I invest in this generation — third, fourth generation — who preferred to follow the path of Greek language at university,” he said.
He acknowledged that the journey is not always easy, particularly for students who may have grown up with limited opportunities to speak Greek.
For those who go on to become teachers, he expressed profound admiration.
“This for me is like a holy service in church,” he said, describing the choice to teach Greek.
Frazis also highlighted the challenges facing Greek language teachers, particularly those working in classrooms with students at different levels of language proficiency.
He believes that supporting and properly training these educators is essential to the language’s future.
While acknowledging the contribution of Greek schools, churches, community associations, brotherhoods, sporting clubs and cultural organisations, he called for greater investment in the next generation of teachers.
One of his strongest proposals is the establishment of substantial scholarships enabling young Greek language teachers working in Australian public and private schools to spend a year studying at universities in Greece before returning to Australia.
“We have to invest in this new generation, in the new teachers,” he said.
“This is my purpose in life. Everywhere I go, I ask communities, associations and brotherhoods to give scholarships to this new generation.”
He described young Australians who choose the demanding path of studying and teaching Greek as “heroes”.
“If we’ve got these heroes, I believe that the future is bright for the Greek language in Australia,” he said.
For younger Greek Australians who question the value of learning Greek when English dominates their everyday lives, Frazis believes the answer extends well beyond family heritage.
He encourages students to follow a continuous pathway in Greek language education, from preschool through to university.
Studying Greek, he explained, allows young people to explore their Greek or Cypriot heritage while gaining access to a European language closely connected with philosophy, literature, poetry, art and religion.
He also believes language learning develops broader skills, including communication, research and critical thinking.
Beyond the classroom, Greek can provide opportunities for international study, travel and cultural exchange.
Through university programs and initiatives supported by Greece, students can experience the language in the country where it is spoken.
Technology also allows students in Australia to connect with Greek language learners around the world, creating what Frazis describes as international learning communities.
He believes this global connection helps students develop a broader understanding of their place in the world.
Frazis also stressed the professional advantages of learning Greek, pointing to career opportunities in education, government, business, tourism, international relations, community services, translation and interpreting, media and multicultural affairs.
But his central message is that Greek should never be regarded as a language belonging only to the past.
“It’s a living language,” he said, urging families and educators not to treat Greek as a relic of the past.
He believes schools, families and community organisations must work together to communicate this message to younger generations.
Frazis also emphasised the importance of continued cooperation between the Greek Government and Australia’s Hellenic communities.
“I always believe in collaboration, in synergies,” he said.
While acknowledging the financial resources, expertise and institutions already available within the Australian Greek community, he said assistance from Greece remained valuable.
“Any support by the Greek Government, either in person by seconded teachers or via grants, is always welcome,” he said.
However, he stressed that Greek Australians themselves possess the resources and knowledge needed to contribute meaningfully to language preservation.
“In Australia, we have the strength, we have the minds, we have sponsors, we’ve got institutions that can support the language,” he said.
Frazis expressed his appreciation for the longstanding support of successive Greek governments and thanked Greece’s Ambassador to Australia and consular representatives for their continued efforts to strengthen Greek language education.
Another institution Frazis believes deserves greater recognition is Australia’s Greek-language media.
He praised journalists and broadcasters for their longstanding contribution to maintaining Greek as a living language within the diaspora.
“I would love also to thank the press,” he said.
“Through the media, the media supports a lot the Greek language.”
He said Australia was fortunate to have experienced Greek-language journalists and broadcasters who continued to provide opportunities for communities to hear and engage with the language.
However, he believes the media could play an even greater educational role through closer collaboration with schools.
Referring to an idea he raised at a recent conference in Sydney, Frazis suggested inviting Greek language students into radio stations and other media organisations to participate in programs conducted in Greek.
Such experiences, he believes, would provide young people with practical opportunities to use the language while connecting them with the broader Greek community.
“I believe that they are doing a great job in preserving the Greek language in Australia,” he said.
Looking ahead two or three decades, Frazis remains confident that Greek language and cultural education will continue to have a place in Australia.
He pointed to the work of institutions and organisations in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Darwin, where younger generations are increasingly becoming involved in community life.
“I can see young people. I can see the new generation. So there will be continuity,” he said.
Nevertheless, he warned that the survival and growth of Greek language education cannot be taken for granted.
“We have work to do,” he said, warning that continuity should not be taken for granted.
For Frazis, the goal should not simply be preservation, but excellence.
“We don’t want Greeks to be good. We want to be excellent,” he said.
He believes Greek will continue to evolve alongside new ideas and new generations of community leaders.
Universities, theological institutions, schools, churches, families and community organisations will all have an important role to play in maintaining the connection between language, culture and identity.
Despite the challenges ahead, his confidence remains unwavering.
“I am very optimistic,” Frazis said.
