Global Greek World: Today We Are 5!!! Χρόνια μας Πολλά! Happy Birthday to Us!

Happy Birthday - Χρόνια Πολλά!

Original Photo: Elizabeth Karras

Today we are ...
5

21 March marks the beginning of Spring in Greece and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere while March is traditionally a month of renewal and new beginnings…

Our household is no exception to this.

Our most precious and wonderful stars came to life, both literally and figuratively, during the month of March!

Our little Miss 13 turns 14 at the end of the month, the little sweetheart who little Miss 13 is Nona to turns 2 today, and with her, Global Greek World turns 5!!!

Hard to believe that it is already 5 years since the day we published our first post, 5 years since we started our journey into the wonderful world of the people we call Global Greeks, the world of the Hellenic Diaspora both in Greece and in our vibrant and dynamic Global Greek communities abroad.

Over these 5 years, we have made it our goal to focus on the positive aspects of Greece and our people in the world, selecting and highlighting our Global Greek shakers, movers and achievers.

We’ve focused on bright, creative, talented, dynamic and forward-looking Global Greeks who have turned adversity into advantage and excelled both at home and on the world stage. Despite the prevailing doom and gloom of the economic crisis which Greece has had to grapple with and which has led to dramatic changes across a broad spectrum of Greek society and life in Greece, these are the people who should serve as role models for the generations to come.

We've chosen some of these great role models to be part of a new section we will be featuring on our site from today, a section we have named

We asked some of our Global Greeks the same 20 questions and told them to answer in any way they want! Well, we have had some really interesting responses which we are sure you will enjoy reading! Thoughtful and thought provoking indeed! Keep them coming!

In our first five years which have coincided with Greece's debilitating economic crisis, we have often been accused of sugar-coating the truth. It isn’t true. We try to look on the bright side of the economic crisis, looking at the opportunities and the benefits that can come out of such crises.

We’ve focused on Greece and being Greek and all that that entails.

We’ve focused on things that have made us feel good about being Greek, things that have made us feel good about Greece. Not that we haven’t done our share of criticizing the powers that be who have led this beautiful country into the worst debacle in its post war history, for their inactivity, inadequacy and general impotence to nip situations in the bud before they got out of hand, and the lack of controls in all forms of civil life.

Our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest pages are active and interactive and cover all those subjects which are so relevant to our lives as Hellenes in Greece and abroad.

If you follow us you will know we discuss everything: from Athens' Magical, Unforgettable Olympic Games, the Aganaktismenoi demonstrations in Syntagma, and the naming issue of FYROM to Greek traditions, the Greek Yoghurts and cheeses available in supermarkets in the USA and, of course, Mission/Pilgrimage/Campaign for the Repatriation of the Parthenon Sculptures which we support with passion!

In these 5 years we have tried to give something back to our homeland, to do something for Greece. Under the umbrella of Global Greek World we have set up and run initiatives dear to our hearts, initiatives which we believe in and will develop even further in the next couple of years.

Global Greek of the Year

In 2012 we held our first Global Greek of the Year Poll. Over 20 nominations of Greeks from various parts of our Global Greek World who have honoured their Hellenism came from our readers.

The Honorary Global Greek of the Year Award went to Mikis Theodorakis, our legendary composer, for his unique and tremendous contribution to Greek music, art and culture, for giving us such a rich and inspiring musical heritage.

Greece's beloved international tenor, Mario Frangoulis, was our first ever Global Greek of the Year. Incidentally, Mario will be giving two charity performances today and tomorrow at New York's Lincoln Centre. The concerts in aid of New Yorkers for Children and Apostoli-Mission in Greece are sold out! Well done! Way to go Mario!

Visionary brand strategist Peter Economides came in in 2nd place

Every Honest Greek Citizen, not surprisingly, polled 3rd

Even Riot-Dog Loukanikos got a nomination!

Visit Greece this Summer

Greek beaches and tourist spots were never in crisis but the unrest, the political and financial instability driven by the omnipresent threat of bankruptcy along with the persistent strikes almost derailed Greece's major income earner.

The economic crisis and the foreign media's exaggeration of the problems brought thousands of cancellations from people who had planned to visit but were worried that they would end up stranded.

Along with other Global Greek groups and organisations we decided we had to do something to showcase the beauties of Greece and encourage people to continue to take their holidays here, especially our Global Greeks. With various posts promoting the beauties of Greece and showcasing all the positive aspects as well as the hundreds of high profile visitors such as Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, John Travolta, Russell Crowe, even the Kardashians! We try to encourage EVERYONE to do the same, to Visit Greece this Summer and not only telling them that Greece is beautiful all year round! You can check out some of our posts on the relevant section of our blog.

Our Keep Calm and Come to Greece Poster

As part of our Visit Greece this Summer campaign, we have also run 2 very successful World Tourism Day Photo Competitions asking people to submit a photo of Greece for readers to vote for. We got over 200 magnificent photos last year and we set it to music...
Watch the video of all the entries in the sidebar of our blog or on our Global Greek World You Tube Channel!

Over 200 magnificent photos of Greece make up this gorgeous poster

Buy GREEK

The Buy Greek initiative started as a way of supporting and promoting Greek products and Greek jobs. It is aimed at encouraging people to support Greek products and services in the widest sense of the word and refers to all the things available in Greece, from physical products of the land or its industries to Greece's rich and unique cultural heritage, and everything in between, on land or sea.

This includes supporting industries that have a positive impact on the economy and sustain jobs in Greece because ultimately that is the only way forward... In brief, anything that's Greek owned, produced, invented or made in Greece.

Keeping it in the family: this was created by our little Miss 13

As a by-product of this initiative, we have run a successful Buy GREEK for Xmas Facebook Campaign for the last three Christmases, asking people to prefer something Greek for their Christmas gifts each year. Last year we even had prizes for 5 lucky participants!

One of the many fantastic cover pictures created for

Buy GREEK

by the talented Sofia Georgaki of Celeb Photo Copy

Global Greeks for Greece

Ask not what your country can do for you,

ask what YOU can do for your country

Μην κοιτάς τι κάνει η πατρίδα για σένα,
Κοίτα τί μπορείς ΕΣΥ να κάνεις για ΑΥΤΗ...

Global Greeks for Greece is about mobilising Greece's dynamic and resourceful diaspora, a pretty well untapped and underutilised asset, and showcasing those individuals and organisations coming through for our homeland.

We even started a Facebook Page called Enforce the Smoking Ban in Greece! Don't Back Down! hoping that we could do something to help in that respect!

Each of these initiatives will be developed extensively in the very near future, along with others as they come up! Stay tuned!

We welcome your suggestions and feedback on what you see and what you would like to see more of on GGW. We will be more than happy to follow-up.

Our thanks to all of YOU, our friends and followers around the world for your amazing and inspiring support these last 5 years! At GGW as we call it, we look forward to a stronger and more dynamic future. Our homeland is our inspiration, preserving our wonderful heritage for our children and yours is our objective.

We thank each and everyone of you for joining us on our journey and hope you will stay with us!

Special thanks must also go to all those friends who have been supportive and generous, donating prizes for our competitions and the prize draws.

With everyone's help we can do so much!

As Peter Economides says...

ΓΙΝΕΤΑI

or
as We say...

YES, Greece CAN!

Let's do it!