Australian Embassy, Greece

📌 Calling all 🇦🇺 Australians in 🇬🇷 Greece, 🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 🇷🇴 Romania! Are you keen to connect with the Embassy and fellow Aussies? 👉 Then, let us know! 🤝 We would love to meet and get to know you! The Australian Embassy organises occasional events, including community gatherings, from time to time. These are great opportunities to engage with each other, celebrate our connections and forge new ones. 🔗 If you’re interested in participating, fill out our contact form to receive invites! Follow the link in our bio. 📢 Share with your Australian connections in Greece, Bulgaria and Romania and help us create a strong community network! #communityevents #australiansingreece #aussiesingreece #australiansinbulgaria #aussiesinbulgaria #australiansinromania #aussiesinromania #aussieexpats

This week marked a historic moment, as the @women_deliver Conference was hosted for the first time in the Oceanic Pacific region, in Narrm Melbourne. Women Deliver is the world’s most significant gender equality event, bringing together civil society, government, business, philanthropy, advocates, and policy makers to drive progress for women, girls, and gender‑diverse people worldwide. From 27–30 April, the conference welcomed more than 6,000 participants from over 180 countries, with strong representation from the Oceanic Pacific region and Asia. A key outcome was the launch of the Melbourne Declaration for Gender Equality, which sets out a shared vision of a world where human rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled, and calls for stronger accountability and collective action. Notable participants included Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, former New Zealand Prime Ministers Jacinda Ardern and Helen Clark, and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Quoting Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said: “In the Blue Pacific, we are family: we share an ocean, we share a future, and we share an ambition for a gender‑equal world”. Find out more about the conference here: /wd2026/

On 28 April, an Australian delegation, comprised by Deputy Ambassador Scully, Defence Administrative Assistant CPO Simon Hamstead and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Assistant Director for Overseas Projects Karl Giason, was honoured to represent Australia at the annual commemorations on the island of Lemnos, remembering those who fell during the Gallipoli Campaign. Hosted by the Sub-Prefect of Lemnos, Mr Apostolos Koutsogiannis, and the Mayor of Lemnos, Ms Eleonora Georga, the events paid tribute to the ANZACs and other Commonwealth forces, including those from the UK, Canada, France, India and Egypt, who served on Lemnos during the Campaign. Lemnos played a vital role as a forward logistical base and as a medical and recuperation hub throughout the Gallipoli Campaign. Around 50,000 ANZACs passed through the island, and it became the final resting place for hundreds of Commonwealth servicemen and women, including 145 Australians. We honour their service and sacrifice. In honouring the ANZACs, we also acknowledge the people of Lemnos and the important role they played. Having gained their independence only three years before the campaign, the island and its people faced their own hardships. Yet, they treated the ANZACs with friendship, generosity and compassion. The history written on Lemnos during those days left a lasting legacy and became an enduring foundation of the friendship between our nations that has grown stronger over the decades. @dimoslimnou

In April 1941, eighty-five years ago, the world witnessed one of the most courageous acts of resistance of the Second World War, as the people of Greece stood firm against the Nazi invasion. Australian forces fought shoulder to shoulder with the Greek Army and the Greek people. Together, they defended freedom and forged a deep and lasting bond of friendship and mutual respect between Australia and Greece. To mark this significant anniversary, the @royalaustmint has released a limited-edition silver proof coin commemorating the campaigns of Greece and Crete. Ambassador Duncan was honoured to present the coin to the Minister of National Defence, HE Mr @nikos.dendias , today as a tribute to the enduring friendship between our two nations.

Ambassador Duncan hosted a solemn ceremony today at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Athens to mark ANZAC Day, paying tribute to all who have served in armed conflict and honouring those who made the ultimate sacrifice. The cemetery holds the names of 584 Australians and 731 New Zealanders who lost their lives defending Greece during the Second World War. We remain forever grateful for their service and sacrifice. It was deeply moving to welcome members of the Australian and New Zealand communities in Athens to the service. We were honoured by the presence of the Secretary General for International Economic Affairs, Dimitrios Skalkos, representing the Greek Government; the Chief of Staff of the Hellenic Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Konstantinos Bouzos; the representative of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Lieutenant Colonel Vasileios Tsaparis; Ambassadors and representatives of foreign missions in Greece; the New Zealand Honorary Consul in Greece, Ioanna Gouvatsou; the Vice-Chairman of the CWGC, Vice Admiral Peter Hudson CB CBE; and members of veterans’ associations, the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee, as well as Greek Australian and Greek New Zealand associations, who laid wreaths and paid their respects to our fallen. We are also very grateful for the participation of the Hellenic Armed Forces Guard and Band, as well as students from St. Catherine’s British School, Campion School Athens, and the 9th Elementary School of Alimos. Thank you all for joining us on this special day of remembrance. Lest we forget. @commonwealthwargraves

What parallels can be drawn between Indigenous Australian art and ancient Hellenic art? And what do these parallels reveal about how each culture understands life itself? Though separated by vast distances and long stretches of time, these two cultures reveal unexpected similarities, while being marked by distinct aesthetics and worldviews. Dr Vassilios Adrahtas, Convenor of Greek Studies at the University of NSW & Co-Founder of Unity in Philia, will delve into this fascinating comparison in a talk hosted by Ambassador Duncan on 13 May. Join us for what promises to be an engaging exploration of how Indigenous Australian and ancient Greek cultures understand space, time, and the cosmos, and how these perspectives are expressed through art. 📅 Event details Date: 13 May, 18:00 Venue: Australian Embassy, 5 Hatziyianni Mexi Str 📝 Registration To attend, please register by 7 May by emailing [email protected]. Please note that non-registered guests will not be admitted. 📖 About the discussion For Indigenous Australians, life is understood mainly through place and space, rather than through time. In a similar way, ancient Greek culture focused more on space than on time. For Indigenous Australians, space means one’s own land and country – something that is given and enduring, but also open to change. For the ancient Greeks, space and time together formed a cosmos: a symmetric, harmonious and wondrous reality. Both ways of seeing the world involve distinctive aesthetics, most visible in art, philosophy, initiation and religion. In this talk, examples from Indigenous Australian art will be used to explore the differences and similarities between the two cultures. 👨‍🏫 About the speaker Dr Vassilios Adrahtas is the Convenor of Greek Studies at the University of NSW. He is the only Greek-Australian with a PhD on Indigenous Australian religions. He is internationally published in the field, with numerous articles, chapters in collective volumes, and one monograph. He is Co-founder and General Manager of Actions & Programs at Unity in Philia, a non-for-profit that promotes Greek–Australian friendship & global cultural connectivity.

We're delighted that @the.necks – the legendary, acclaimed band from Australia – will be returning to Athens for a two-day residency on 28-29 April. Chris Abrahams on piano, Lloyd Swanton on bass and Tony Buck on drums, aka The Necks, create music often described as avant garde jazz, but their sound ultimately defies genres. After their first performance in Greece in December 2023, which was met with great enthusiasm from the Greek audience, the band has chosen to return – this time for two concerts, renewing and deepening their connection with the Athens music community. Presented by @scenius , the concerts will take place at the Parnassos Literary Society. Each performance promises to be a unique, unforgettable event, immersing listeners in a mystical, transcendental sound world. For more information on the event, visit: https://scenius.gr/the-necks-two-day-athens-residency/ #thenecks #thenecksband #australia

The Australian Embassy in Athens will host a commemorative service for ANZAC Day on Saturday 25 April at 10:00am. The service will be held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Alimos. Australians, New Zealanders and friends of the two countries in Greece are warmly invited to join us in honouring Australian and New Zealand contributions in armed conflict and remembering all those who gave their lives in times of war. Important event details: ✍️ Registration: The service is open to the public. 📌 Location: Phaleron War Cemetery, Ethnarchou Makariou Str and Poseidonos Ave, https://maps.app.goo.gl/joHwRn2WAdJTG4TT7 🕥 Arrival time: Please join us by 09:40am. The service will begin promptly at 10:00am.

Our oceans are a vital part of the global climate system. Recognising the need to protect their health and strengthen their resilience, the Australian Government will designate 30 per cent of Australia’s marine areas as highly protected by 2030. And this week, the Australian Parliament ratified the High Seas Biodiversity Treaty - a landmark international agreement that will enable us to contribute to the protection of ocean ecosystems beyond our borders. In this context, it was a great pleasure for the Embassy to lend its auspices to the @oceanstewardsofficial program, led by the @chatzigakisfoundation in partnership with @deree_acg and @mepp_environmental . The program marked its inaugural initiative last weekend with a beach clean-up at Rafina. Ambassador Duncan and her family took part, joining the Program’s stewards alongside the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research and lots of enthusiastic volunteers. The activity was a powerful reminder of how easily plastics and styrofoam, in particular, break down into small pieces that are particularly harmful to marine life and ultimately enter our food chain. The Ocean Stewards Program aims to create tangible environmental and social impact by engaging students, families, citizens, and academics. It will involve coastal and underwater clean ups, recycling, upcycling, data collection, awareness raising and advocacy. It also aims to link up with educators and students in the Pacific Islands who are at the frontline of the climate crisis. We are pleased to support this important and timely initiative.

Australia is taking its relationship with Europe to the next level, with the signature last week of a Security and Defence Partnership, conclusion of negotiations on the Australia-EU FTA, and agreement to negotiate association to Horizon Europe. These deals represent an acknowledgment that our future security and prosperity is interdependent, and our commitment to pursuing it together. The benefits flowing for both sides will be substantial. Ambassador Duncan sheds light on the significance of these deals in opinion pieces for @tanea.gr , The Sofia Globe and Defense Romania. Find them in the links in our bio.

Today we join Greeks in Greece and across Australia in celebrating Greece’s 205th Independence Day. Across Australia, Greek Australians have marked 25 March with vibrant celebrations, community gatherings, and wreath laying ceremonies, reflecting a deep sense of heritage, pride, and identity. Among the many events held nationwide, a special ceremony took place at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, where His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia presided over a memorial service honouring those who fought for freedom. At the same event, the Victorian Government announced a plan to name a prominent site adjacent to Melbourne’s Parliament ‘Democracy Place’ as a permanent recognition of Greece’s gift of democracy to the world. Greece’s National Day offers a moment to recognise the wonderful contributions that Greek-Australians have made to our nation’s social, cultural, and economic fabric. It is also a time to celebrate the enduring friendship between Australia and Greece – a strong bond forged not only through shared values and principles, but also through moments in history when our nations stood shoulder to shoulder in defence of freedom and human dignity. Ζήτω η Ελλάς!

Ambassador Duncan was pleased to meet with Greece’s Minister of Finance and President of the Eurogroup, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, to discuss progress towards a bilateral tax agreement and the impact of events in the Middle East on the global economy. @pierrakakis