‘Speak Greek In March’ Campaign Kicks Off in Australia

Greeks in Australia are supporting the mother tongue in March with an exciting initiative which aims to see the language thrive and grow overseas.

The Speak Greek in March campaign (SGM) is in its fourth year running and seeks to  stimulate interest among the community, the school system and government to give greater priority to the teaching, learning and speaking of Greek.

“The school system that teaches Greek as a second language needs new ideas and the ongoing support of the community in order to make the learning of Greek attractive to our youth,” Mike Zafiropoulos, the convener of the SGM Committee said.

SGM encourages all involved to initiate, develop and implement innovative activities. For instance, schools which teach Greek can organize competitions, celebrations, debates, lectures and special projects related to the Greek language.

Each year organizers select a topic of focus with activities for each day of March. In 2017 it was countries from the Hellenic diaspora covering all five continents, and this year it is the Greek language itself.

 

A number of schools and community organizations have jumped on board this year; among them, ENA is sponsoring two scholarships to be awarded to Greek students to assist in their learning of the language.

Although SGM originated in Melbourne, it is quickly spreading to other parts of Australia, particularly Perth and Canberra, as well as overseas.

The aspiration of the organizing committee is that the campaign becomes embraced not only by the Hellenic diaspora, but also by other minority communities in Australia.