Toronto Greek Film Retrospective

The GSA at U of T would like to invite all of you to come out to the Toronto Greek Film Retrospective happening from July 12 to 14 at the Danforth Music Hall (147 Danforth Ave). This is a completely free event and the GSA will be attending and volunteering, so we hope to see all of you there for at least one of the films.
The Toronto Greek Film Retrospective is a series of free screenings to celebrate Greek cinema via an electric mix of films from the past 50 years. Hellenic culture, history, and passion on screen for free for all of you to come and enjoy. This year’s featured host is Angelo Tsarouchas and he will be debuting his award-winning and critically praised film, Fred & Vinnie on Saturday July 14th Matinee Screening.
Below is a list of films we encourage all of you to attend:
THURSDAY JUNE 12TH

8:00 PM – PHAEDRA
FRIDAY JULY 13TH
7:00 PM – IPHIGENIA

9:30 PM – NYFES
SATURDAY JULY 14TH
2:00 PM – WHAT MY EYES HAVE YET TO SEE

4:30 PM – FRED & VINNIE

7:00 PM – NISSOS

9:30 PM – REMBETIKO

The Toronto Greek Film Retrospective will be taking place on July 12-14 and is FREE admission. Come join the GSA as we will be attending and volunteering all of the screenings that weekend and we would love to see each and every one of you there! For more information on the films being presented, please visit: http://www.torontogreekfilms.com/

St. Nicolas Greek Festival

Come join the GSA this weekend (June 15-17) at the St. Nicolas Greek Festival located at 3840 Finch Ave East. The GSA will be setting up a table at the festival alongside our fellow York and Ryerson HSA’s to promote our group and take part in the activities. There will be live bands, big screens to watch the Euro Cup, food, drinks, and lots of festivities throughout the weekend. Spend the weekend in the sun, have a beer, grab some food, and come watch the Euro Cup Games. Come support the GSA as we proudly support St. Nicolas church and the St. Nicolas Greek Festival.

SEF Toronto Formal 2012

On Friday June 8th, the Greek Students’ Association at St. George and Scarborough Campuses alongside the Hellenic Students’ Association at York and Ryerson hosted the 3rd annual End of Year Banquet. Executives, directors, members, alumni, and friends of Σύλλογος Ελλήνων Φοιτητών in Toronto gathered in Spirale Banquet Hall to take part in the first time ever open bar evening. The ticket cost $50 and guests were welcomed by an unlimited bar throughout the night along with a three course dinner. A group led by York’s President from Project Dimitri was also there selling raffle tickets where all proceeds go towards Dimitri Sissakis, a young Toronto cancer patient. The raffle included a grand prize ticket to the Dominican Republic with S-Trip. Project Dimitri thanks everyone who attended for helping raise $875 along with a $250 donation from Spirale Banquet Hall to raise a total of $1150 on the night!

The Formal also included an award presentation by each school’s student association. The GSA at St. George campus was proud to present the following award winners:

  • Executive of the Year: Stacey Konidis
  • Director of the Year: Nikki Yorgiadis
  • Associate of the Year: Vasileios Tsianos
  • Member of the Year: Kelsey Onley-Wall
  • Most Events Attended: James Katuras
  • Most Involved First Year: Dora Konomi
  • GSA President’s Award for exceptional support and guidance to the GSA: Consul General of Greece in Toronto, the Honourable Dimitris Azemopoulos
  • Dimitris Azemopoulos Award for exceptional commitment to SEF Toronto: Kelly Kefalianos

The GSA also honoured our graduating members of the 2011/2012 school year. These individuals have been GSA members for multiple years of their University careers and some even executives. Congratulations to all of you and good luck in your future endeavors:

  • Christos Dodas, Hon. B.A.
  • James Katsuras, Hon. B.A.
  • Kelsey Onley-Wall, Hon. B.A.
  • Alyssa Teloniatis, Hon. B.A.

The GSA would like to give a special thank you to our 3 DJs (Piro Dhimitri, George Samaras, Andreas Kyprianou), our Master of Ceremonies (Christos Dodas), our event photographer (Vassiliki Tsiantis), Spirale Banquet Hall, the Hon. Dimitris Azemopoulos, George Gretes, and all of you for attending our final event of the year. See you next year!

SEF Toronto Formal 2012

The Greek Students’ Association at the University of Toronto St. George and Scarborough Campus and the Hellenic Students’ Associations at York U and Ryerson University cordially invite you to our 3rd Annual SEF (Σύλλογος Ελλήνων Φοιτητών) Toronto Formal End of Year Banquet. This is the final event for each of our student organizations for the 2011/2012 school year.

The Formal will be held at Spirale Banquet Hall (888 Don Mills Road North York, ON M3C 1V6) on Friday June 8th 2012. Doors will open at 6:30pm and dinner will be served promptly at 7:30pm. Our graduation and awards ceremony will begin at 8:00pm. The dress code is formal.

The ticket is $50 and includes a sit-down three course dinner and open bar (Yes, OPEN bar) for those of you over the age of 19 (Photo ID must be shown at the door). The night will be highlighted by a white back drop photo shoot, live DJ, graduation ceremony for graduating students from U of T, York, and Ryerson, award presentation for best executives and members, dancing, drinking, and mingling.

For the first time, tickets can now be purchased online and in person. The final day you can purchase tickets is Thursday June 7th 2012. Tickets can be purchased from:

·         Dimitri Kyriakakis – U of T St. George Campus

·         Kelly Kefalianos – U of T Scarborough Campus

·         Despina Ritsakis – York University

·         Debbie Vrysselas – Ryerson University

Or can be purchased online via credit card or PayPal here:

 

 

 

 

We will also be hosting a fundraising raffle, more details coming soon.

Pan-Macedonian Association of Ontario: FYROM Petition

PETITION OF THE GREEK DIASPORA ABOUT THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA (FYROM)
Please read the petition and sign your name at the bottom of the page.

We, the undersigned, wish to state the position of the Greek Diaspora and our friends on the issue of the FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA (FYROM):

The Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has, even before the NATO Summit in Bucharest in 2008, displayed unprecedented political hostility and irredentist nationalism against Greece. It continues to hijack Greek historical symbols and creates doubts about the territorial status quo in the southern Balkans.

The Greek Government has sent in the last few years numerous protests to the Government of FYROM indicating that such actions blatantly violate the spirit and letter of the Interim Accord, and undermine the friendly relations between the two countries. Also, in these representations Greece has requested that the Government of FYROM abandon its irredentist aspirations and demands and refrain from illegal activities against Greece, and to participate in good faith in negotiations to resolve the issue of the name under the auspices of the United Nations. This should be a pre-condition to the invitation of FYROM to join NATO in accordance with the decision of the NATO Summit Conference in Bucharest.

The FYROM government has ignored these calls and instead of focusing on good faith negotiations under the auspices of United Nations, is engaged in an effort to discredit Greece and to avert attention from the international community to resolve the dispute over the name. This conduct seriously undermines the stability of the whole region.

If you would like to sign the petition, please click here: http://panmacedonian.ca/petitions/

The NHSA Convention and Our Sponsors

OFFICIAL STATEMENT:

The Greek Students’ Association at the University of Toronto would like to extend a public notice of gratitude towards the sponsors of the National Hellenic Students Association (NHSA) Spring Convention.  The NHSA Spring Convention was held from Friday April 27th through Sunday April 29th of this year at the University of Toronto St. George campus and Ryerson University. The Convention brought 150 Hellenic Students together in one place to exchange knowledge and link university students of Greek and Cypriot descent to stimulate Hellenism and enrich our culture on campuses in Canada and the USA. The convention had a total cost of $42,200. Raising $42,200 was no easy task, and the GSA commends everyone that was a part of making this convention possible.

The GSA would like to sincerely thank our Event Sponsor, The Hellenic Heritage Foundation and our Premium Sponsor, The BIA GreekTown for their extremely generous financial commitments. We would also like to thank all of our Platinum Sponsors:  Pan Arcadian Federation of Canada, Signature Productions, Pan Macedonian, Philoptochos Board of Canada, Society of Epirus, Chariman’s Brands; Gold Sponsors: Mr. Ted Manziaris & Mr. Louis Agnostasakos, Achaen Society of Toronto, MGM Mechanical Ltd, Mazda of Toronto, Hellas News; Silver Sponsors: The Local Company, PASOK Toronto, Athenians of Toronto, Mr. John Berdoussis & Mr. George Vasilopoulos, Ms. Irene Keroglidis; Bronze Sponsors: Ms. Hara Androutsou, Ouzeri Restaurant, Christina’s Restaurant, Pan Restaurant, Gravity Wireless, Mr. Ken Lioutas, Mr. Paul Nitsotolis for their generous financial support.

Unfortunately, the GSA was revoked one of it’s Silver Sponsorships from Trapezzi Kafe&Bar located at 505 Danforth Ave. A verbal agreement was made between the ownership of Trapezzi and the Greek Students’ Association confirming a $500 (Silver) Sponsorship level.  The agreement included Incorporating Trapezzi Kafe&Bar into the NHSA Convention weekend schedule as the dedicated “Greek Night” on Saturday April 28th and advising all attendees of this information through our itinerary and schedule and to promote/advertise Trapezzi as a Silver Sponsor on our website and Convention booklet. After the Convention, the ownership of Trapezzi Kafe&Bar expressed to the GSA that they would not be fulfilling the promised funding of $500. This has stifled our Association and has limited reimbursements for students that attended from the United States. It is unfortunate that a local Greek business assured student organizations a sponsorship for a non-profit event and has thus taken it back, even after promoting and bringing them business.

Nevertheless, we are grateful for everyone that supported us morally and financially. We will continue to work hard to promote Hellenism throughout youth across North America and to bring the Modern Greek Course back to the University of Toronto. We sincerely thank everyone that helped us bring the NHSA Convention to Toronto.

—

U of T Greek Students’ Association Executive Council

NHSA Convention Recap

After months of planning, fundraising and hard work the NHSA convention has come to an end! It was an immense success with over 130 students travelling to Toronto from across Canada and the United States. The weekend started off on Friday, April 27th with a welcome dinner at Brennan College. Students then went to the Yiannis Ploutarhos concert, for a night of song and dance and a tribute to Dimitrios Mitropanos. Those who didn’t attend the concert went to explore the Danforth and experience what Toronto Greeks had to offer. Saturday started early with breakfast and the day continued with morning panels: New Models: Sustainability and Development and Developing Modern Hellenic Studies Programs. After breaking for lunch and the ‘Student Professional Development Mentorship Luncheon’ we returned to the afternoon panel session: Taking the Initiative: Education, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation. After a day of enlightment and discussion all the students headed to the Danforth for a crazy night, Greek style, at Local Co, Trapezzi Cafe & Bar and ending at a bouzoukia. Sunday took place at Ryerson university for another day of conference but this time directed towards the NHSA as a whole. Elections for the 2012/2013 NHSA Coucil took place with Erini Schlosser and Erini Veliou becoming next years co-presidents and UofT’s own Kelly Kefalianos becoming the vice-president. The convention ended on a high note and the attendees headed home with a lot to think about. We would like to thank everyone who came out and especially the panel speakers and luncheon mentors.

Photos from the weekend can be found here: https://utgsa.com/nhsa/gallery/

NHSA Convention Spring 2012: Toronto

The Greek/Hellenic Students’ Association at the University of Toronto, Ryerson, and York Univeristy are proud to be hosting the NHSA Spring 2012 here in Toronto, Canada! As the capital of Ontario, Canada’s largest city, and home to a Greek Community with a population of over 100,000, the city of Toronto promises to be an outstanding locale for the upcoming convention. The convention will take place over the weekend of April 27-29.

The theme of the convention, as decided by the local organizing committee, is “Hellenic Youth: The Cornerstone of Hope” . The purpose of the convention is to bring together Hellenic student representatives from universities across North America along with esteemed members of the Hellenic community with the goal of empowering students to make a positive impact on their lives and their communities. In addition, students will make lifelong friendships and connections through their shared experience over the course of the weekend.

For more information, please click here:  http://www.utgsa.com/nhsa