Author: GREEK WORLD MEDIA

Source: foodmag

Greek yoghurt maker, Chobani Australia has appointed five new employees to its commercial team as the company continues to grow from strength to strength.

The new sales team appointments include Joesph DePetro as National Account Manager – Woolworths, Ivan Cook as National Account Manager Foodservice & independents, George Gabriel as National Account Manager (Coles).

Lyn Radford, general manager of sales and category management for Chobani Australia said that she was thrilled to provide customers with an increased sales presence.

“We’re thrilled with the positive response from our customers, who continue to support us with increased ranging, and in turn we are supporting them with an increased team and dedicated resources across our key channels,” said Radford. “Our movement into the foodservice channel in 2014 is also another exciting development that we are looking forward to.”

Within the marketing department, the two new appointments include Mark Malak who will assume the position of Group Brand Manager and Ann Strode as Field Marketing Manager.

Damian Young, general manager of marketing said that the newly expanded marketing team will have a strong focus on developing below the line campaigns for next year.

“Chobani is going from strength-to-strength, with total brand awareness now over 25 percent nationally, which we’re extremely pleased with considering the short time we have been in the market,” said Young. “Together with our Gippsland range we are now number two yogurt manufacturer in Australia and we’re delighted to be expanding our team to support this growth, with a strong focus next year on broadening our experiential efforts across Australia.”

Source: SBS

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  (Source: Courtesy of Peter Yiannoudes)

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  A poster, partly in Greek, for The Son of India (Source: Courtesy of Peter Yiannoudes)

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  Advertisement in Greek for Mother India (Source: Courtesy of Peter Yiannoudes)

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  (Source: Courtesy of Peter Yiannoudes)

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  A poster, partly in Greek, for The Son of India (Source: Courtesy of Peter Yiannoudes)

(Transcript from World News Australia Radio – click on the audio tab to listen to the item):

As Australia prepares for a visit from one of Bollywood’s biggest actors Shahrukh Khan, Greek-Australian Peter Yiannoudes is looking back at another era of Bollywood cinema in Australia.

Peter Yiannoudes imported films from Greece for Australia’s Greek community and then expanded to include Indian films, mainly Bollywood features which played to packed houses of mainly Greek migrants in the 1950s and 1960s.

He’s now setting up a museum in Melbourne with some of his favourite movie posters from that era.

Peggy Giakoumelos has the story.

(Sound effects of movie):

That’s actors Raj Kumar and Nargis, from the 1957 Hindi epic film Mother India.

The movie tells the tale of a poor rural village woman named Radha, whose family is in debt to a money lender.

With her husband losing his arms in an accident, she struggles to raise her children.

This tale of social injustice and rural hardship resonated with Greeks overseas and in Australia at the time, as did many Indian films.

Peter Yiannoudes says so much so, that at the first screening of Mother India in a Greek cinema in Australia, police had to be called control crowds angry at not being able to get a seat.

“Mother India was the biggest success we ever had outside of the Greek film Golfo. It was 1964 when we released the film in the National Theatre on Bridge Street in Richmond. It was a small theatre about 1000 seats. The theatre was pre-booked nearly two weeks earlier. So on that particular day nearly 5000 people came to see the film. So we called the police to send the people away and allow inside the cinema only the people who had the tickets pre-booked. And the Sun-Herald wrote that never before had that happened in cinema like that.”

Peter Yiannoudes, who migrated to Australia in the 1950s from Cyprus, says his love of cinema was forged from necessity.

Forced to leave school early to make ends meet, he took a job at a local movie house before migrating to Australia and running more than 40 cinemas around the country.

His cinemas mainly catered to Australia’s large community of Greek migrants who like those back home in Greece, were mad for Indian musicals.

After a meeting with an Indian superstar, Peter Yiannoudes decided to introduce Indian films to Australia.

“In 1959 I met the Indian actress Nargis. Nargis was the most popular actress in India and in Greece as well and in Egypt. So she persuaded me to go to India and start showing Indian as well as Greek films. So I went in 1959 and I stayed a couple of weeks in India and then I came to an agreement with two studios there, and in 1961 we brought the first Indian film to Australia, just to see how Greeks can accept this Indian film and really it was a very, very big success.”

Why the appeal?

Dramatic themes of social adversity, poverty, migration, meddling families, and of course everyone’s perennial favourite, love – were themes prominent in the films of both cultures.

Add to this a backdrop of highly choreographed singing and dancing – and the allure of Bollywood became a perfect fit for Greeks looking for some escapism after the country’s brutal civil war.

And while the cross-cultural influence mainly went one way from India to Greece – there was one Greek actress who did manage to break into the Indian market – bleached blonde Aliki Vougiouklaki.

Here she is singing a number influenced by the Bollywood genre.

(Sound of singing)

That’s a song from the Greek film The Lady and the Tramp, released in the late 1960s – reflective of the Bollywood influence on Greek cinema.

The University of Sydney’s Professor of Modern Greek Studies Vrasidas Karalis has written widely on the history of Greek cinema and its Indian influences.

“The connections between Greece and India go back to the historical and especially they can be traced back into the music especially India has influenced Greece in the production of the songs that we have, the most popular Greek songs, are originally of Hindi origin. According to the research of Dimitris Eleftheriotis, He proved that essentially the Greek melodramas of the mid 60s and late 60s were of were essentially modelled along of Hindi musicals and Bollywood musicals.”

Vrasidas Karalis says it was a simple yet successful formula.

“The recipe was so successful that is to say drama, songs, drama songs, and finally in the end you have this huge explosion of both drama and songs that made everyone cry and was really successful.”

Anupam Sharma is an Indian-Australian film-maker and was also one of the judges of Australia’s first Bollywood reality show on SBS TV.

He’s also written a number of research papers about the history of Bollywood cinema.

Anupam Sharma says the connection between Australia and Bollywood goes back to the 1930s when an Australian of Greek and Scottish origin became one of the biggest stars of Indian cinema.

Largely unknown in Australia, Fearless Nadia got around in a mask and hat and with whip in hand, became one of India’s most successful female actors and stuntwomen.

“Blue-eyed blonde from Perth, Mary Evans became the first franchise and lead actress in Bollywood known as Fearless Nadia or the Fearless Hunterwali. SInce then there have been ups and downs, we have had sporadic exchanges, until about 1996 when a major Indian film shot a major song and dance sequence with the Opera House in the background and that kind of ignited interest for Australian locations in Bollywood. And then in 1998 Feroz Khan, India’s Clint Eastwood, decided to script Australia into his film, and shoot here and I believe that was a major milestone. There have been over 300 projects which include feature films, music videos, tv serials, film festivals, seminars, discussions delegations, books and a lot of Australian crew going to India and working in India on Bollywood films lots of specialist crews going there. I call it like an Indian goddess it has many arms.”

Anupam Sharma says Bollywood cinema has been popular in many other countries outside India – mainly in the Middle East, Greece, North Africa and Russia.

But in Australia, except within migrant communities, it’s been slower for the genre to catch on.

The 2011 Australian Census showed there were close to 300,000 Indian-born people living in Australia, up by 200,000 in a decade.

Add to this increased migration from other South Asian countries where Bollywood films are also widely watched, and the popularity of the genre is increasing.

Anupam Sharma says it’s too early to tell how much of an impact Bollywood will eventually have in Australia.

“It’s still to be decided whether they’re getting more into Bollywood cinema as a novelty factor or on a regular basis. And that’s a very important discussion. That’s very important research on its own. A lot of people go and see Bollywood film tongue in cheek with a wine glass, and say ok, we have had a Bollywood experience and they are others who get hooked on to it, something like the Greeks did or the Russians did ages ago. There are others which are getting hooked onto Indian cinema which is more than just Bollywood. So there are different sectors and sub-sections out there. But it is fair to say that Bollywood is certainly the music the dance, the colour is certainly catching on in Australia to good results.”

Peter Yiannoudes is planning to open his Melbourne museum to the general public later this year.

He says it will feature some of his more than 10,000 Greek and Indian movie poster collection as well as other items from his more than 50 years in the film industry.

During a visit to Melbourne this week, Greece’s Ambassador to Australia Mr Charalambos Dafaranos reiterated Greece’s readiness to sign a Work and Holiday visa agreement with Australia.
His comments follow last month’s statements given to SBS by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Akis Gerontopoulos that Greece is waiting for Australia to deliver the documentation to Athens.
Whilst there have been false dawns in the past – with both sides inferring that it was the other’s bureaucracies holding up the process – the latest comments from Ambassador Dafaranos suggest a formal signing of the paperwork is in sight.
“Before the end of the [federal] pre-election period we notified DFAT about the conclusion of the negotiations, so now it is just the internal formalities from the part of the Australian side,” Mr Dafaranos told Neos Kosmos.
“It has been a round of negotiations from the Greek side involving not only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but three other ministries – Employment, Interior and Finance. You can imagine, it took some time…”
Mr Dafaranos said that he had conveyed the Greek government’s conclusion of its internal discussions – and its willingness for the agreement to be signed – to new Immigration Minister Scott Morrison.
Mr Dafaranos’ observations – coming on the back of Minister Gerontopoulos’ comments – suggest the Greek government wishes to end the long-running saga over the reciprocal visa arrangement.
The visa agreement will allow Greek and Australian citizens between 18 and 30 years of age to work in each other’s countries for a period of 12 months.
In May, Victorian Federal MP Maria Vamvakinou was told by Mr Gerontopoulos’ predecessor, Mr Kostas Tsiaras, that the Greek government would sign off the agreement by September.
Mr Dafaranos confirmed that the agreement will state that a maximum of 500 Work and Holiday Subclass 462 visas can be awarded per year.
The ambassador revealed that he had encouraged former Immigration Minister Chris Bowen to pursue an annual limit above that figure.
“When France has 8000 per year [granted by Australia], I think it’s important to have an increased number – which takes into consideration Greece’s population,” said Mr Dafaranos.
“The final agreement will include a figure capped at 500 per year, but the implementation of the agreement will give the opportunity to see how it works, and to improve it.”
Mr Dafaranos said that he wished to see greater awareness in Greece of opportunities offered by 457 visas under Australia’s Skilled Migration Program, which enables professionals to work temporarily in Australia.
Asked what progress had taken place in relation to a double taxation agreement between Greece and Australia, Mr Dafaranos indicated that whilst he had made representations to the Australian Treasury on the matter six months ago, a decision by them to pursue such an agreement was not imminent.
“I raised the issue and they told me that they will take it into consideration – but that a double taxation agreement pre-supposes a high level of investment and trade between the countries concerned,” said the ambassador, who added that the matter would continue to be raised in bilateral discussions between the two governments.

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Κατά τη διάρκεια επίσκεψης στη Μελβούρνη την περασμένη εβδομάδα , ο Πρέσβης της Ελλάδας στην Αυστραλία κ. Χαράλαμπος Δαφαράνος επανέλαβε ότι η Ελλάδα είναι έτοιμη να υπογράψει την διακρατική συμφωνία για χορήγηση βίζας για “εργασία και διακοπές” στην Αυστραλία .
Τα σχόλιά του κ. πρέσβη έρχονται σε συνέχεια των δηλώσεων του Υφυπουργού Εξωτερικών κ. Άκη Γεροντόπουλου, τον περασμένο μήνα στο SBS, ότι η Ελλάδα περιμένει από την Αυστραλία να παραδώσει το σχετικό φάκελο στην Αθήνα.

Στο παρελθόν, υπήρξαν αλληλοσυγκρουόμενες δηλώσεις των δύο πλευρών που επέρριπταν την καθυστέρηση υπογραφής η μιά πλευρά στην γραφειοκρατία της άλλης. Από τις τελευταίες δηλώσεις του Πρέσβη κ. Δαφαράνου διαφαίνεται ότι οι δύο πλευρές βρίσκονται πλέον κοντά στην επίσημη υπογραφή  της συμφωνίας.

“Πριν από το τέλος της  ομοσπονδιακής προεκλογικής περίοδου επισημάναμε στην  DFAT τα βασικά σημεία των εσωτερικών διαπραγματεύσεων και  τώρα απομένουν τα διαδικαστικά από την πλευρά των Αυστραλών”, είπε ο κ. Δαφαράνος στην ομογενειακή εφημερίδα “Νέος Κόσμος”.

Έχουν γίνει διαπραγματεύσεις στην Ελλάδα που συμπεριέλαβαν όχι μόνο το Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών, αλλά και το Υπουργείο Εργασίας, Εσωτερικών και Οικονομικών. “Μπορείτε να φανταστείτε,  αυτό πήρε κάποιο χρόνο”. Ο κ. Δαφαράνος υποστήριξε ότι τα συναρμόδια υπουργεία είναι σύμφωνα για την υπογραφή της συμφωνίας και απομένουν να υπογραφεί η συμφωνία με τον νέο Υπουργό Μετανάστευσης κ. Scott Morrison.

Οι παρατηρήσεις  του κ. Δαφαράνου, ως συνέχερια των δηλώσεων του κ. Γεροντόπουλου, δηλώνουν ότι η ελληνική κυβέρνηση επιθυμεί να τερματίσει τη μακρά ιστορία πάνω από την αμοιβαία ρύθμιση των θεωρήσεων βίζα.  Η συμφωνία για την απλούστευση χορήγησης βίζας, θα επιτρέψει  σε Έλληνες και Αυστραλούς πολίτες, ηλικίας μεταξύ 18 και 30 ετών να εργαστούν στο άλλο κράτος για μια περίοδο 12 μηνών.  Τον Μάιο , η Ομοσπονδιακή βουλευτής Μαρία Βαμβακινού είχε ενημερωθεί από τον προκάτοχό του κ. Γεροντόπουλου , κ. Κώστα Τσιάρα , ότι η ελληνική κυβέρνηση θα υπέγραφε τη συμφωνία μέχρι το Σεπτέμβριο.

Ο κ. Δαφαράνος επιβεβαίωσε ότι η συμφωνία θα θέτει ως ανώτατο όριο τον αριθμό των 500 θεωρήσεων ετησίως για Εργασία και Υποκατηγορία Holiday 462.  Ο πρέσβης αποκάλυψε ότι ο ίδιος είχε ενθαρρύνει τον πρώην υπουργό  Μετανάστευσης Chris Bowen να ακολουθήσει ένα ετήσιο όριο πέραν του ορίου αυτού .
” Όταν η Γαλλία έχει 8000 ετησίως [ χορηγήσεις από την Αυστραλία ] , νομίζω ότι είναι σημαντικό να έχουμε έναν αυξημένο αριθμό – που θα λαμβάνει υπόψη τον πληθυσμό στην Ελλάδα “, είπε ο κ. Δαφαράνος .
” Η τελική συμφωνία θα περιλαμβάνει έναν αριθμό 500 ετησίως , αλλά η εφαρμογή της συμφωνίας στην πράξη θα δώσει την ευκαιρία να δούμε πώς λειτουργεί , και να το βελτιώσουμε . ”
Ο κ. Δαφαράνος είπε ακόμη ότι θα ήθελε να δει μεγαλύτερη ευαισθητοποίηση στην Ελλάδα για τις ευκαιρίες που προσφέρονται από τις 457 θεωρήσεις, στο πλαίσιο Ειδικευμένου μεταναστευτιού προγράμματος της Αυστραλίας , η οποία επιτρέπει στους επαγγελματίες να εργαστούν προσωρινά στην Αυστραλία.

Ερωτηθείς, εξάλλου, τι πρόοδος έχει πραγματοποιηθεί σε σχέση με την υπογραφή σύμβασης αποφυγής διπλής φορολογίας ανάμεσα στην Ελλάδα και την Αυστραλία, ο κ. Δαφαράνου ανέφερε ότι ενώ είχε προβεί σε διαβήματα προς το Αυστραλιανό Υπουργείο Οικονομικών για το θέμα πριν από έξι μήνες , η απόφαση τους να ακολουθήσουν μια τέτοια συμφωνία δεν ήταν του παρόντος . “Έθεσα το θέμα και μου είπαν ότι θα το λάβουν υπόψη – αλλά μου πρόσθεσε ότι μια σύμβαση αποφυγής διπλής φορολογίας προϋποθέτει ένα υψηλό επίπεδο των επενδύσεων και του εμπορίου μεταξύ των ενδιαφερομένων χωρών », είπε ο πρέσβης , ο οποίος πρόσθεσε ότι το θέμα θα τεθεί σε διμερείς συνομιλίες μεταξύ των δύο κυβερνήσεων.