Last week’s launch of The Pappas Post heralded a new era of potential collaboration and cooperation that could very well be part of the solution to a two sided crisis happening on each side of the Atlantic.
On my side—that is the North American side, we have an existential crisis taking place which has church and community leaders scrambling on how to keep young people active in the community.
On a regular basis Greek School, GOYA and after school Greek folk dancing classes are competing with hockey, football and soccer and as the generations pass—our young people get more disconnected from Greece.
I hear it every day, especially when parade season rolls around and the ubiquitous photos are posted of the young children waving their blue and white flags. “I remember when there were tens of thousands lining the parade route along State Street” one person commented on an old Chicago Greek Independence Parade photo from the 1970s that was circulating on Facebook recently.
Of course, we all know about the crisis on the other side of the Atlantic.
Our ancestral homeland is experiencing its worst financial crisis since World War II, and although we aren’t seeing the mass starvation brought about by Nazi invaders during which hundreds of thousands of Greeks died in the streets of Athens, alone—things are bad.
A lot of people are talking about solutions. Many organizations have undertaken humanitarian efforts to alleviate the suffering of Greece’s most vulnerable people, including children, immigrants and the elderly. The truth is, this is but one of the many answers to the crisis.
Another answer—partnerships and collaborations.
The Pappas Post is exactly that. The website you are currently viewing is the culmination of two sides, coming together, each with a passion and desire to create a great project based on excellence.
On the Greek side, we had some of the world’s top technologists and web developers from IMC Technologies, a company founded by brilliant young Greek minds and run by young Greeks.
On the North American side—content developers and writers who know and understand the English-speaking diaspora and understand its needs in terms of news, features and stories.
The result—an intricate mix of people from Chicago, Toronto, Athens, Trikala, Boston and all points in between, all of whom share a common heritage and common vision— using the latest technologies to create a portal for the exchange of news and information about all things Greek.
Give it a try. Instead of outsourcing to India, consider outsourcing to Greece. Instead of ordering products from China—consider far-superior products from Greece. Stock your restaurant with “made in Greece” goods—they’re everywhere on the market today and easy to obtain.
Think about special strategic partnerships that involve private sector companies in Greece that are thirsty for expansion and support from across the Atlantic.
There are certainly horror stories from the past when major investment from the USA tried to enter the Greek marketplace and was faced with hurdles, brick walls, even outright rejection. Many of these involved the successive governments of Greece which have been (and continue to be) by nature, anti-entrepreneurial.
The lesson for now: avoid anything that touches the government. Focus on the private sector.
I’m very bullish on Greece and Greeks these days. I believe in the resilience of the Greek people and their innate entrepreneurial spirit. It’s why The Pappas Post was launched with Greek—not Silicon Valley—strategic partners.
