There was a glaring omission from the impressive list of topics included in the recent three-day conference in Athens on the 50^th anniversary of the restoration of democracy in Greece: the role of the Greek-Americans and the diaspora. It is a shame because the gathering produced a very high level of discussion and reflection. Although there is a coziness between politicians and reporters in Greece, in this particular environment politicians spoke quite openly, notwithstanding the softball strength of some of the questions. Among the former prime ministers who spoke, Alexis Tsipras bravely admitted to errors committed under his watch. In contrast, Antonis Samaras doubled down on his policies and views that represent the conservative end of the Greek political spectrum.

The event was organized by the Kathimerini newspaper along the National Bank of Greece’s Cultural Foundation, the Delphi Forum, an organization that holds conferences on policy issues affecting Greece, and the Hellenic Observatory, a research center focused on Greece and Cyprus based at the London School of Economics.

The conference was the first of a series of events we are likely to see this year commemorating the county’s transition to democracy in 1974, a process known in Greek as the ‘Metapolitefsi’. It was spearheaded by Constantinos Karamanlis, who returned from exile in July of that year following the Cyprus crisis and the collapse of the military junta that had ruled Greece since 1967. The conference featured leading Greek politicians along with academics, journalists, and technocrats who were involved in critical moments of government policy. The third day’s discussions focused on policy reforms Greece needs to implement in the years ahead.

Those of us on the outside were able to follow through extensive media coverage and the availability of the proceedings on YouTube. While I cannot claim to have followed every minute, I did not find any mention of any contribution to the Metapolitefsi by the diaspora. Nor was there any mention of the Greeks abroad during the third day’s discussions that looked to the future. This was also the case in the panel conversation between three former ministers of foreign affairs, Dora Bakoyanni, Nikos Kotzias, and Evangelos Venizelos which was especially revealing about Greece’s relations with the European Union and the United States over the past five decades.

I would have liked to have heard something about the diaspora’s role in supporting Greece’s foreign policy goals. The Greek American lobby and its success in persuading the United States to impose an arms of embargo on Turkey between 1975 and 1978. The public demonstrations in Australia, Canada, and the United States which informed public opinion of Greece’s positions on the Macedonia issue. There could also have been something said about the brain drain Greece’s experienced during its economic crisis and plans to bring back the thousands of well-educated and skilled people now living abroad. It would have been useful to hear how Greece’s leaders picture the diaspora’s assistance in achieving its objectives. Providing, of course, that Greece is actually envisioning such a strategy.

Mentioning the diaspora even briefly at that high profile venue would have been an appropriate acknowledgement of its past, present, and future role. It would have sent the message it is part of the Greek national narrative – not merely something Greece remembers only when it needs assistance.

Maybe we should not be surprised that the diaspora was overlooked. The event was mainly about politicians talking about politics and policies. Greece’s public life is dominated primarily by politicians and political parties, and they were the focus of this anniversary gathering. It was not only the diaspora that was absent, however. There were no panels on the church, the judiciary, the media, labor unions and their role in the Metapolitefsi.

Going back to the foreign policy panel, all three former ministers of foreign affairs spoke about instances of Greece following its own multilateral relations notwithstanding its western orientation. They even claimed this was a future option even though it is a small country. Bakoyanni mentioned a serious difference she had with the then U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. Kotzias recalled an occasion when another U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, publicly questioned him about why Greece maintained good relations with Iran and then privately asked him whether Greece could do something to secure the release of Americans being held in that country. Venizelos, echoed by Kotzias, spoke about the need for small Greece not to rely too much on the European Union and on NATO. This was because the outcome of the upcoming presidential elections in the U.S. could bring a turn towards American isolationism and away from supporting either Europe or NATO.

A more independent and multilateral Greek foreign policy? A small country trying to punch above its weight class in the near future? Surely then it will need all the help it can get from the diaspora.