ATHENS – In a moving ceremony the Head of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad, Michalis Kokkinos welcomed the first group of children of Greek expatriates living abroad, in the framework of hospitality programs for children of the Greek diaspora to become further acquainted with Greece.

The General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad, which has been organizing programs for familiarizing the children with Greece and Greek culture for the community for three decades, has organized and financed three programs during the summer of 2017 in cooperation with the Municipality of Aspropyrgos. Specifically, 17 children from Moscow were hosted with their two escorts at the camping site of the Aspropyrgos Municipality in Vilia, Attica, July 4-16.

The first group of children from the Greek Association of Moscow, which was hosted in the first camp, will be succeeded by a group of 40 children from the Vladikavkaz region, who will be hosted on July 17-28, and a group of 124 children from Ukraine and Georgia, who will be hosted on August 1-13.

As part of the programs, sports, cultural, and educational activities are organized where children exhibit their own cultural tradition and then demonstrate it in the performances organized in the camp. Educational visits to museums and archaeological sites are also part of the experience for the children.