NEW YORK – The new Consul General of Greece in New York, Konstantinos Konstantinou, met with members of the Greek-American media at the Consulate General in New York on September 13. He shared his vision for the goals and priorities of his term and wished everyone the best for the new season.

Consul General Konstantinou repeated the call for unity and also highlighted the focus on connecting with the Greek-American youth, as he had recently mentioned in his interview with the National Herald.

“The only way to achieve our goals, both as a Consulate General and as Greece and Hellenism, is unity. Without it, we’re not going to make it. At the same time, my own great effort is to reach out to the youth, especially the second generation Greeks, who have moved away and are not familiar with the Greece of today. It is important to become this bridge between Greece and America,” Konstantinou noted.

He also referred to the fact that it will be during his term of office that Greeks living abroad will vote for the first time from their place of residence, even with the existing restrictions, although he did not hide that the number of registrations so far is not as high as was expected.

“The enrollment rate is very low. Not just in New York, but globally. I don’t have clear numbers, but I can tell you that it is something very low. The conditions set by the law are certainly strict,” he noted, adding that this is a very significant moment in history for Greece and the diaspora community after 40 years of effort to finally have a vote.

Consul General Konstantinou, who noted that his term is just 20 days old, looked forward to his duties, attending community events, and working with the media. Following his remarks, he then took questions from the journalists present who also wished him the best in all his endeavors.

When asked about the cultural events that were so characteristic of his predecessor Dr. Konstantinos Koutras’ term as consul general, Konstantinou noted that he intends to continue and strengthen the cultural activity of the Consulate, repeating that it can be an important vehicle for the promotion of Hellenism in New York.

“Culture is the vehicle that allows us to promote Greece all over the world. It concerns the cornerstone and we should intensify our efforts,” he said.

Konstantinou concluding that “the door of the Consulate General will be open to everyone.”

On the sidelines of the meeting, Konstantinou also announced the upcoming visits of Greek government officials visits to New York, ahead of the United Nations General Assembly which begins with first day of the high-level General Debate on Tuesday, September 20.

In particular, Minister of Education Niki Kerameus, on September 19 will visit the William Spyropoulos School of St. Nicholas in Flushing, in order to get an impression of the work being done there. Also, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will arrive next week for the UN General Assembly, and an event in his honor has been planned with the Greek-American organizations, on September 21 at the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park.

A day later, the Prime Minister will visit Ground Zero in honor of the Greek lives that were lost on 9/11, and is also expected to visit St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, which was consecrated on July 4.