In November I was invited to Bern for an interview in the morning at Radio Hellas Bern (listen with Real Player) and in the evening at the Hellasfreunde Bern association for a lecture about my adopted home of Ikaria.
I was a bit excited, I had already had a baptism of fire for an interview at Radio SRF, but designing and giving a two-hour lecture on my own – that was quite a challenge!
When asked by Fred Wyss, I spontaneously said yes. There were still months in between. But as the time approached and my trip to Switzerland got closer, I noticed through the emails from Fred Wyss how seriously, well organized and serious an evening like this was being prepared at the Hellasfreunde – and I got weak in the knees! How could I keep up with all the established personalities who gave their lectures there without boring or even putting my audience to sleep?
Talking about Ikaria for a whole evening. What do people want to hear? My first thought was: travel and holiday information. But what do I want to tell them?
„Ikaria needs you!“ This sentence came to me spontaneously and this is how the two pillars of my presentation emerged. Firstly, to make Ikaria known, as every euro that a visitor leaves in a small guesthouse or tavern goes directly to the families. And on the other hand, publicize my donation projects to support schools and possibly find new donors.
So I went to the mayor of Raches to get holiday information. They will probably have some information material ready. I explained to him the reason for my visit and he was also very impressed by my idea, but between phone calls and short conversations with third parties, I only saw a few Greek or English-language brochures and flyers. Unfortunately I couldn’t do anything with that.
So I was left with nothing again. I then went behind my photo collection and, after night-long battles with the technology called Powerpoint, created what seemed to me to be an informative short report about Ikaria, the history, the special role of women and the communists and of course about the Panigyria, the famous dance festivals together. I recited it to myself in my little room and stopped time, everything paletti.
People came in droves to Ostermundigen! Fred Wyss, the club president and his lovely wife Silvia, said happily that there must be almost 100 visitors and 80% of them new faces. I did not expect that. My knees were weak again. But you have to go through it now!
The audience was overwhelming!Of course my lecture was longer than expected. Luckily we were treated to a glass of delicious wine during the break. Great organization! I felt so much goodwill and kindness during the break that I even managed to get half the hall to do a Greek dance in the second part. That was just really great!
And the donations were generous! It seems that my listeners were satisfied with my presentation and agreed with my request for donations, because the clearly visible piggy bank at the exit was filled with an impressive 1200 Fr, which was rounded up by an additional 500 Fr by the club.
I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart! To everyone who contributed to the success of this great evening. On the one hand, the interested listeners, the generous donors for the collection and for your trust. I transferred the money to our official donation account in Basel so that it can be passed on directly to the schools if necessary. On the other hand, I would like to thank the Hellasfreunde Bern association and especially its president Fred Wyss. For the fantastic organization, for feeling well looked after and for the great opportunity I was given to introduce Ikaria to you!
If you also feel solidarity with Ikaria and would like to support our projects, thank you very much! Donation accounts