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Call for Applications: 2016 AHEPAcademy Session
High School Juniors: Join a select group of Greek American students from across the country for AHEPAcademy, from June 26 – July 2, 2016 at  George Mason University, outside Washington, DC. AHEPAcademy is a leadership and professional development program that identifies, educates, inspires, mentors, advances, and networks exceptional Greek-American high school students as they progress through their high school, college, graduate and professional careers. AHEPAcademy is looking for exceptional Greek American high school juniors during the 2015-2016 school year with top grades (minimum 3.5/4.0 GPA or equivalent, or Top 10% of Class), who exemplify scholarship, leadership, character, participation in extracurricular activities, community service, and involvement in the Greek American community to apply for selection to this summer’s AHEPAcademy on Campus program.
Assistant Secretary Nuland Visits Greece, Idomeni
Did you catch Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland’s important visit to Greece last week, and specifically, her visit to Idomeni,
where some 14,000 migrants are held up due to the closure of the Western Balkan route?
Assistant Secretary Nuland said, “The Greek government has made some direct requests of the United States for support, I am hopeful in the coming days that we will be able to answer these requests with some urgent humanitarian support here, and to continue the work that we’re doing together on appropriate resettlement, relocation of migrants.”
She added, “…but primarily this was a visit to better understand the challenges here, better understand how the United States can help Greece to manage and to express our solidarity at this difficult time for Greece.”
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WASHINGTON UPDATE
House Passes Resolution Declaring ISIS Atrocities “Genocide”
AHEPA applauds the House of Representatives for passing a bipartisan-supported concurrent resolution that declares ISIS’s atrocities against Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities “Genocide,” announced Supreme President John W. Galanis. The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.Con.Res.75 by a 393 to 0 vote, March 14, 2016. Co-Chairs of the House Caucus for Religious Minorities in the Middle East, U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and U.S. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) were the lead sponsors of the concurrent resolution. The Obama Administration will offer its position on the issue March 17.Hellenic Caucus Membership at 134. Help It Grow.
ACTION ITEM | Help Us Grow the Hellenic Caucus!
Congress has returned to Washington to commence the Second Session of the 114th Congress. AHEPA asks that you help us to grow the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues to newer heights. The Hellenic Caucus has been an active, bipartisan group in Congress since its founding in 1995. It is co-chaired by U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).
Membership in the Hellenic Caucus stands at 134.
Save the Date! | 2016 AHEPA Family Capitol Hill Day
Wednesday, May 25
Capitol Hill Day Kick-off Reception
8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Cannon House Office Building – Room 340
Meetings with Your Legislators
and their Staffs Will Follow
Educate Your Legislators about
Help Build the Hellenic Caucus
Walk the Halls of Congress with Fellow Advocates from
Make Plans to Attend Today!
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REBUILD SAINT NICHOLAS SHRINE CAMPAIGN
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Ahepans tour the Saint Nicholas construction site.
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AHEPA is determined to meet its Saint Nicholas Capital Campaign fund raising goal. The administrative year is well underway and donations–large and small–are pouring in for AHEPA’s #RebuildStNicholas capital campaign.
Our #RebuildStNicholas campaign webpage has been updated to reflect the many generous donations we received over the summer.
Has your district or chapter organized a fundraiser for the campaign to #RebuildStNicholas? Take action and support AHEPA’s campaign today! Please tweet about your fundraising activity by using #RebuildStNicholas to share your work with the broader community!
PROJECT UPDATE
Thanks to a live webcam, you can watch progress being made with a first-hand look at the site where Saint Nicholas National Shrine will be build.
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The Ahepan
The winter issue of The Ahepan is out! Share it with family and friends by forwarding this electronic version.
Read about how AHEPA honored excellence in the Boston community and maintained its commitment to education through its National Educational Foundation. Also, check out the latest on how AHEPA chapters give back to the community.
Click on the magazine icon to read it today!
Summer 2016 Deadline: May 6, 2016
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Upcoming Events
April
May
25 | Capitol Hill Day
July
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Greek American News Digest
Migrant crisis: Hundreds cross from Greece into Macedonia
BBC (Mar. 14) Hundreds of migrants have crossed from Greece into Macedonia after finding a way through the border fence. Macedonian police are detaining them, saying they will be returned to Greece.
Earlier, some 1,000 migrants, including children, left their sprawling camp in the Greek village of Idomeni and crossed a river near the border. read more
Latest from the Associated Press on Refugee Crisis Associated Press (Mar. 14) 8:30 p.m. The United Nations refugee agency says Turkey must do more to ensure that all people seeking asylum there can have their claims efficiently assessed within a fair period of time. The assessment came in a UNHCR legal note, seen by the Associated Press on Monday, examining the European Union’s planned deal with Ankara to send thousands of migrants in Greece back to Turkey. The note said efforts must continue “to ensure that all people seeking international protection can have a fair and efficient determination of their claims by a competent authority within a reasonable time.” read more
US Assistant Secretary of State Nuland expresses U.S. solidarity in migration crisis ANA-MPA (Mar. 11) In statements to the press on Friday, the second day of her visit to Greece, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland repeatedly stressed that her visit sought to demonstrate US solidarity in the face of the intense challenges posed by the migration crisis and to better understand how the U.S. could be helpful. “I came at this time to express American solidarity with Greece during these difficult times with the migration crisis, since your border has closed to the north, and to better understand what is happening in northern Greece,” she said. read more
Small Greek village copes with thousands of migrants unable to leave USA Today (Mar. 14) Walking past his village’s main square, Antonis Zois stares at the Syrian refugee families filling their water bottles at the public fountain. “The camp is not a place for a human being to live,” said Zois, 85, waving at a young girl in a red polka-dot jacket. “We always had migrants passing through, but I’ve never seen a situation like this.”Z ois pointed to a makeshift camp that was built for 2,000 refugees waiting to cross into Macedonia but now holds more than 13,000 migrants with nowhere to go because the border crossings to northern Europe are blocked. read more
UN human rights chief praises Greece for efforts to manage refugee crisis ANA-MPA (Mar. 13) The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, hailed Greece’s efforts to manage the refugee crisis in the organization’s annual report, while also expressing concern for the effects of closed borders on the wellbeing of refugees. “I acknowledge the generosity with which Germany welcomed around a million people last year, and the efforts of Greece, throughout 2015, to take a humane approach, avoiding detention and pushbacks at sea,” Price Al-Hussein said in a speech before the Human Rights Council’s 31st session. read more
New phase in Cyprus talks in Cyprus (Mar. 10) Cyprus talks have entered a new phase on the key security issue as UN-backed negotiations reach crunch time, President Anastasiades said on Thursday night. “We are going into a different phase of discussions on guarantees,” Anastasiades told CyBC TV. He underlined his position that as an EU member state Cyprus has no need for security guarantees as provided for under the Treaty of Establishment. read more
No consent to opening frozen chapters for Turkey accession
Cyprus Mail (Mar. 15) Cyprus stood firm on Tuesday, insisting it would not consent to the opening of frozen chapters in Turkey’s EU accession process, President Nicos Anastasiades told European Council President Donald Tusk at a meeting in Nicosia. read more
Review | ‘Designing Identity: The Power of Textiles in Late Antiquity’ Wall Street Journal (Mar. 15) The ever-changing semiotics of status are a rich subject for novelists and sociologists, and also a game we can all play while leafing through a few seasons of fashion and decorating magazines. But what if one doesn’t ha 
ve a wealth of photography, periodicals and paintings from which to draw conclusions? And what if textiles-materials intrinsic to the character of a time and place, and yet so perishable-are scarce? With such challenges before it, “Designing Identity: The Power of Textiles in Late Antiquity” gathers over 50 exceedingly rare luxury textiles into a show that represents the most recent scholarly sleuthing into a once-vast empire and its wealthy elite. On view at New York University’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, the exhibition begins with a definition and a map. The term “Late Antiquity” refers to the late Roman and early Byzantine empire.
read more
‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2’ stars reunite and reminisce on TODAY Today (Mar. 14) Fans will finally get to see the stars of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” reunite on the big screen when the highly-anticipated sequel opens later this month. Watch!
Massachusetts Native, 2015 AHEPA Honoree Zach Auguste Leads Notre Dame To Upset vs. Duke NESN (Mar. 10) (Video) Notre Dame was trailing by as many as 16 points midway through the second half of Thursday’s ACC Tournament quarterfinal game against Duke. The Blue Devils were supposed to advance and face off against archrival North Carolina for the third time this season in Friday night’s semifinal game. Then Zach Auguste took over. The 6-foot-10 Fighting Irish center, the pride of Marlborough High School, finished the game with 19 points, 22 rebounds and one monster block on Duke star freshman Brandon Ingram. read more
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