Scottish Hellenic Wins Heritage Lottery Fund Support

‘Hellenic Glasgow: Stories of Greek and Cypriot migration to Scotland’s largest city’

 

Scottish Hellenic Society Glasgow has received £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for an exciting new project, ‘Hellenic Glasgow: Stories of Greek and Cypriot migration to Scotland’s largest city.’ The one-year project will create a unique oral history archive containing around 20 interviews with members of Glasgow’s Hellenic community in order to give an insight into their experiences of what it was like to move here and make it their home.

Although not as strong in numbers as other ethnic groups in the city, the Hellenic community of Glasgow has been a presence since as far back as the beginning of the 20^th century. The vast majority of the community was made up of migrants from Cyprus (most notably Sir Reo Stakis), who arrived in search of work and a better life. There were also the so-called ‘War Brides’, Greek women who married Scottish soldiers whom they had met during WWII and who returned with them at the end of the war; and Greeks from Egypt who arrived in Glasgow following the Suez Crisis. Also, Glasgow’s universities have always seen a high number of Greek and Cypriot students come and go over the years, and in more recent times, the global financial crisis saw a new wave of immigrants arrive on our shores.

Working with Nicholas Kyriacou and Dr Sue Morrison, volunteers will receive professional oral history training and be supported to digitally record interviews with members of the Hellenic community. The main aims of this cross-generational project are to record the stories and experiences of Greek and Cypriot migrants in Glasgow and share project findings through creative means, including online resources, a commemorative booklet, public talks and a mobile exhibition.

 

For further information, images and interviews, please contact: Nicholas Kyriacou, Project Coordinator.  Tel: 07708029100.  Email: nikoskyriacou @googlemail.com