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Global Educational and Maritime Leaders Sign Significant "Blue Frontiers" Agreement at ACS Athens to Champion Ocean Stewardship

Global Educational and Maritime Leaders Sign Significant "Blue Frontiers" Agreement at ACS Athens to Champion Ocean Stewardship (0)

ACS Athens proudly hosted the signing ceremony for the Blue Frontiers Program, an inspiring international partnership between Roger Williams University, the International Propeller Club Port of Piraeus, the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation, and ACS Athens. This collaborative initiative establishes a strategic alliance dedicated to advancing maritime education and ocean stewardship for the next generation of leaders.

The program, centered on a commitment known as "Our Pledge," offers students a real-world summer exploration of the Earth’s oceans and the burgeoning global Blue economy. By combining academic rigor with scientific research and industry networking, the partners aim to inspire youth to protect and sustainably manage marine environments.

The event featured impactful remarks by ACS Athens President Dr. Peggy Pelonis and Mr. Costis Frangoulis, President of the International Propeller Club, Port of Piraeus, whose vision and leadership continue to champion environmental stewardship and youth opportunity. The ceremony also welcomed Dr. Dionysia-Theodora Avgerinopoulou, Greek Prime Minister’s Envoy for the Ocean and Chair of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Protection, who underscored the national and global importance of such initiatives.

A significant highlight of the partnership is the generous scholarship support provided by Mr. Frangoulis and the Propeller Club, which helps make this transformative experience accessible to students. Additional insights were shared during the ceremony by Ms. Carla Tanas, Dean of the Institute, and Ms. Beatriz Tintoré of the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation, who both emphasized the vital intersection of research, sustainability, and experiential learning.

Through the Blue Frontiers summer program, students are challenged to embrace Conscious Global Citizenship—applying their skills, compassion, and learning to protect the oceans and improve life and living for future generations.

The official agreement was signed on May 13, 2026, at ACS Athens, marking a new chapter in international educational collaboration for the benefit of the global maritime community.

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The diaspora and US elections

US mid-term elections alsp peaked Greek interest as at least four out of the five diaspora federal Congress members are renewing their terms in Congress.

In particular, Nicole Malliotakis, Gus Bilirakis, John Sarbanes and Chris Pappas emerged unscathed from the electoral battles, which is favorable for the promotion of Greek national issues in Congress.

But also in the Senate battle in Pennsylvania, a crucial state for the US electoral map, Mehmet Oz, a Republican candidate who maintains close relations with the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was defeated by his Democratic opponent, John Fetterman.

Fetterman has been openly in favor of all Greek positions and in favor of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

By contrast, all odds remain open for longtime 1st District Rep. Dina Titus, who led Republican challenger Mark Robertson at 80 percent of the vote. At this point the count ia showing Ms. Titus at just over 50% .

On the other side, Republican Alek Skarlatos, in Oregon's 4th District, was far behind in the count.

In particular, in the results that have been finalized, according to the "Ethnikos Herald" newspaper:

In Florida, Greek-American Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist was defeated, as expected, by powerful Republican incumbent Governor Ron De Santis.

In the 12th District of the same State, Gus Bilirakis prevailed by a significant margin over Democrat Kimberly Walker and renewed another term. In 99% of the electoral divisions, Mr. Bilirakis gathered more than 70%.

In New York's 11th District, Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis was declared the winner long before the count was over. Already, at 88% of the count, her opponent and former MP Max Rose was 27 percentage points behind. In 2020, Malliotakis, who had appeared for the first time in federal politics had prevailed by a small margin. Nevertheless, forecasters had "locked" the Republican political matchup for weeks, even though it was initially set for the most ambivalent.

In Maryland's 3rd District, maintaining a margin of more than 10 percentage points, John Sarbanes was re-elected for another term in Congress, defeating Yuripzy Morgan.


In New Hampshire's 1st District, Chris Pappas, after a stormy campaign, emerged victorious over his Republican opponent, Caroline Levit, with the Associated Press declaring him the winner just before 1 p.m. Pappas was considered one of the most vulnerable members of the Democratic Party, and his victory was met with satisfaction, coming with a relatively comfortable majority.


Gus Bilirakis, together with Chris Pappas and Carolyn Maloney, wrote a letter to the American Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, expressing their opposition both to the acquisition of new F-16 fighter jets and to the upgrading of the existing ones.

Robert Menendez Jr

At the same time, Greece gains another ally in Congress.

This is none other than Robert Menendez Jr., son of the Philhellenic head of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Bob Menendez, who, in the 8th District of New Jersey, was declared the winner over Republican Marcos Arroyo.


The son of Senator Menendez, dynamic but at the same time humble and cultured, is considered a rising figure in the Democratic Party. Already possessing a powerful support mechanism and an unprecedented popular current for a new candidate, he is expected to emerge as another pole for promoting Greek Cypriot issues in Congress.

Greek-American Community Honors Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Leadership of the national Greek-American community paid tribute to the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his wife Mareva Grabowski Mitsotaki at a luncheon at the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park on September 21. Mitsotakis was in New York for the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

To see video of the Prime Minister's remarks, as filmed and produced by Dimitri Panagos, click here.
The gathering was co-hosted by (in alphabetical order): AHEPAAmerican Hellenic Institute (AHI); Atlantic BankFederation of Cypriot American Organizations (FCAO); Federation of Hellenic-American Societies of PhiladelphiaHellenic American Chamber of CommerceHellenic American Leadership Council (HALC); The Hellenic Initiative (THI); Hellenic Lawyers Association of New YorkHellenic Medical Society of New YorkPSEKA – The International Coord. Committee – Justice for CyprusLeadership 100Order of Saint Andrew - Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; and the Washington Oxi Day Foundation.
George Marcus, philanthropist and Chairman of Marcus & Millichap, flew in from Palo Alto, CA to introduce the Prime Minster. Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophorosdelivered opening remarks and the invocation as well as the benediction. Mike Manatos, Executive Director of the Washington Oxi Day Foundation, served as the Master of Ceremonies.
Other honored guests in attendance included: Foreign Minister of Cyprus Ioannis Kasoulides; American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris, numerous Ambassadors and other diplomats from Greece and Cyprus, as well as many of the national Greek-American community’s most accomplished. Foreign Minister of Greece Nikos Dendias, who was scheduled to attend, was pulled away at the last moment to attend another important meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA.
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