About

Enhanced by the Canada-to-Greece transition, I’ve traversed the ups and downs of being a “transnational” for more than 30 years.

For the last two decades, my columns, journalistic work, and photographs – spotlighting the local international community – have been featured in various English-language publications, like the Athens News, Insider Athens, Odyssey,  the ELGazette  and the ELT News. Before that, I taught English as a foreign language, followed by writing English language teaching textbooks for international publishers.

Four of my columns have been featured in national English-language newspapers in Greece. My current Athens News column ‘On the Borderline’ – which explores the joys and challenges of living abroad – is published fortnightly at www.athensnews.gr. Related to that theme, I addressed a United Nations Alliance of Civilizations conference on urban inclusion in the UN headquarters in October, 2012, via Skype (at 1.37 at http://webtv.un.org/watch/the-inclusive-city:-management-of-diversity-at-the-local-level/1871148951001/), and some of my most recent inclusion-related Borderline columns are featured on the website IBIS, created by the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) at http://www.unaoc.org/ibis/resources/articles/.

Privately, as a community advocate I’ve had the privilege of serving on the executive boards of several not-for-profit organisations, including the founding boards of Thessaloniki’s ethnic Food-for-Good Festival (an annual event hosting approximately 2,000 guests to promote multiculturalism and raise funds for local charities), the Thessaloniki Organisation for Women’s Employment and Resources –Tower (which provides emotional support to working women from other lands, and Greek repatriates) at www.tower4women.gr , and two networks for Canadians: the Canadian Hellenic Friendship Association, Thessaloniki, and Friends of Canada, Athens, both at www.friendsofcanada.gr.

Tesol Macedonia-Thrace, Northern Greece, a professional not-for-profit association for teachers of English to speakers of other languages at http://www.tesolmacthrace.org/index.html, graciously granted me honorary membership in 2010.

We all have different experiences, and I do hope you’ll add your own insights to my blog.

klcwriter@gmail.com

(photo by George Vdokakis)