Athina Charalambides (Interview 2)
Interviewer(s):
Theo Xenophontos
Project:
Greek Canadian Stories
INTERVIEW LOCATION:
Scarborough, ON
LANGUAGE:
English
DATE:
May 26, 2026

Interview Summary:

Athina Charalambides was born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1950 and migrated to Canada in December 1974. As an addendum to her previous interview, Athina goes into detail about her work with the Canadian Ethnocultural Council, Cypriot Community of Toronto, Cypriot Federation of Canada, Greek Cypriot Heritage Program, and PSEKA. In the process, she describes how these organizations relate to their Greek counterparts and the Canadian government. She also discusses how Greek Cypriots were able to outmaneuver Turkish Cypriots at an institutional level in Canada.

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Interview Details
Categories and Themes
Content
Media
Date and Location
May 26, 2026
Scarborough, ON
Interviewee(s)
Athina Charalambides (Interview 2)
Interviewer(s)
Theo Xenophontos
Languages
English
Reference ID
GICREF137B
Project
Greek Canadian Stories
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Categories
Associational Life
Canadian Society
Culture and Tradition
Education
Historical Events
Homeland Activism
Migration
Working Life
Tags
Canadian Politics
Cypriot Canadian Economic Relations
Cypriot Canadian Identity
Cypriot Community of Toronto Inc.
Cypriot Federation Of Canada
Cyprus 1974
Cyprus Coup
Cyprus Relief Fund of Ontario
Dance
EOKA
EOKA-B
Greek Community of Toronto Inc.
Greek School
Macedonia Naming Dispute
NEPOMAK Canada
POMAK
Post-1974 Migration
Pre-1974 Migration
PSEKA
Religion
The Cypriot Brotherhood
Traditions
Decades Referenced
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Locations Referenced
Cyprus; Agios Pavlos (suburb of Nicosia), American Academy Nicosia; Famagusta; Kyrenia; Nicosia; Canada; Calgary; Canadian Museum for Human Rights (Winnipeg); Cypriana (restaurant and music venue in Scarborough); Cypriot Community Centre (Thorncliffe); Danforth; Halifax; Kingston; Kitchener; Manitoba; Metamorphosis Tou Sotiros Greek Orthodox Church (Toronto); Mississauga; Nova Scotia; Ottawa; Sarnia; Saskatchewan; Scarborough; St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church of Toronto; St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church (Scarborough); Toronto; Winnipeg; Greece; Thessaloniki; New York City; Washington, D.C.
Occupation(s)
Nurse, Toronto Hydro (customer service then program tester), and various jobs in the community
Parents Occupation(s)
Names Referenced
Andreas Charalambides; Andreas Nicolaides; Anna Ellinas; Antonis Votitsianos; Basil Avramis; Chris Erodotou; Christine Amygdalidis; Christos Tsiailis; Costis Hadjicostis; Dino Sophocleous; Demetris Christofias; Elisseos Kyrillou; Father Philip Philippou; Freda Michaelidis; George Adamides; George Soleas; George Vassiliou; Georghia Epaminondas; Georgia Pantelidis; Glafcos Clerides; Helen Koccoris; Iacovos (Jack) Charalambous; Jim Karygiannis; John Cannis; Magda Theoharous; Makarios III; Martha Henty; Menelaos Pavlides; Michael Mikellides; Nick Christoforou; Nick Dionyssiou; Nicos Anastasiades; Nikos Christodoulides; Nondas Epaminondas; Pat Georgiades; Paula Antonakos-Boswell; Pavlos Avraam; Professor Michael P. Paidoussis; Rauf Denktaş; Tassos Papadopulos; Theodoros Eliades; Trifon Haitas; Vrisiida Mavrou-Paidousi; Winston Churchill; Xanthos Charalambous; Yiannis Georgiou

[00:00:59] Overview of her duties for numerous organizations

[00:08:30] Issues with Turkish Cypriots in Canada

[00:17:49] Receiving a medal from President Christodoulides

[00:20:00] The Greek Cypriot Heritage Program

[00:25:50] Cultural Organization of Greek Cypriots

[00:29:39] Organizational work here and abroad

[00:51:55] Discussing various individuals in the community

[01:12:38] Presidents of Cyprus who visited Canada

[01:17:41] Her opinion on the failure of the Annan Plan

[01:24:16] President of the Cypriot Federation of Canada

[01:37:57] Discussing Cypriot migration pre-1955

[01:45:17] NEPOMAK, Denktaş in Toronto, & protest in Ottawa

[01:50:37] Discussing Hadjicostis & the Xronika newspaper

[01:52:51] Cypriana & another Cypriot venue at Kennedy Road

[01:58:04] Cyprus at the Crossroads television documentary

[02:01:43] Commissioning Trifon Haitas for a project

[02:12:42] Discussing Greek TV and a Cypriot radio show

[02:15:49] Cypriot priests in Toronto

[02:19:46] Cypriot support for the Macedonian issue

[02:24:44] How Cypriot identity is too defined by 1974

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