George Halkias is a well respected community figure who has supported vulnerable Australians for almost 20 years.
With post graduate qualifications in psychology, his experience includes managing a state-wide support service for victims of violent crime and training police graduates in the area of victim rights and support.
George is best known for the development of the Big Issue Street Soccer Program which uses soccer to engage and develop homeless and marginalized people. In this role he has coached and coordinated Australian teams at 7 Homeless World Cup events: Edinburgh 2005, Cape Town 2006, Copenhagen 2007, Melbourne 2008, Milan 2009, Paris 2011 and Poznan 2013.
He was instrumental in successfully bidding for and staging the 2008 Melbourne Homeless World Cup and his role included sourcing corporate sponsorship and acting as the public face of the event.
George's experience with his team in Cape Town was profiled on the ABC?s Australian Story while his Melbourne campaign was documented by Channel 10. He has made countless appearances on television and radio and is a brilliant media performer.
Whilst still involved in the Street Soccer Program which has expanded across Australia, George also acts as a leadership coach, athlete mentor and works with prisoners with intellectual disabilities and asylum seekers.
He is also a Youth Work teacher at Victoria University.
A unique speaker, George blends confidence, charisma and passion with insight and knowledge. His sincere and heart-felt presentations make sometimes serious topics stimulating, entertaining and uplifting. His speeches have a huge impact on his audiences and have the power not only to educate but to inspire and motivate people to achieve their best and also contribute to society. His fun and interesting stories are drawn from his unique work experience and travels captivating those who are fortunate to listen to him.
George's presentations have been adapted to different forums that have included business functions, corporate staff development sessions, sporting functions and fundraisers.
George also has vast experience as an MC and facilitator working on some large scale sporting, corporate and community events.
Testimonials
George's passion for helping others is truly inspirational. His presentations are professional, dynamic and moving. Listening to George is a life changing experience.
- Marketing Director, Amity Group
George has the capacity to captivate an audience with his amazing stories and breathtaking commitment to human causes.
- Director, Logistics Events Australia
George is truly a people person. He relates to everyone and through his positivity and encouragement makes people want to achieve their best.
- LaTrobe University
Our members and guests were inspired by George’s tireless work with the homeless and other disadvantaged Australians. An engaging, challenging and thoroughly entertaining presentation, we highly recommend him as a speaker in any forum
- Chris Rogers, Club President
Of all the staff training and team building workshops that we have facilitated at our company, the Perspective Workshop held by George Halkias was easily the most talked about and memorable event. This is really different! George captivated our people with his unique message and the impact it had on our team was incredible. The workshop resulted in increased morale, improved team interaction, greater energy and a general shift to a more empathic attitude within our organisation. Aside from the value gained personally, it also reflected well on our company image to our team. Thank you George! We will be having more of these workshops in the future for sure. Highly recommended!
- Managing Director FUESCO
George was an absolute pleasure to work with. I was very moved by the presentation so much so that I am still thinking about it! I highly recommend George as a speaker and I personally look forward to working with him again in the future.
- Event Coordinator CPA Australia
Dandenong High School was very honoured to receive a presentation by George . Very inspirational for our students. The students were captivated with his stories.
- Dandenong High School
