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First of all, I would like to underline that I am very happy to attend with you this wonderful event here in London, where an extremely large number of our compatriots, both from Greece and Cyprus, live and work. More than 350 thousand are estimated to reside in the periphery of the British capital alone, including students, as well as a significant number of our compatriots who have chosen to settle, work and raise families in the United Kingdom since the early decades of the 20th century.
So, every effort to support and make the most of their presence is always included in our priorities. In this context, we work very closely with the relevant services of the Greek state, particularly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, bearing in mind the enormous importance we attach to expatriate Greeks in general.
And today, in cooperation with the parochial schools and the church, we are presenting for the first time in the United Kingdom, the digital platform for teaching Greek "Staellinika", which is addressed to the expatriate Hellenism, especially to the young people of the expatriate community, offering them in a unique way for their age, lessons in Greek language, Greek mythology, and more.
As the platform evolves, as a very useful and essential tool, I am sure it will be utilized for the teaching and dissemination of the Greek language and culture in general by members of our Diaspora, wherever they are.
On behalf of the Cypriot government, I would like to particularly congratulate those who inspired the creation of this digital platform and worked for its creation, especially the General Secretariat for Hellenism Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, and the Centre for Hellenic Studies of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation at Simon Frazer University in Vancouver, Canada, which provided substantial support for the whole effort.
With the operation of the platform and its promising development, the effort to learn and disseminate the Greek language to our expatriates is significantly upgraded.
In a practical support from our side to our expatriates in terms of familiarizing them with the Greek language and its learning, we have been presenting in recent years to our expatriates special programs utilizing the opportunities offered by various universities in Cyprus for education and practical training of our expatriates. These, in addition to the organisation of online degree or postgraduate programmes in cooperation with the organisations of our expatriates in the various corners of the world.
The main recipients of our programmes are the younger members of our expatriates, whom we must keep close to our roots and pass on to them the principles and values of our history, culture and traditions.
Through the Greek language and its dissemination we keep our national culture unadulterated and together with our expatriates we move into the future with faith in the principles and values that distinguish us.
No other language is recognised as much as this one for its contribution to the development of European and world civilisation.
No other language is recognised as much as this one for its contribution to the development of European and world civilisation. Its role has been fundamental throughout the centuries. From ancient times it has been the vehicle for the formation and dissemination of important scientific theories, philosophical considerations and literary texts. Throughout the centuries, the Greek language has made a decisive contribution to the preservation and dissemination of Greek culture, surviving to this day, in its modern version, as one of the longest living languages in the world.
It is the language in which great philosophers, poets and writers have left us their work: Homer, Plato, Thucydides, Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Hippocrates and others. It is the language of the Old and New Testament, the language of the Evangelists and the other Fathers of our Church.
It is also the language with the unique contribution to the enrichment of the vocabulary of other languages, the language of the Byzantine chronicles, the language of Solomos and Kalvos, Palamas, Elytis, Ritsos, Vassilis Michaelides, the language that documents and reflects the continuity of Hellenism from antiquity to our days.
In conclusion, I emphasize what I particularly feel: For us especially the Greeks of Cyprus, the Greek language is our first and most important feature, the one that gives us a special strength in our existence and arms us with vigour and determination in our struggle to ensure the survival of Hellenism in the heartland of the Eastern Mediterranean called Cyprus.
Thank you.
(PM/EC/IC)
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