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It is with great pleasure that I am attending tonight's award ceremony for our senior students, who excelled in the Greek Embassy's annual Student Essay Contest.
A competition, which was established and has been held on our island continuously since 1977, as a result of the initiative of the Greek Embassy in Cyprus and the close cooperation it maintains with the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth.
Undoubtedly, this Competition, as a concrete example of the other multifaceted synergies that are being developed, demonstrates the general interest of the Greek state in the uninterrupted cultivation and promotion of Greek education in Cyprus.
The long-standing objective of the Competition, which is addressed to the senior students of Public and Private High Schools and Technical Schools of Vocational Education and Training, is to cultivate their critical thinking, to raise their awareness of issues that affect social, political and economic developments, but also to strengthen the interest of adolescents in the contemporary challenges that we as a nation are called upon to face.
At the same time, the Competition enhances in many ways the development of our students' cognitive and emotional development, promotes the cultivation of their skills and strengthens the value base of our youth.
Of particular importance is the opportunity given through the Competition to students to study and reflect on the broader issues of Hellenism.
In this context, on the one hand, their knowledge is broadened and on the other hand, the national and emotional ties between Cyprus and Greece are strengthened.
Of equal importance is the fact that the engagement and preparation of the final year students for participation in this Competition is the trigger for the exercise of analytical thinking and structured argumentation and the composition of a coherent essay, through the use of the richness of the Greek language.
Bearing in mind the aforementioned and the positive results that have been achieved over time from the successful organization of the Competition, in the last two years the institution has been successfully extended to the Primary Schools of Cyprus, with the appropriate adaptation to the level of our young students.
This year marks 200 years since our national poet, Dionysios Solomos, composed the Hymn to Freedom. Solomos envisioned Freedom - the highest value of Hellenism along with democracy - bright and powerful against tyranny, and praised it in the midst of the Greek Revolution.
The Revolution of 1821, which came to life and grew with the motto "Freedom or Death", remains the fundamental milestone in the modern history of Hellenism and, at the same time, serves as a beacon of light for the future of the nation. Today we admire and honour not only the heroism and sacrifices of the National Revolt, but also the spiritual content of the Palingenesia, the principles and values that inspired the high spirit of our ancestors. The Greek Revolution of 1821 is remembered in world history as the expression of the unyielding desire for freedom and the outpouring of the militancy of a people claiming human dignity.
It is precisely this supreme value that was the central theme of this year's Competition. On the basis of verses from the Hymn to Freedom and taking into account that today we are going through a period of multilevel crisis on a global scale, our students were asked to analyse "ways in which the timeless values of Hellenism can illuminate the universal human struggle for the defence of freedom and the building of a world with promising prospects".
The seriousness and responsibility shown by the students in their writing, the thoughts and opinions they presented in response to the subject matter, are moving.
Above all, they evoke the certainty that our young people, the future and hope of our country, will fight for the vindication of our homeland and the restoration of human rights in Cyprus, starting with freedom, which we have been deprived of for 49 years now due to the Turkish invasion and occupation of 1974.
Dear children,
I would like to congratulate you warmly. Tonight you are being rewarded for your outstanding performance and the effort you put in, capturing in an essay speech your thoughts on how Hellenism can be a protagonist and co-promoter of world peace.
Together with all the senior students who took part in this year's Hellenic Embassy Essay Contest, as well as all our young people, you are the beacon and guide of this effort.
In closing, I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the members of the jury of the Contest for their methodical and objective approach to their work. In particular, I congratulate Mr. Alexandros Consta, Counselor A of the Greek Embassy, Mrs. Danae Georgiadou, representative of the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Mrs. Sofia Ioannou and Mr. Simakis Simeou, Inspectors of Secondary Education Literature Courses, Mr. Andreas Panagidis, Philologist, former First Officer of Education, Mr. Mr. Andreas Hadjithomas, Philologist-Linguist and Mrs. Elli Kotzamanis, Journalist.
My warmest thanks to the Greek Embassy, both for the excellent organization of this event and for the long-standing support and cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Greek Embassy, both for the excellent organization of this event and for the long-standing support and cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth.
A cooperation that we have the will to strengthen further, giving, as is our vision, the opportunity for children to learn, to draw examples and to preserve the historical memory, principles and values that have nurtured and glorified our nation.
(NΓ)
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