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I am very pleased to be here today for the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth of the Republic of Cyprus, the Church of Cyprus, the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports of the Hellenic Republic, the Church of Greece, the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece and the Jewish Museum of Greece. I cannot but express my satisfaction for the strengthening of the ties between the contracting parties and for the further undertaking of actions aimed at preserving the memory of the Holocaust and combating anti-Semitism, achieved through the signing of this Memorandum.
The Republic of Cyprus participates as an observer in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in order to contribute to the strengthening of efforts to promote and encourage actions for the study and preservation of this memory. The Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth has in recent years established an annual competition in secondary education on Holocaust remembrance and, in cooperation with the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, touring exhibitions on the Holocaust are hosted in schools in Cyprus. A new exhibition entitled "Stars without Heaven - Children in the Holocaust" will be added to the existing ones, on the initiative of the relevant History Curriculum Group.
In addition, a group of teachers from Cyprus visits the Yad Vashem Centre in Israel every two years for training on the teaching of the Holocaust, while our Ministry also cooperates with other Holocaust teaching centres such as the Musee de la Shoah. An additional activity of particular interest, which causes great emotion among students and teachers, is the hosting of Holocaust survivors on school grounds. In recent years, during the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust, the Ministry has been displaying the message "We Remember" as a minimum tribute to the victims of the Holocaust.
The Memorandum of Understanding we are signing today will strengthen and reaffirm the determination and will of all of us, not only to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive, but also to combat all contemporary forms of anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance. This, moreover, is one of the objectives of the Cooperation Programme in the field of education between the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth of the Republic of Cyprus and the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports of the Hellenic Republic, which I signed here last December with my counterpart Mr Kyriakos Pierrakakis.
Today's agreement is the culmination and confirmation of the long-standing cooperation between Greece and Cyprus, a cooperation that has its roots in the ancient Greek humanitarian ideal and aims at the development of man as a self-reliant and multifaceted personality, with respect for diversity and without discrimination.
Through inter-religious dialogue and the preservation of the collective memory of the Holocaust, we can protect society and create a better world than today's.
As the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth of the Republic of Cyprus, I assure you that we will make every effort to ensure that this cooperation bears fruit for the benefit of all parties, remaining supportive and supportive in the implementation of the actions that will result from this cooperation.
IP
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