ThOK Main Stage, 4 April 2023
It is with great pleasure that I attend tonight's event, here in the Evie Gavrielides Hall of ThOK Theatre, for an institution that is 24 years old. An institution of great distinction for the creators of theatre in Cyprus.
And I firmly believe that it is the duty of the State to honour those who are the oxygen of society. Those whose work has touched our souls both with their persistent work around human existence and with their on-stage transformations.
Today we owe a debt to these people of culture who produce ethos. My warmest congratulations, therefore, to Mrs. Maria Mannaridou - Karseras, Mr. Eduardo Georgiou and Mr. Andreas Koutsofta for their award.
This year's THOC Awards coincide with the first months of our government. And we are already working hard to implement our programme, on the basis of which we have been elected. A programme that was formulated on the basis of our dialogue with society, including the People of Culture, and that has at its heart the People, society and building a better Cyprus.
Friends of Culture, as you will see in our Governance Programme, in our Contract with the Cypriot people, as I approach it, for us Culture is everyone's business. We truly believe that culture can be used for the personal well-being and mental health of citizens, but also for the development of skills, especially for the young generation of our country. And I want to make special reference to the young generation. Because we believe in them and we invest in tomorrow's citizens.
Moreover, in 1976, a few meters away, at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre, THOC started its Children's Stage, which, in essence, introduced the art of theatre and enchanted many of us with it. Through the cooperation of the theatre with the Ministry of Education, thousands of students in our primary schools began to attend theatre performances on an annual basis. We want to further develop our theatre audiences, so we want this experience for elementary school children to continue systematically into their junior high and high school years.
That is why, following the example of other EU Member States, as we recently announced - it was also my pre-election announcement - we encourage every child and young person to come into contact with contemporary cultural creation in our country through the annual subsidy of a specific amount for each pupil exclusively for the purpose of attending performing arts performances, film screenings and educational programmes.
As a first step towards the implementation of this proposal, the creation of the digital Culture Card for young people has been launched, a prepaid card through which our young people who have reached the age of 18 will be able to attend cultural events and visit cultural venues. That is why we aim to create a long-term strategy for culture, implemented by the newly created State Ministry of Culture, which will be substantially strengthened by providing all the necessary support in terms of human resources and technical infrastructure, as well as the necessary financial resources. And the further staffing of the Deputy Ministry has already begun so that it can meet the requirements, in all that we want to achieve through the correct decision taken by the previous government to establish the Deputy Ministry.
Implementing bodies will also be specific inter-ministerial cooperation and existing cultural institutions, such as, of course, the THOC. That is why we are further streamlining the operation and governance of state-funded cultural institutions. Our aim is to make them more productive and efficient and to contribute even more substantially to our long-term strategy for culture: Culture is becoming everyone's business. This is why we are introducing and will soon announce tax and other incentives for businesses that financially support contemporary cultural creation and cultural activities in our country.
We want, and we believe that we have the infrastructure in our country, to promote Cyprus as a cultural hub, taking advantage of the excellent relations with the neighbouring countries, in order to promote, through artistic creation, modern Cyprus and to create markets for the products of the Cypriot cultural industry. A very successful example in our neighbourhood was the way Israel used culture, both to convey messages, but also to strengthen internally all those who through culture were sending specific messages.
To this end we need - and we are already working in this direction - a Cultural Diplomacy Strategy that, among other things, will promote Cyprus as a gateway to Europe from the East, as a bridge to Asia and Africa, and as a crossroads of the clash of civilizations that have marked the history of Humanity.
Culture for us is not a hobby and we know very well that all of you who serve it are professionals, not hobbyists. That is why we include Culture as an economic activity in our overall strategic planning. That is why we wish, in cooperation with you and building on the work done by the former Deputy Minister of Culture, to soon regulate the status and professional status of artists, to immediately implement the creation of a Register of Artists, so that your labour rights are fully guaranteed.
Congratulations again to all the awardees, to the participants of tonight's award ceremony and to the organizers and the THOC.
In conclusion, we renew our appointment not only for the next THOC Theatre Awards. You will often see me across from you to applaud your performances, but also alongside you so that together we can build Cyprus' long-term strategy for culture at home. (PM/EP/IS)
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