-
.
- Ελληνικά
Culture must be exploited as a sector of development for our country and our economy, said Deputy Minister of Culture Dr.Vasiliki Kassianidou, today, after a meeting with the President of the Democratic Party (DIKO) Mr.Nicolas Papadopoulos, at the party's offices.
In her remarks to reporters, Dr. Kassianidou thanked the DIKO President for holding the meeting, which she said she had requested as part of her series of contacts with parties.
She noted that culture should be exploited as a sector of development, which will contribute to our country and the strengthening of the economy. At the same time, she said that the planning of cultural diplomacy, an important tool that will significantly contribute to the strengthening of diplomatic relations, is being promoted.
"We are counting on you to support us in all issues, new bills, such as the status of the artist, new infrastructures, such as those you mentioned, and to raise funding both from European funds and from state sponsorship to support people of culture, cultural institutions," she said, addressing the Party President. "These are the most important parts and they are part of our identity. If we do this, I think we will go forward, we will also give a solid foundation for children," the Deputy Minister of Culture added in her statement.
The Deputy Minister then added that programmes are being rolled out to support cultural education and training with the aim of a better future for the children of our country.
Referring to the meetings held with the parliamentary parties, she explained that with the completion of the first year of operation of the Deputy Ministry of Culture under the government of Nikos Christodoulides, important steps have been taken to promote the objectives of the government. He expressed confidence that with the help of all the parties in the coalition government, the goals set by the President of the Republic Mr. Nikos Christodoulides in his programme of governance will be achieved, while with them, he added, new goals will be set to support the culture sector.
Asked by a reporter about the status of the bill on the status of the artist, Dr. Kassianidou said that the completion of the financial study by the Ministry of Finance is expected soon. She added that the required legislative and technical review will follow, the bill will be submitted for public consultation and then it will go to Parliament. He expressed the hope that the bill will be completed within 2024 since "it is something that the people of culture have been asking for years and we owe it to them."
In his own statements, the DIKO President expressed his satisfaction with the initiatives, actions and activities promoted by the Deputy Ministry of Culture for the development and support of culture. Papadopoulos said they heard the priorities of the Deputy Ministry for the promotion and development of culture in the country. Every country is judged by the level of culture it produces and Cyprus, which has a cultural and historical journey of more than 8,000 years, must continue to contribute to world culture, he added. This in itself highlights the very important role that the Deputy Ministry has to play.
Referring to the initiatives of the Deputy Ministry of Culture, the DIKO President spoke about the bill on the recognition of the status of artist, incentives to young people for culture, tax incentives to individuals and institutions to invest in culture and the promotion of important infrastructure such as the Cyprus Library building.
There are also challenges, he said. The fact, he explained, that culture was not included as a chapter in the Recovery and Resilience Fund means that in the near future and in the next European Union (EU) programming period we should seek to add funds for culture for Cyprus.
"We will contribute, we will support these efforts, and as DIKO we declare that we will stand by our friend the Deputy Minister of Culture and the Deputy Ministry to help, because we believe in the role that culture can play in our country. We believe in the history and the future of our country."
The Deputy Minister of Culture then held a meeting with the President of the Democratic Party (PPP) Mr. Mario Karoyan (an announcement will follow), while in the coming days he will have contacts with the other parliamentary parties, which participate in the relevant committees of the House of Representatives, which handle issues of competence of the Deputy Ministry of Culture.
(EFYS/MS/EATH)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
