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"If children love culture at an early age, then they will continue to love and support our culture," said Deputy Minister of Culture Dr.Vasiliki Kassianidou after the end of the Workshop on intangible cultural heritage entitled "In our places...", held at the Ayios Maronas Primary School in Nicosia.
The Deputy Minister of Culture visited the school today, as part of the "Schools Ambassadors of Culture - Students Ambassadors of Culture" programme, which is being piloted in schools in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth.
The workshop was organised under the auspices of the Deputy Minister and with the support of the Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO. Children from Agios Maronas Primary School, Narek Primary School, 3rd Primary School of Agios Dometios and Mathiatis Primary School participated in the Workshop.
In her statements to journalists, the Deputy Minister of Culture said that a "wonderful", as she described it, event on intangible cultural heritage was being organised at the Agios Maronas Primary School.
"The State Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education have a close cooperation to create and bring cultural education into schools," she said.
He noted that the St. Maron Primary School has been doing this activity for a long time "bringing schools from other areas to introduce communities to each other."
"The Ministry of State has started an idea for culture schools, which we are building in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and we hope that by September it will be implemented," he said.
"At this stage it is being done on a pilot basis and it is something that we very much believe in, both myself and the Minister of Education, because we believe that we have to start with children, to love culture," the Deputy Minister said.
"If they love culture at this young age, then they will continue to love and support our culture. Only through culture do we have hope for a better tomorrow," Dr. Kassianidou concluded her remarks.
In her address earlier, during the Workshop, the Deputy Minister of Culture expressed her pleasure in attending "the festival of culture and coexistence" that has been organized.
She congratulated the Agios Maronas Primary School for the initiative "to bring us all together here today to revive together our intangible cultural heritage, traditions and living expressions handed down by our ancestors, oral traditions, social practices, customs and traditions, festivals and ceremonies related to nature and the stages of life, knowledge and techniques for creating handicrafts".
"The protection of intangible heritage," continued the Deputy Minister of Culture, "is an important factor in preserving cultural diversity. Understanding the intangible cultural heritage of different communities enhances intercultural dialogue and encourages mutual respect for different ways of life, while enriching the knowledge and skills that are passed on through culture from one generation to the next," she said.
"Today's meeting is just the beginning", she stressed, calling on teachers and children to continue their actions. "Identify and study the items registered in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Invite artisans and creators to the school. Talk to them," the Deputy Minister stressed.
"Our intangible cultural heritage records stories," the Deputy Minister said and urged them to listen to these stories and create a meaningful relationship with them. "Keep our intangible cultural heritage alive," she noted.
"The Deputy Ministry of Culture and I personally believe deeply in the power of culture and the arts to shape whole people and a more beautiful world," she said. "We want you all to join us on this journey of getting to know and promote our culture and the values it stands for," Dr. Kassianidou added.
"If we invest in values we will be able to transform our world into a world of acceptance and inclusion. A world that invests in its roots and its culture so that it can gain solid wings for new journeys of creation," said Deputy Minister of Culture Dr. Kassianidou.
"The young generation, you children, are our hope for a better tomorrow," she said.
She then informed that the State Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, is planning to implement programmes that will bring children in contact with culture. "What we want is for cultural education to be an integral part of your education and to cultivate your emotional intelligence," she said, addressing the children.
"Through the arts, we want you, my dear children, to be able to express opinions and feelings, to discover and cultivate your talents," the Deputy Minister added.
She clarified that: "part of the pilot implementation of the "Schools Ambassadors of Culture - Pupils Ambassadors of Culture" programme, which is being planned, is the investment in getting to know intangible cultural heritage, something that is being implemented in pilot form today with your help." "The aim of the Deputy Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth is to implement it in other schools during the next school year, 2024-2025," he said.
In closing, the Deputy Minister of Culture reiterated her pleasure for the opportunity to share "today's journey of knowledge and experience", as she described it, with the children.
This was followed by presentations by the schools' primary school children relating to the history of their communities and their intangible cultural heritage. This was followed by experiential workshops based on history and traditions, while in the workshop of folk tales, the Deputy Minister told a fairy tale to primary school children with the message that the power of culture to liberate the mind and soul.
For the full text of the Minister's address click here.
(Ephys/NZ/Eath)
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