At a press conference, which took place today, Friday, February 24, 2023, in the hall of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, the Carmela Research Programme was presented. This research project is a collaboration between the Scientific Research Centre of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth and the Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies of the University of Cyprus and aims to create a Cypriot Oral Tradition Archive for the Armenian and Latin Communities.
The press conference was addressed by Mr Prodromos Prodromou, Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Mr Fotis Fotiou, Commissioner of the Presidency, Mr Vartkes Mahtesian, Representative of the Armenians in the House of Representatives and Mrs Antonella Mantovani, Representative of the Latinos in the House of Representatives. The research project was presented by Ms Marilena Karyolaimou, Professor of Linguistics, Chair of the Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies at the University of Cyprus and scientific coordinator of the project.
The Minister of Education, Sports and Youth in his address stressed, among other things, that the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth stands by every effort that contributes to the preservation of the identity of the religious groups of Cyprus. In this context, it supports morally and financially actions and synergies that aim to preserve and promote elements of the cultural heritage of the Maronites, Armenians and Latins. Besides, the Republic of Cyprus, having signed the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe, has actively undertaken the contractual obligation to protect the Maronite Arabic and Armenian Cypriot languages and to strengthen and promote the elements of the identity, customs and traditions of the Maronite, Armenian and Latin communities. He went on to add that this project has emerged as an urgent need, because by recording people's testimonies, the genuine voices of the bearers of tradition, we act to save, and ensure that a part that shapes the collective memory of our homeland is not completely lost. At the same time, this recording, respecting the principle of equal treatment of all religious groups of our country, comes to complement the Oral Tradition Archive that is being established with the financial assistance of the Ministry of National Defence and the scientific supervision of the University of Cyprus since 2013 for the Maronite Community. He then thanked Dr. Kyprianos Louis, Deputy Director of the Centre for Scientific Research and General Coordinator for Religious Groups' Issues, for coordinating the activities concerning the Religious Groups of Cyprus on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and congratulated Ms. Marilena Karyolaimou for the preparation of the research project and today's presentation. Finally, he thanked the members of the Armenian and Latin community for their presence at the press conference and expressed his confidence that they will embrace and support this research project.
In his address, the Commissioner of the Presidency said that this initiative fills him with great pleasure and satisfaction. He stressed that the Government and personally the President of the Republic supported all activities related to the promotion and promotion of the Religion, History and Culture of each religious group. He noted that the establishment of the Archive of Oral Tradition for Armenians and Latins comes to enrich, documented and recorded now, the cultural and cultural wealth of the three religious groups of Cyprus. He then added that all this diverse intangible cultural heritage will be processed and recorded by specialists, in order to contribute in a scientific way to the building of a modern Armenian and Latin society that does not forget its roots. He then thanked the Center for Scientific Research and the Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies for the implementation of the scientific program and the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth for supporting this initiative.
The Representative of the Armenian Religious Group in his greeting noted that through this new Research Project, the continuous interest of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth in the Armenian Community is once again confirmed. Through this project, it will be possible to record part of the oral history of the Armenian community and to rescue from oblivion oral testimonies that make up the mosaic of our land. He also stressed that for the Armenian community it is particularly important that the interviews will be conducted in Western Armenian, the mother tongue of the members of our community and one of the two official minority languages of the Republic of Cyprus. He then thanked Dr. Kyprianos Louis, Deputy Director of the Centre for Scientific Research and General Coordinator for Religious Group Issues, for his efforts in launching the project and Ms. Marilena Karyolaimou, Professor of Linguistics at the Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies of the University of Cyprus, for the design and scientific supervision of the project. Concluding his address, he thanked the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth for his unwavering support to the Armenian Community during his term of office.
The Representative of the Latino Religious Group in her greeting noted that she was particularly excited about the start of the scientific work on the establishment of the Archive on the Latino Community and noted that the creation of this archive was one of the most important goals she had set as the Representative of the Latino Community. He thanked Dr. Cyprian D. Louis, Deputy Director of the Center for Scientific Research and General Coordinator for Religious Groups at the Ministry of Education for his support and Ms. Marilena Karyolaimou, Scientific Coordinator of the Project for the implementation of the project. She then stressed that she would provide all possible assistance in setting up the Archive. Finally, she thanked the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth for the excellent and constructive cooperation throughout his term of office, which was aimed at resolving issues of concern to the Latin Community in the field of education.
In her presentation, the Scientific Manager of the project said, among other things, that the launch of this project is in line with UNESCO's positions on the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage on the basis of respect for diversity. In addition, she stressed that this effort is part of the broader efforts to record and preserve the intangible cultural capital of the peoples of Europe, especially of minority and less visible groups, which both the Council of Europe and the EU have supported since its foundation, considering it a sign of the democratic character of European states. He then referred to the importance of this effort at the local level, since it will document the history of the presence of the Armenian and Latino communities and their contribution to the development of the country over time and to the shaping of Cypriot society over time. Subsequently, Ms. Karyolaimou described in detail the objectives of the research project and provided the timeline and deliverables of the project. Finally, she referred to the collaborative nature of the project which implies synergy between the scientists and members of the two communities, both those who will participate in the research by giving interviews and those who will work as researchers in the project.
IP
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