The Education Ministers of Cyprus and Greece, along with the Archbishop of Cyprus and the Bishop of Messinia of Greece, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on Tuesday, aiming to further strengthen educational cooperation between Cyprus and Greece, with a particular emphasis on highlighting the history and the contribution of Greek Cypriots to Hellenism.
Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Athena Michaeildou, and Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports of the Hellenic Republic, Sofia Zacharakis, noted after a working meeting at the Ministry, which followed the signing of the Memorandum at the Archdiocese in Nicosia, that the cooperation will span from joint educational actions, such as training seminars for educators and clergy, to an annual student competition and educational visits, as well as the development of digital infrastructure.
Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus described the memorandum as an expression of the determination of the parties for cooperation in education and for strengthening historical memory and continuity of the national course. The Bishop of Messinia Chrysostomos III conveyed the wishes and blessings of the Archbishop of Greece Ieronymos, who, as he said, congratulates everyone for the initiative and “will be a supporter of every purpose” described in the memorandum.
“For us, historical self-awareness is not a clinical memorization of the past. It is the foundation for understanding the present and the compass of our course towards the future,” Michaelidou said after the signing. Zacharakis noted, on her part, that the joint training and visits will allow children to learn more experientially, and added that, through the internet, the material will be reachable for the children of the diaspora and schools abroad.
The two Ministers also discussed aspects of bilatereal cooperation, as well as the subjects of the intergovernmental meeting’s agenda this coming November, during a working meeting at the Ministry. Michailidou and Zacharakis stated after the meeting that the focus of the intergovernmental meeting will be on the subjects of artificial intelligence in education, special education, technical education, vocational education, and skills development.
Furthermore, according to a statement from the Ministry, the meeting emphasised the excellent level of the long-standing relations between Cyprus and Greece in the field of education, as well as the common will for further strengthening of cooperation.
“Beyond the Memorandum of Cooperation, we had the opportunity to discuss, of course, issues of our collaboration, which is continuous, is constantly being upgraded, and includes matters concerning our educational system, from preschool to higher education,” Michailidou said.
“We want to upgrade public schools. We want to provide more opportunities for our children and our educators to truly have the educational system that everyone deserves,” she continued, adding that “we ensure that through the memoranda of cooperation and our mutual understanding, we continuously have a very good exchange of expertise, but mainly an exchange of good practices.”