Final conference in Malta

The Cyprus team participated in the MEDIP Final Conference that took place in Valeta, Malta on the 10th of April 2010. The EIC officer was accompanied by a journalist from the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC), the national television of Cyprus. The conference was considered to be by the Cypriot participants very constructive and useful. Through the panel discussions, the participants (project partners and other quests) had the opportunity to assess the ideas and the methodologies that were used during the implementation of the project and derive new best practices that could be used in the future.

Europe Day celebration at the presidential palace

The Cyprus team participated in the Europe Day celebrations at the presidential palace with its own information stand. During the event the team handed out the MEDIP promotional materials (USBs, pens, stickers and sanitation boxes), while at the same time information was given to the general public about the MDG’s and the role of European Union. Once again the remarks were made for the MEDIP programme by the EIC Director. Even though this event was open to the general public, the team had a unique opportunity to reach key political personalities of the Cypriot society who were also present at the event.

Participation to the Europe Day celebrations in Limassol

The Cyprus team participated in the Europe Day celebrations with its own information stand. It is noteworthy that during this event a number of EU member states embassies but also the representation of European Commission in Cyprus, the office of the European Parliament in Cyprus and various State offices and Ministries participated. It is been estimated that more than 30000 people visited the event. During the event the team handed out the MEDIP promotional material (USBs, pens, stickers and sanitation boxes), while at the same time information was given to the general public about the MDG’s and the role of European Union. The whole event took place at the Limassol’s Municipal building where the MEDIP banners were placed a week before.

Participation to Europe Week celebrations - Artists against Poverty

An art exhibition was held with works by famous Cypriot artists where 50% of the proceeds were given to the children of Zimbabwe. The whole event was under the auspice of the First Lady of the Republic of Cyprus. In the EIC Director’s speech there were substantial remarks about the MEDIP project and its aims.

MEDIP banners on Limassol's Municipal buildings

After contacting the lead partner of the MEDIP programme and elaborating the difficulties that we were facing regarding the placement of posters on bus shelters, we have agreed that the best method to promote the MEDIP programme to the general public was the creation of large banners and their placement on historical buildings of the Limassol Municipality. The building is situated in one of the main avenues in the centre of Limassol. As we expected the placement of the banners for two weeks on the aforementioned location had huge exposure and reached the wider audience. It should be noted that Limassol has approximately 200.000 citizens and is the second largest city of Cyprus.

For the creation of the banners, the three wining photos from the photo competition were used

2nd Round Table Workshop

In the frameworks of the MEDIP programme the EIC prepared and implemented the 2nd Round table Workshop in cooperation with OPEK (Association for Social Reform), the UN Representation in Cyprus, the Technological University of Cyprus, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the EU Representation and the office of the European Parliament in Cyprus, the Limassol Municipality, Cyprus Photographic Association- Limassol Branch. The round table was the first event that opened the Celebrations of Europe Week.
The 2nd Round Table took place on the 3rd of May 2010, from 18:00 to 19:30, at the premises of Lanitis Carob Mill, which is located in Limassol city centre. Translation from English to Greek and vice versa was provided to the participants.

The key note-speakers in the panel were:
•Mr. Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
•Ms. Sotiroula Charalambous, Minister of Labour and Social Insurance, Republic of Cyprus.
•Ms. Eleni Theocharous, Member of the Committee on Development, European Parliament.
•Mr. Gavriel Amitsis, Professor, University of Nicosia, Cyprus.

MEDIP 1st Round table Workshop

The title of this round table was “Education Fighting against Poverty in third world countries”, and schools representatives from all over Cyprus participated in the event. The workshop was aiming in raising awareness among students and teachers concerning the MDGs and the role of European Union.

The workshop was divided in three parts. At first the documentary produced by EIC “Dreams of an Oasis” was viewed by the participants. A discussion followed regarding the MDGs and the role of European Union in helping the UN to fulfil its targets until 2015. The general notion of the participants was that in order for the UN to accomplish its goals, the EU but also other developed countries should intensify their efforts. Following that, the participants were divided in 8 small groups where each of them was given one goal on which they had to elaborate and give their opinion and thoughts. The aim of EIC was to engage the participants in a direct dialogue about the MDGs and to make them feel that they can become part of the solution through their ideas and their active engagment.

The conclusions of the workshop were:

Goal 1”End Hunger & Extreme Poverty”: In order for the UN to meet the ambitious goal until 2015 the foreign aid from the developed countries must be increased substantially. Simultaneously, more coherent and sustainable government systems must be implemented in order for the third world countries to effectively distribute the international funds.

Goal 2 “Universal Education”: Regarding this goal, the participants came to the conclusion that the most important factor in helping the rest of the goals to be achieved is the development of a complete educational system which will give to people a universal primary education. This will help on informing people on how to deal or avoid serious problems such as HIV/AIDS disease. More schools must be developed in key areas in order for the people to have an easier access to education.

Goal 3 “Gender Equality”: The third world countries must implement an educational system, which will provide an equal access to both genders. An education will help women to overcome a series of problems that are facing at the moment. Moreover, organizations like EU should give motivations for the development of local organizations aiming to combat this problem.

Goal 4 “Child Health”: The conditions that children are living in today in the third world countries are unacceptable and must be improve. In order to improve the children’s wellbeing new health units must be created in rural but also remote areas. Moreover, physicians from EU could provide their services through local NGO’s. In addition, EU should create special funds for the population of third world countries, in order to encourage them to study in the EU and transfer the European knowhow in their countries. Finally, coherent health services must be created.

Goal 5 “Maternal Health”: Maternal Health is a very important factor which is directly connected with children’s health. The participants supported that the World Health Organization in cooperation with the UN and the EU should increase their funds towards third world countries, in order to create the a health infrastructure and reduce maternal mortality. A healthy mother equals a healthy baby.

Goal 6 “Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases”: Due to the lack of education the population in third world countries is not adequately informed on how to avoid getting infected by lethal diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria. Thus, the educational system must be reinforced but at the same time modern methods of combating those diseases must be introduced.

Goal 7 “Environmental Sustainability”: A sustainable management of the environmental resources must be developed in the third world countries in order to upgrade the standard of living of their population. This must include the development of basic irrigation systems which will help the access to safe drinking water. Moreover, proper sanitation facilities and water processing units must be developed.

Goal 8 “Global Partnership”: The most important factor for the rest of the goals to be achieved is the global cooperation. The EU countries should import products that are been produced by the third world countries in order to enforce their economy. Moreover, the wealthy countries must give a percentage of their earnings to the poor countries, in order to bridge the gap between them. New technologies must also be introduced towards the third world countries in order to maximize their productivity.