Remote village celebrates communications day

THE REMOTE village of Kidasi in Paphos will finally be connected to the Internet as part of celebrations concerned with promoting world telecommunications day.

Minister of communications, Nicos Nicolaides, yesterday visited the village, which is home to just two families. Between them, they have five children, who range from primary school to secondary school age.

Nicolaides, and Hellas-Sat have co-operated on a number of programmes to help families living in this area, and further afield.

The youngest children attend Ayios Giorgos primary school in a neighbouring village, while the older children go to school in Paphos.

Hellas- Sat has installed a satellite Internet connection at the school as part of the EU programme ‘Rural Wings’.

In addition, the ministry included the village of Kidasi in its plans for installing satellite internet in rural locations, and has also provided the connection free of charge.

The Ministry also partnered national telecom provider CyTA and the two families have been presented with free laptop computers.

The families were reported to be “very thankful” and the children, “very excited”. “There are a number of similar locations which are not yet connected to the internet but have been identified by the ministry of communications as in ‘urgent need of these provisions.”

World Telecommunication Day aims to “stimulate reflection and the exchange of ideas.”

The authorities believe World Telecommunication Day is an excellent opportunity to launch public campaigns and activities to help provide greater telecom and Internet coverage, to promote communication.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.