Academy of science, letters and arts to be created

Cyprus is among the few European countries without an academy of science, letters and arts, Education Minister Costas Kadis said on Thursday at a ceremony where the plans were presented for the creation of one.

During the ceremony, at the Presidential Place, Kadis said that the Cyprus Academy would be a “supreme spiritual institution that recognises the scientific and cultural achievements of the people of our country”. It will also promote the development of sciences, arts, research and innovation, he said.

Through the academy, Kadis said, there would be an effort to project and promote the work of Cypriot scientists and scholars internationally and also provide scientific and consolatory support to the state.

It would represent Cyprus in international fora, publish a journal and promote announcements, scientific articles and research, and organise conferences.

The founding committee of the academy are Loucas Christophorou, Kyriacos Nicolaou, Vasos Karageorgis and Nobel Prize Winner Sir Christophoros Pissarides.
Christophorou said that the Cyprus Academy would have full autonomy and its own legal personality and be an independent agency with complete freedom in terms of its work.

Financing would come through an annual state grant, the academy’s own resources and bequests and donations from foundations, individuals and benefactors, as well as funding from European and international programmes.

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.