The aim of the President of the Republic is to promote our culture in the best possible way, said new Deputy Minister of Culture, Vasiliki Kassianidou, during the handover ceremony at the Deputy Ministry of Culture, in Nicosia, on Friday.
Kassianidou thanked outgoing Deputy Minister Michalis Hadjiyiannis, who resigned earlier in the week, for all his hard work, adding that he "put his heart and soul" into the Deputy Ministry. She also noted that her predecessor has already initiated many things.
Addressing the staff of the Deputy Ministry, she promised them that she would work hard with them.
"Promoting our culture, from the newest to the oldest, making the most of it in areas we have not properly done so until now is a goal set by the President," the new Deputy Minister pointed out. "I think we can only move forward if we all work together as one big family," she indicated.
On his part, Hadjiyiannis said that the Deputy Ministry of Culture completed one year of operation on July 1st and that the challenges before his successor are many. He also congratulated Kassianidou on her appointment and wished her every success in her work.
The main challenge, he continued, "is the living creature called Culture with such deep roots in Cyprus, that administratively and structurally has begun to walk, to stand on its own two feet and to respond to the great challenges facing our time".
"We have made plans and we have forged paths and based on our vision we did what we announced in these 4.5 months, while we also planned important - in my opinion - reforms such as the restructuring of sponsorship programmes, the extroversion of culture and the strengthening of cultural education," Hadjiyiannis noted.
In addition, he expressed the certainty that the new Deputy Minister, with the support of the people of culture and the staff of the Deputy Ministry, will continue building on what has already been achieved based on the Deputy Ministry's cornerstones, which are the Department of Newer and Contemporary Culture, the Cyprus Handicrafts Service and the Department of Antiquities.
The outgoing Deputy Minister thanked the officials of the Deputy Ministry, the Permanent Secretary, Emmanuela Lambrianidou, as well as the President Nikos Christodoulides, "for his trust and friendship". In addition, he thanked the people of Cyprus for their love and support.
Source: Cyprus News Agency