On June 29th, 2022, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Mr. Prodromos Prodromou and the Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Israel to Cyprus Ms. Noga Caspi attended the awards ceremony of the Holocaust School Project Competition entitled “Honor to the victims of the Holocaust - Fight against anti-Semitism.”

During the ceremony, actions in relation to the Holocaust for the school year 2021-2022 were presented, as well as excerpts from the works of students who won the first place. It was moving to hear the words of the students, who outlined their emotions with a lot of sensitivity.

Ms. Noga Caspi said that “the Holocaust school project competition award ceremony is an important part of our common effort to enhance the knowledge and the understanding, among young students, of the Holocaust - the darkest chapter in Human History. Teaching and learning about the Holocaust, provide an opportunity to enhance critical thinking, societal awareness, and personal growth, aiming to build tomorrow’s educated citizens.”

The ceremony ended with the awarding of prizes to the students.

Warmest congratulations to all the students that participated and excelled in the competition.

Full speech of the Deputy Head of Mission Ms Noga Caspi:

,

I wish to thank the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports for hosting us today.

The Holocaust school project competition award ceremony is an important part of our common effort to enhance the knowledge and the understanding, among young students, of the Holocaust – the darkest chapter in Human History.

Recent surveys show that Antisemitism has significantly increased in recent years – in Europe and throughout the world. Antisemitism is still very much alive and must be condemned with a very clear voice.

In order to fight the growing trend of Antisemitism, racism and other forms of discrimination, education is an essential tool. To this end, the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth together with the Embassy of Israel, have engaged, in the past few years, in developing and implementing a wide spectrum of educational activities for high-school students, to deepen their understanding of the Holocaust, genocide and xenophobia.

Teaching and learning about the Holocaust, provide an opportunity to enhance critical thinking, societal awareness, and personal growth, aiming to build tomorrow’s educated citizens.

At this stage, I would like to thank the Secondary Education Inspector and coordinator of the Holocaust program, my dear friend, Dr. Tonia Loizou, for all her valuable efforts. I am sure Dr. Loizou will elaborate on the various activities in this regard.

As the Embassy of Israel in Cyprus, we believe that these kinds of activities should always continue with the support of the Ministry of Education and we truly appreciate and cherish this cooperation.

It is also worth mentioning the role of the Ministry of Education, together with the Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, with regards to the adoption of the Working Definitions of “Antisemitism” and “Holocaust Denial and Distortion” by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance - IHRA​, as well as the successful efforts to join the organization as an observer state.

This year we have witnessed in Cyprus, for the first time, an extensive wave of vocalization, on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day - January 27th. Starting from the illumination of the Cyprus Parliament and the MFA buildings with the #WeRemember phrase, the announcements by H.E. the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Ministers, Parliament Members and other officials, to the statements by Cypriot citizens, as well as many other manifestations. All these are proof that the efforts for acknowledging the importance of understanding and remembering the Holocaust have borne fruit. We see this trend as important as encouraging its continuation.

Closing, I would like to thank:

Your Excellency, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, Mr. Prodromos Prodromou

Direct

or of Secondary Education, Dr Kyprianos

Louis

Secondary Education Inspector and coordinator of the Holocaust program, Dr Tonia Loizou

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And of course, a big thank you to YOU, the students who made the effort and met the challenge to study this topic. 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘈𝘙𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘍𝘜𝘛𝘜𝘙𝘌 𝘊𝘐𝘛𝘐𝘡𝘌𝘕𝘚 𝘖𝘍 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘞𝘖𝘙𝘓𝘋, 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘏𝘈𝘝𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘙𝘌𝘚𝘗𝘖𝘕𝘚𝘐𝘉𝘐𝘓𝘐𝘛𝘠, 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘊𝘈𝘕 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘚𝘏𝘖𝘜𝘓𝘋 𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘋𝘐𝘍𝘍𝘌𝘙𝘌𝘕𝘊𝘌.

Finally, I would also like to thank the teachers for guiding the students, as well as their families for supporting them.

Wishing you all KALO KALOKERI!"