On 25 April 2018, the Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO co-organised an event, at the A.G. Leventis Gallery in Nicosia, on the topic of “Cultural Expressions and Pluralism: Aspects of Contemporary Creativity in Cyprus”, in the context of the UNESCO Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005).
During the event, the Director of Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education and Culture presented the context of contemporary cultural policy in Cyprus and the UNESCO Representative, Ms Melika Medici Caucino, referred to the Global Report 2018 Reshaping Cultural Policies for the implementation of the 2005 Convention, as well as to the challenges / opportunities for member states and civil society, as these are emerging in the context of this report. Furthermore, the publication entitled Cultural Expressions and Pluralism: Aspects of contemporary creativity in Cyprus was launched. The publication includes civil society best practices in Cyprus for the promotion of the objectives of the 2005 Convention, the respective cultural policy in Cyprus as well as the theoretical framework of the Convention and a reference to European programmes and actions relevant to the Convention’s principles and objectives.
The Minister of Education and Culture, Dr Kostas Champiaouris, stressed the importance of “ensuring diversity as a necessary condition for peaceful coexistence and sustainable development” and highlighted “the fundamental role of civil society in this process, as highlighted in the 2005 Convention. Within this scope, the Ministry of Education and Culture promotes programmes and activities that support the work of artists and creators”. The President of the Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO, Ms Loukia Loizou Hadjigavriel, referred, in her speech to the new reality of the digital era and the new opportunities that have been opened up with regards to the management and dissemination of cultural information, as well as “to the ways in which we collaborate with other museums, cultural foundations, research centers and organisations, for the development –in common- of new cultural products and services”.
On this occasion, a short video was created, presenting the key messages of the publication and the 2005 UNESCO Convention. The video is available through the following link: https://vimeo.com/266649334.
More information. e-publication and photographs: http://www.unesco.org.cy/Event-Cultural_Expressions_and_Pluralism_Aspects_of_Contemporary_Creativity_in_Cyprus,53,EN