President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides announced a new housing plan for mountainous regions, in his remarks at the Awards Ceremony for Outstanding Graduates from Mountain Communities, held at the Presidential Residence in Troodos.
During his speech, the President referred to the government’s new three-year program, which will cost over 3 million euros, through which, “the specific needs of the Mountain Communities falling under the National Strategy for the Development of Mountain Communities and the communities of the Tillyria region will be met.”
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Meanwhile, speaking about housing, the President noted that “we know very well that this is one of the most important issues concerning and troubling young men and women, as well as young families. From the very moment we took over the governance of the country, we announced more than ten housing programs, we have invested more than 300 million euros, and more than 5,500 new housing units are currently under construction and will be added to the market.”
He also referred to the two housing plans approved by the Cabinet on Thursday: One provides for the allocation of 570 state-owned plots at a price reduced by 75% of their value, and the second provides incentives for families to develop an existing home or plot of land, especially to meet the housing needs of members of the same family, regardless of whether the building density ratio has been exceeded.
“Today I would like to announce that in just a few days we will unveil yet another new housing plan, tailored to the specific needs of people in mountain communities. The plan was prepared by the Commissioner together with the Minister of the Interior after we first listened to all of you, because it is important that the plans we announce meet your own needs and expectations.”
He added, among other things, that there will soon be new announcements aimed at strengthening the welfare state.
At the same time, he emphasized that the goal for the next decade must be to double the population in the mountainous regions and communities of Tillyria.
“I’ve seen something, and I want us to set a goal together—the presidents of our communities are here as well—we have to tell it like it is, even if it doesn’t reflect particularly well on us—I saw 160 communities with 32,000 residents. We must set a goal for the next decade to increase the population in the mountainous regions and communities of Tillyria to 64,000. And this is a goal we will set together; we will work together, and rest assured that we will achieve it.”
The President’s remarks in their entirety
It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the Presidential Residence in Troodos, at an event dedicated to the young men and women of our mountain communities, to the new generation of our country, who represent the future not only of this beautiful mountainous region of Cyprus but of the entire country.
Allow me to begin by congratulating the students who are being honored today. Your success is the result of your own hard work, consistency, and perseverance. I would also like to congratulate your parents, your families, and your teachers, who have stood by you all these years and contributed to your success today.
Today’s event is part of HELLENiQ ENERGY’s “Empowering Youth” program, which has honored more than 5,700 top-performing graduates in Greece since 2009. Starting this year, we are particularly pleased that this successful program is being expanded to Cyprus, beginning with the top-performing graduates from our mountain communities.
The contributions made by HELLENiQ ENERGY and EKO to our mountain communities—and to our country as a whole—in recent years have been substantial and tangible. Through concrete actions, they demonstrate their corporate social responsibility and their contribution to society, playing a decisive role—and this is the fundamental goal of every initiative—in improving the daily lives of citizens.
With the new three-year program, which will cost over 3 million euros, the specific needs of the Mountain Communities covered by the National Strategy for the Development of Mountain Communities and the communities of the Tillyria region will be addressed.
And this substantial support will further contribute to improving the daily lives of citizens and creating even better prospects for the people living in our mountainous regions, always with a focus on the younger generation and the family.
More specifically, the financial assistance program for more than 200 young families in the Mountain Communities and the Tillyria region, as well as the provision of free breakfast to 660 children attending public preschools in these mountainous regions, are meaningful initiatives with a positive impact.
And these new programs announced today are in addition to the company’s existing, very important initiatives, such as, for example, “Warm Embrace,” through which EKO has been providing practical support to vulnerable social groups for the fourth consecutive year by covering the heating needs of 17 institutions in the Mountainous Communities.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude, on behalf of the government and the Cypriot people, as well as personally, to the CEO of HELLENiQ ENERGY, Mr. Andreas Siamis, and the CEO of EKO in Cyprus, Mr. George Grigoras, both for their generous support to date and for the new, very important initiatives they announced a short while ago—as well as, I am sure, all those that will be announced in the future.
I’ve seen something, and I want us to set a goal together—the presidents of our communities are here as well—we need to tell it like it is, though it doesn’t do us much credit—I saw 160 communities with 32,000 residents. We must set a goal for the next decade to increase the population in the mountainous areas and communities of Tillyria to 64,000. And this is a goal we will set together; we will work together, and rest assured that we will achieve it.
Today’s event—and I want to say more about EKO, hoping others will follow its example—marks a milestone in the company’s corporate responsibility and in the collaboration between the government and the private sector. EKO’s announcements confirm exactly how important it is to support actions and policies aimed at the well-being of citizens and the improvement of their daily lives.
The private sector’s contribution, which is crucial, complements the government’s efforts and helps meet the essential daily needs of thousands of people in hundreds of communities throughout free Cyprus.
This assistance is the contribution of socially conscious companies that demonstrate this commitment in practice and view their corporate responsibility not as an act of charity but as a value upon which the healthy and sustainablesustainable development of a successful organization and an entire society.
One such example is the “breakfast for all” initiative I mentioned earlier, an important initiative that we launched as a pilot program with the support of Allwyn to provide a free, healthy breakfast to children in public kindergartens. We started with a total of 3,600 children in kindergartens in Larnaca and the free area of Famagusta, and we will gradually expand the program to cover the whole of Cyprus. I am delighted that EKO is also supporting this effort and has decided to provide breakfast to 660 children attending public kindergartens in the mountainous regions. I thank them for this decision, and I am even more pleased because I know that many other organizations will be interested in further supporting this initiative.
Dear students, today’s event belongs to you. With the completion of your school journey, a new chapter begins for all of you. For some of you, higher education follows immediately; for others, military service comes first; and for still others, work begins. In any case, a new phase lies ahead of you, filled with new experiences, new opportunities, and new responsibilities.
As a nation, we know very well that we have an obligation to provide you with the tools and opportunities to reach as high as you can. And for us, education in particular is at the heart of this effort.
Specifically for our mountain communities, we have implemented a significant number of initiatives precisely because we view education as an investment in our country’s future. For example, among many other things, we have decided that the overwhelming majority of our schools in mountainous areas will operate on a full-day schedule to support children, parents, and communities.
In the same vein, we have made a policy decision to maintain elementary schools in remote communities, despite the very small number of students, as in the case of the Kampos Elementary School, which remained open even with just one student, precisely to send a message about the need to support our mountainous regions—and we have done the same for other communities.
At the same time, we have operated small specialized tracks in high schools with as few as two students, so that children in mountainous communities have, in practice, the same choices and the same educational opportunities, because, as a state, we have an obligation to offer our citizens equal opportunities in the areas of education, health, and the welfare state, regardless of where they choose to live.
Our investment in mountainous regions is not merely an accounting exercise; we view it as an investment in our country’s future, and this opportunity should be provided equally to every young man and woman.
I would like to take this opportunity today to address another issue of particular importance: housing, which is a major challenge in Cyprus, Greece, and throughout Europe. We know very well that this is one of the most important issues concerning and troubling young men and women, as well as young families. From the very moment we took over the governance of the country, we announced more than ten housing projects, we have invested more than 300 million euros, and more than 5,500 new housing units are currently under construction and will be added to the market.
Just last Thursday, the Cabinet approved two more housing projects. One provides for the transfer of 570 state-owned plots at a price reduced by 75% of their value, and the second provides incentives for families to develop an existing home or plot of land, especially to meet the housing needs of members of the same family, regardless of whether the building density limit has been exceeded.
Today I would like to announce that in just a few days we will unveil yet another new housing plan, tailored to the specific needs of people in mountain communities. The plan was prepared by the Commissioner together with the Minister of the Interior after we first listened to all of you, because it is important that the plans we announce meet your own needs and expectations.
We will soon have further announcements aimed at advancing the welfare state. Once again, we see the private sector eager to support this major effort.
And everything we are implementing, we are doing so thanks to the state’s financial capacity, thanks to our responsible economic policy that allows us to channel growth back into society—this is our political philosophy; this is our political doctrine—Social Liberalism—to give back to society, to invest in Education, in Health, and in the welfare state.
My dear students, I’ll conclude by addressing you. Be proud of what you’ve achieved. But do not forget that today’s graduation is the beginning, not the end, of your journey.
Study, gain knowledge and experience, travel, set high goals, and strive for what you want in life.
And I am certain that many of you will return to your communities. You’ll return with more knowledge, more experiences, and new ideas—to work in your communities, to build your families, and we know very well—and this is what we will do—that it is our responsibility to create all the necessary infrastructure to enable you to return and want to stay in your regions.
For us, that will be the true measure of our policy’s success—not merely keeping mountain communities alive, but seeing them grow with your generation taking the lead.
I congratulate you once again on your success and wish you every success in the new chapter that lies ahead.
