The unveiling of the sculpture "Arkontissa tis Sotiras" was performed on Friday, November 11, 2016 by the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, who represented the President of the Republic of Cyprus Mr. Nikos Anastasiadis due to his absence in Mont Pelerani, Switzerland for for the Cyprus issue.
The President of the Republic, Nikos Anastasiadis, expressed the gratitude of the state for the national and social contribution of the women of Sotira to the place and the society.
In a speech read by the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Nikos Kougialis at the unveiling of the monument "Arkondissa of the Savior", located in front of the Municipal Palace of the Savior, the PD stated that "women in Cyprus and especially in the countryside he was a person with a multidimensional and important role in the family, in agriculture, in the community, in rural development, in the protection of the environment, in the preservation of our traditional heritage and in our society in general ".
He added that "the initiative of creating the monument for" Arkondissa tis Sotiras "honors the woman, the mother and the farmer Sotirkatissa" while giving "congratulations to the Municipality of Sotiras that proceeded with the implementation of the project. "This action is part of a series of pioneering actions and a number of projects that have been carried out since Sotira was transformed into a Municipality in recent years," he said.
In his own speech, Mayor Sotiras Georgios Takkas stated that "Sotira honors the woman, every woman whose face reflects all the glorious struggles of the Municipality, our history, traditions and culture, to the mother who with pain and affection she raised her children, to every woman of the peasantry and the laborer. To every woman of the Savior who with dignity preserved the values and ideals of our nation and place, this woman who in our eyes is elevated to a heroine, to an insurmountable form of humanity, to a true noblewoman ".
He added that "the event and the monument are the culmination of the efforts made by our Municipality for the protection and promotion of cultural heritage monuments and the creation of reference points in our Municipality with new monuments which will honor prominent personalities and figures, while highlighting the story of the Savior ”.
The Metropolitan of Constantia, Famagusta Vassilios, in his greeting stated that "at the national level, the mother was the leader in the games and beyond the fighters, the mother is the one who supported the whole fight behind and in front of the stage for the success of any race".
He added that "the mother went to the fields to work because she had to contribute to the family to raise and raise the children, while the role that the mother plays in the structure and existence of a healthy society in which we live, is very big. . "The sculpture for" Arkondissa tis Sotiras "is an honor and a sample of recognition of this contribution of the mother to the whole of society in all areas of our lives."
Besides, the sculptor Filippos Giapanis, presenting the reasoning and the artistic philosophy of the creation of the sculpture, said that when the idea came to the table he wanted to give "the soul of the people of the area, especially the soul of the people of Sotira and especially the peasant mother. "The mother is the most important element in human life and society evolves when the manades are right and most women farmers have been and will always be right."
The specific monument, he continued "is dedicated to all the peasant women of our country and especially to the noblewoman of the Savior whom we want to highlight the greatness of her soul".
Mayor Sotiras handed over to the Minister of Agriculture a small model of the sculpture "the Lady of the Savior" to present it to the President of the Republic who due to the contacts over the Cyprus issue in Mont Peléran, Switzerland, was unable to attend to perform the unveiling.
The event was attended by MPs from the province of Famagusta, the Secretary of the Council of Ministers Theodosis Tsiolas, military and police authorities of the region and many people. The program of the event was presented by the journalist Gabriela Zartila, while a poem was read by the student Andri Ttigou. Songs were heard from the Famagusta Music School.
The speech of the President of the Republic (the speech was delivered by the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Mr. Nikos Kougialis):
Today we honor the Savior's wife. The loving woman, the hardworking farmer, the mother of struggle and family. The mistress of the Savior.
Women in our country and especially in the countryside, have always been a person with a multidimensional and important role in the family, in agriculture, in the community, in rural development, in the protection of the environment, in the preservation of our traditional heritage and in our society in general. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the woman was the heart of the countryside, keeping alive the countryside, the tradition and the continuity of our society.
Today we are unveiling the monument of "Lady Sotirkatissa" and we honor not only the woman of our long history and tradition but also the grandmother, the mother, the wife who as an invisible hero, continues her struggle today by delivering what she knows to children and to her grandchildren.
Before I go on, let me convey to you the warm greetings and wishes of the President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Anastasiadis, who, as you know, due to his important mission to Mont Peléran for the crucial talks on the Cyprus issue, is not here, in this the moving event, as was his wish. I would also like to express, on behalf of the State, gratitude for the national and social contribution of the women of the Savior to our place and society.
The initiative of creating the monument for the Lady Sotirkatissa, honors the woman, the mother and the peasant Sotirkatissa and deserve congratulations to the Municipality of Sotiras that proceeded with the implementation of the project. This action is part of a series of pioneering actions and a number of projects that have been carried out since Sotira was transformed into a Municipality in recent years.
As a Government, we express great satisfaction for the development and progress that has been made recently in the Municipality of Sotira, which concerns a series of projects that have either been completed or are underway to be executed, such as:
• The improvement of the beaches (cost € 763.000),
• The improvement of the Municipal Stadium (cost € 1.102.000),
• The construction of a new cemetery (cost € 950.000),
• The construction of the road Sotiras - Frenarous (cost 1m euros),
• The Paving of the south side of the interurban Highway (cost 1m euros),
• The Sewerage of the Municipality of Sotira (cost 5,2 million euros),
• The Sewerage Project of the coastal area Sotira (cost € 3.725.000)
• The Bicycle Road from Paralimni to Agia Thekla (cost 5m euros)
At the same time, special mention should be made for the registration of the traditional product of Sotira, the colossus-Sotira colossus in the register of designations of origin and protected geographical areas of the European Union and the conversion of the Kolokassi Festival from a local to a pan-Cypriot institution. Everyone can understand the positive effects that the guarantee will have for the development of the rural economy not only of Sotira but of the wider region, especially in terms of supporting new small and medium enterprises, creating employment prospects and improving living conditions in rural areas.
Dear friends
Let the monument of Archontissa Sotirkatissa function as a trigger for reflection, dialogue and more intensive mobilization to help the role of woman, mother and worker. Especially today, when the rapid change of economic and social upheavals, transform the role it is called to play.
The traditional and largely stereotypical roles of the mother woman now belong to other eras. The goal of every modern state is the empowerment of women to play, equally and in every field, the roles she chooses. Instead of the dilemma of career or family, choose career and family.
The modern Cypriot woman has clearly demonstrated her willingness and ability to continue playing her role, despite the new, multiple and adverse demands. We recognize that modern social pressures, changes in lifestyles and social patterns, create problems and rifts in traditional balances, while at the same time, multiplying the needs of the modern family. This is the reason why the state must protect and support modern women to function equally and without discrimination in the economic, social and political life of the country.
Recognizing these new realities, the Anastasiadis Government promotes more drastic measures and policies through the New Strategic Action Plan for Equality 2014-17. The main pillars of the program are:
• increasing women's participation in the public,
• promoting equality at work and in education,
• women's participation in politics,
• as well as the top issue, tackling violence against women.
In this context, the Government decided to proceed with the signing of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, which is the first international treaty to cover areas prevention, protection of victims and prosecution of perpetrators of all forms of violence against women, including physical, psychological, sexual, financial violence, harassment, forced marriage, female genital mutilation and forced abortion and sterilization.
At the same time, as a Government we have accelerated the adoption of a number of measures, including the quota, for the participation of women in decision-making centers and in politics. With regard to social policy issues, the need to empower women and to facilitate the harmonization of work and family life is a constant pursuit.
The woman with the undeclared work at home, the endless hours of care for the children and the elderly of the family, with her unpaid work in the fields and in the family micro-enterprises, becomes a model of offer which should be recognized. We are determined to break down prejudice and obstacles, shielding social justice by providing, not in words, but in actions, equal rights and equal opportunities.
On the occasion of today's event, the State finds the opportunity to recognize and honor the daily struggle of the women of Cyprus for their enormous contribution to society and to the homeland.
For their invaluable and multidimensional contribution to all the historical moments that our long-suffering island lived. The woman of Cyprus is the one who gave birth to fighters, who nurtured young people who, when necessary, offered their blood on the altar of the homeland. She is the woman who starred in the spiritual, professional, scientific and general social arena.
To this mother, the farmer, the worker, the employee and entrepreneur, the fighter of all walks of life, we owe daily respect and gratitude. We externalize our strongest emotions through the monument of Lady Sotirkatissa that we are revealing today, with joy and emotion.
This sculpture was created by the famous and distinguished Cypriot sculptor, Filippo Giapanis, whom we congratulate for his excellent work and thank him. We owe congratulations and thanks to the Mayor and the Municipal Council, but also to Mr. Kikis Konstantinou for his contribution to the execution of the monument. Of the monument that from now on will be a point of reference, which highlights the wife of the Savior, the woman, the mother, the working woman of our place.
Revealing this work, we must accept that as a society of Cyprus we owe to this woman, much more than a monument.
Speech by Mayor Sotiras, Mr. Georgios Takkas:
The Savior honors the woman tonight. Every woman whose face reflects all the glorious struggles of our Municipality, our history, traditions and culture, to the mother who with pain and affection raised her children, to every woman of the peasantry and the worker. To every woman of the Savior who with dignity preserved the values and ideals of our nation and place. This woman who in our eyes is elevated to a heroine, to an insurmountable form of humanity, to a true noblewoman.
So, today we honor the Lady of the Savior. The woman Sotirkatissa who, despite her humble origin, is transformed into an Archontissa and who today we honor with this artistic creation of the sculptor Filippos Giapanis.
Tonight's event and the present monument, are the culmination of the efforts made by our Municipality for the protection and promotion of cultural heritage monuments but also the creation of reference points in our Municipality with new monuments that will honor prominent personalities and figures, while highlighting the story of the Savior.
The glorious history of our community is full of heroic personalities who contributed to the defense of the homeland, people who fought with heroic self-sacrifice in our national struggles, volunteers who selflessly went to the vanguard of the battles of the Second World War. in the preservation of our Christian identity but also of our Greek nationality.
Tonight's ceremony and each unveiling ceremony of a new monument that honors and highlights the story of the Savior, with the aim of preserving and further promoting it, is a minimal retribution, and a minimal tribute to the heroes and prominent people of our community.
We created a new monument of the fallen and missing of our Municipality, for the rendering of the proper splendor and honor to our heroes with the corresponding regeneration of the surrounding area.
At the same time, we supported the Church of the Savior in the research program of the University of Cyprus and the Department of Antiquities for the study of the Holy Temple of the Transfiguration of the Savior, we contributed with the initiative to write a book about the family tree of the Savior, while our efforts were significant. promotion of our cultural events.
Minister, ladies and gentlemen,
Sotira, in addition to its history, has associated its name with our local product. The efforts and contribution of the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment were important, who honors us tonight with his presence, with the certification of the colocasia file as a Product with a Certified Designation of Origin, which is the first pan-Cypriot product with a Protected Name Origin and the third Cypriot product registered in the European Union. This certification and the whole promotion of Kolokasios Sotiras led to the recognition of the image of the Municipality of Sotiras.
Our efforts to promote the Savior have brought about a change in the image of the Savior. We invested in our rich culture, we focused on the promotion of our agricultural products, while we created projects on the coastal front that brought income which were then invested for development projects in the residential area of Sotira.
Of great importance is the start of the planning of the regeneration of the entire coastal area of Sotira, where we utilized our natural beauty and focused on the sustainable development of the area with projects that will bring rational tourism development with venues, access to beaches and luxury five-star tourist units, which will open hundreds of jobs to citizens of the Savior.
At the same time, the design of the central core and the square of Sotira was prepared for the first time, a project for which funding from the European Funds is claimed and will turn the center of Sotira into a welcoming square for each visitor, with traffic regulation, creation of sidewalks, creation of parking lots and event spaces, but also the encouragement of creation of dining and entertainment spaces.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Tonight's event is an indication that as a Municipal Council we focused on substantive projects that will turn Sotira into a profitable Municipality with surplus bills, taking advantage of our coastal front and our natural beauties. On the other hand, emphasis was placed on the promotion of our culture and monuments, the encouragement of young people with their participation in the public, the creation of quality cultural events, actions which aimed to stimulate a sense of pride for every citizen and resident Savior.
Tonight's modest ceremony honors every woman but also every one of us, who have the honor of living in a state favored and full of natural beauties, with wonderful people.
In closing, I would like to thank His Excellency the President of the Republic of Cyprus, who due to the important developments in Switzerland on the Cyprus issue, was not able to attend tonight's event.
We thank the Minister of Agriculture who represents Mr. Anastasiadis and has proved in practice that he is always on the side of the Savior.
I have to congratulate the Culture Committee for organizing tonight's event and our thanks to three people who contributed to the creation of this sculpture, the sculptor Filippos Giapanis, the visual artist Sergios Sergios and the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of Sybotiki Napas, Mr. Kiki Konstantinou who contributed with his ideas to the design of the monument.
Thank you.
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