Mayor of Lefkara: Appeal for support of Lefkarite embroidery

An appeal to the Government and the state to support the cultural heritage of the Municipality, i.e. architecture, silversmithing and Lefkarite embroidery, was addressed by the Mayor of Lefkare, Sophocles Sofokleous, noting that Lefkarite embroidery has been standardized and certified. He invited people who have kept Leukarite embroidery at home to bring it to the Leukarite Embroidery Certification Center to get official certification that it is authentic Leukarite embroidery.

As Mr. Sophokleous said at KYPE, "the cultural creation and heritage of the Lefkaras must not only be kept alive, but strengthened in order to pass it on as we found it from our ancestors, to the next generations. We borrowed our local culture from previous generations and our goal is to develop it and pass it on to our children and grandchildren who in turn will pass it on to their own children."

He added that "the three important aspects of the unique culture of Lefkare are our architectural treasure that is unique in the country, silversmithing with the well-known tobacco products and the greatest trademark that exists in our country, the Lefkarite embroidery. The Government must support in every direction these great unique treasures of Lefkara" since as he explained "it is not enough to say that we have an architectural wealth unique in the country".

Answering a related question, Mr. Sophokleous said that "today in Lefkara there are 555 houses that are preserved, while another 35 are monuments. The Government as well as the local authority must and must deal with the issue of dangerous buildings, an issue that needs a holistic approach".

Our goal, he continued, "is to keep our architectural heritage on the one hand and on the other to simplify incentives, which will give the citizens, the Municipality and the Services the opportunity to support and not demolish this uniqueness".

With regard to silversmithing, the Mayor of Lefkaron said that "the tobacco rings and other handmade jewelry that have been manufactured for decades, thanks to the previous generations, are unfortunately in decline. The time has now come to motivate and support this uniqueness called Lefkara silversmithing since there are no more craftsmen to continue the art" he said and noted that "the Government and the state in general must listen to the request of decades and support the silversmiths us".

Regarding Leukarite embroidery, Mr. Sophokleus said that "what foreign policy often fails to do, was accomplished to a very small extent with Leukarite embroidery, which traveled to all the countries of the world and entered many homes even of people who determine the destinies and policies of states. The Lefkarite embroidery is the most important thing that exists in Cyprus in terms of art".

He also noted "a decades-long collective effort by all the Mayors from all the Municipal Councils, was implemented after we managed in the last months to standardize and certify the Lefkarite embroidery. In practice, this means that a surplus value was given to Leukarite embroidery, it is protected from unfair competition, the work of the goldsmith woman is recognized and every buyer can be given the opportunity and possibility to be sure that they are buying genuine Leukarite embroidery".

After saying that "this effort was persistent and painstaking" he noted that "it is essentially the first project in Cyprus to be recognized, standardized and certified. A standardized and certified Lefkarite embroidery was given to the President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakelaropoulou, another to the Minister of the Interior Nikos Nouris and one more was recently given to the Minister of Trade and Industry Natasa Pileidou during the 40th Lefkare Festival".

To another question, Mr. Sophokleous replied that "we ask and would like the state and the state to offer Leukarite embroidery as gifts to the various officials of foreign countries who visit Cyprus, so that Leukarite embroidery will be highlighted as the main representative of embroidery of Cyprus".

In consultation with the Director of the Certification Center, we will launch within the next few months a major campaign, during which certified Leukarite embroidery will be symbolically given as gifts to the President of the Republic, party leaders and other state officials, he added.

Mr. Sophokleous called on "all Cypriot citizens who have Lefkarite embroidery stored in their cupboards to take them to the Lefkarite Embroidery Certification Center to get an official stamp and official certification that it is authentic Lefkarite embroidery. I believe that this will be the beginning of the increase in the trade of embroidery, but at the same time it will be an effort to give incentives to young girls to keep alive this cultural heritage, of the Leukarite embroidery".

The Mayor of Lefkaron "warmly thanked all the collaborators, the women who participated in this long process of identification, standardization and certification of the Lefkarite embroidery, the Minister of Trade, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism and all the organized groups that recorded this specific embroidery in every detail" .

Source: KYPE