LOVE CYPRUS: The awards ceremony and the contest winners (pics)

The awards ceremony for the Yianis Christodoulou Foundation’s LOVE CYPRUS 2023 competition has taken place with great success and in the presence of important personalities from Cyprus and Monaco.

The event was held at Monte Caputo in Limassol on Monday night as the culmination of an new initiative by the Yianis Christodoulou Foundation to promote creativity among pupils towards upgrading their schools with prizes totalling €180,000.

The LOVE CYPRUS 2023 competition surpassed all expectations with close to 200 schools from around Cyprus submitting more than 600 works, the majority of which were considered noteworthy. The judges had their work cut out for them when it came to choosing the winning entries. Eight prizes were awarded in two categories (photography and video).

The jury comprised of Christodoulou, Marianna Latsi, Christian Moore, and Anna Vissi.

The winners in the photography category were:

First prize of €50,000: Primary School of Forest Achna "Fotis Pittas"

Second prize of €25,000: Agia Paraskevi Geroskipou Gymnasium

Third prize of €10,000: Polis Chrysochous Gymnasium

Fourth prize of €5,000: Primary School of Athienou K.A'

The winners in the video category were:

First prize of €50,000: Kokkinotrimithia Regional Gymnasium

Second prize of €25,000: Lanitio Lyceum

Third prize of €10,000: Technical School ‘TESEK’ Famagusta-Avgorou

Fourth prize of €5,000: Primary School of Argaka

The prize money will be used to fund school projects in Cyprus, including school infrastructure, renovations, and the purchase of equipment. The schools will submit proposals on how to use the prizes along with their entries, which will initially be assessed by a committee including the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Sport & Youth, the Department of Primary Education, and local School Boards. The Yianis Foundation will then review the projects for final approval.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, John Christodoulou underlined that the most important chapter for our country is our children. He expressed faith in their talent and called on them to continue to work hard, to aim high, and to have vision, adding that their future is in their hands.

It is worth noting that John Christodoulou is also considering other activities in cooperation with the state and other bodies, for the further use of the competition entries.

Distinguished guests

The invitation-only awards ceremony took place in the presence of over 40 very special guests from Monaco, who also enjoyed seeing acclaimed singer Konstantinos Argiros perform a number of his hits. Acclaimed singer Anna Vissi, one of the special guests, also joined him on stage.

Father and son Demi and Michalakis 'Lagi' Andreas Demetriou, who created the highly-popular ‘Stavros Flatley’ act which saw them take fourth place in 2009’s edition of popular talent show ‘Britain’s Got Talent' also performed.

First Lady Philippa Karsera Christodoulides, state dignitaries, government ministers, ambassadors, and members of the local business elite as well as other popular personalities were in attendance.