Cyprus Colloquium - Open Email to Organisers

Hello all,

This message is to thank you for all the hard work which you (and others) have put into making the Cyprus Colloquium a reality and also for your wonderful hospitality to us all, which made it feel more like a family gathering than a conference.

It is quite a time-consuming task to produce computer files of ALL the day's event, but that has now been completed, as also the editing and uploading of a first video from the Cyprus Colloquium. A new page has been created on my own website to "embed" this one video (which also shows others that this video material could also be made available from the pages of other websites by that embedding process).

So we begin with the Plenary Session first, with video of other sessions to be added later subject to confirmation that people do indeed wish their work made available in this manner.

The location of the MAIN Cyprus Colloquium page is:
http://aspects.duckdns.org/cyprus/090508_Colloquium/info.htm

The location of the video for the PLENARY SESSION is:
http://aspects.duckdns.org/cyprus/090508_Colloquium/video_session_4_plenary.htm

I would like to take this opportunity to say that my own 'active' involvement with Cypriot-related activities stretches back to the mid 1980's when I was an active participant at Theatro Technis, where I operated the video workshop (among other tasks). My motivation has at all times, then and subsequently, been to contribute to the creation of Cyprus-related video material IN ENGLISH (primarily) about the Cyprus Problem -- in order to combat the scarce coverage of 'our issues' by the mainstream press and media.

FYI: There is no longer a family connection with it, but the Cyprus Weekly (English language newspaper in Cyprus) was created (with others) by my uncle Alex Efty, and he remained an active contributor to it in his many years of effort to enlighten the 'outside' world about the Cyprus problem (also including 50+ years as an Associated Press Correspondent for the Middle East, until his retirement a couple of years ago).

With his retirement, I feel it has fallen to me to continue a family tradition of 'activism' on matters Cypriot.

My own perspective has always been a Cypriot-related one (and while I recognise and respect the existence of the Greek/Hellenic and Turkish perspectives) I have always defined myself, and still do, as a CYPRIOT first, and a (something else) second (though I was born and grew up in Kyrenia in Cyprus before leaving to study in the UK, I happen to be three quarter Russian, and one quarter Greek).

I will remind us all of the comments by Kyriacos Tsioupras during the Plenary Session of the Cyprus Colloquium about the importance of "The Media" in efforts to 'break the Cyprus deadlock' and point out that my own efforts are made as my own (relatively small) contribution in that sphere of activities.

Such activities as I AM able to undertake are intended as a catalyst to encourage OTHERS (and particularly academics in educational institutions who have the resources) to make their OWN material AVAILABLE and ACCESSIBLE.

Should participants wish to follow up on the suggestions made regarding a "web-presence" for the Cyprus Colloquium (Facebook, a web-log, and Flickr were among the possibilities mentioned) then I would suggest that an excellent networking activity is available via http://www.ning.com and I would be pleased to set up a Cyprus Colloquium site there which would provide group email facilities, and an activity which everyone can contribute to, offering ability to make comments, add photos, add videos and add many other 'widget' features which are the 'new thing' in Web 2.0 development. People would have to create themselves an "Identity" at Ning dot com in order to contribute, and the facility can be made available to 'members only' (in order to remain a closed group of immediately active participants), or can be left visible to the whole world.

Individual responses by email regarding whether we should release additional video material of other contributions to the Colloquium (as with the Plenary Video) are awaited, as also on whether participants would wish a facility created (at Ning.com).

PS: For those who do have a Facebook, I can be added to your own contact list by searching for me with this email address, and anyone who does not already have a Facebook -- I will be happy to send them an invite to join if they request this by email to me, though as explained above, I would rather recommend Ning dot com than Facebook.