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Speech by the President of the Republic of Cyprus Mr Tassos Papadopoulos,
at the ceremony awarding the Great Cross of the Order of Makarios III to the
Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, Professor Barry Bloom

(Presidential Palace, March 20, 2007)


By awarding today the Great Cross of the Order of Archbishop Makarios III, to Professor Barry Bloom, Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, the Government and the people of Cyprus fulfill a moral obligation towards a world-renowned personality, a scientist of international standing who played a leading role in undertaking and successfully completing an initiative on the environment and public health, an initiative jointly by the Republic of Cyprus and the Harvard School of Public Health.

I had the honour and joy to sign together with Professor Bloom the relevant agreement, on June 1st 2004. At the same time, I had the honour and joy to meet and talk with this outstanding man and academic, who is internationally known for his scientific competence and ethos as well as for his creative passion and devotion in protecting the environment and promoting public health.

Professor Barry Bloom and the Harvard School of Public Health have from the very first moment embraced and supported the aim of the Republic of Cyprus to turn the island into a regional research centre on environmental and public health issues. The result of this ambitious effort and initiative was the establishment of the Cyprus International Institute for the Environment and Public Health in association with the Harvard School of Public Health. The School's Dean Professor Barry Bloom made a great contribution to the success of this effort and initiative. We are grateful to him for his contribution.

The Cyprus International Institute for the Environment and Public Health, under the excellent guidance of Mr Philippos Democretou, is today a living reality and a hopeful prospect. The Institute will soon move from its current premises to the area where the Scientific Technological Park is being developed. In the course of a recent meeting I had with the Cyprus International Institute and all the services involved, decisions were taken and instructions were given for the solution of all the procedural difficulties that arose and for speeding up the design and construction of the new and contemporary building of the Institute. Our aim was, and remains to turn the Institute into a pioneering academic and research Center, which will safeguard the environment and promote public health, not only for the sake of our own people, but also for the peoples of neighbouring countries. It is our belief that the decisive actions we take will encourage Cypriot sponsors to financially support the Institute, while at the same time we hope to get support from relevant funds that the European Union has earmarked for Research Centers of this kind.

The issues that concern the environment and public health have neither geographical boundaries nor time limits. They are issues that concern all of us and are valid for life. They are issues that affect our life itself and our culture. They are issues that demand universal awareness and collective effort. The Cyprus International Institute is enlisted in the effort to increase this awareness and render this effort successful. By setting specific and attainable targets, by planning carefully its activities and by taking the right initiatives, we hope that the Institute will attract the interest and financial support of Cypriot sponsors.

In Professor Barry Bloom's CV, one can find a plethora of titles, international recognitions and his scientific work. Today, another honorary distinction is added, coming from a small country, Cyprus which knows how to thank and honour people who have helped her through their interest and contribution. A country which knows how to overcome the pain caused by its national tragedy and the continuing occupation of part of its territory, so as to achieve a better quality of life for all its people and a better future for the generations to come, both in Cyprus and our wider geographical region.

The Great Cross awarded today to Professor Barry Bloom reflects the appreciation and grateful thanks of the Government and the people of Cyprus to this great man and distinguished scientist.

I wish Mr B. Bloom good health and personal happiness and I hope that, among the numerous international honours that he has deservedly gained, he will remember this honour that small Cyprus, which has the foresight to give priority to research, awards an internationally recognized scientist who has proven that he shares the vision for Cyprus to become a research center, in the fields to which he has dedicated his scientific work.

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