The newspaper "Bulletin of Cyprus" in 2007 is not just pages with news and articles. At that time, she became a community of enthusiastic people, capable of solving the real problems of readers and changing life for the better. All employees were involved in public work, they also became the founders of the new public organization. In 2007, we created an association of Russian -speaking residents of Cyprus “Horizon” to help our readers not only in a word, but also with business.
Birth of the "horizon": from the problem to solving
The Horizon association appeared for a reason. In 2004, after the entry of Cyprus in the EU, hundreds of Russians received a residence permit in which it was written that he was the last and would not be renewed (Final Non-Reewable Residence Permit). The reason was the decision of the director of the Migration Department of Anna Shakali that people who lived for more than 5 years on the island should leave him, since otherwise they would be under the scope of new European rules. Such people of Cyprus, who had just joined the European Union, should have issued a permanent residence permit. Our readers were in shock, receiving such letters. But what about business, work? What to do with real estate? But what about the children in schools, even though the academic year needs to be finished? There were many questions.
The newspaper "Vestnik Cyprus" then was not enough authority to solve such problems directly with the authorities. When we treated uncomfortable questions, we were answered "no comments for the press." That is why there was a need to create a separate public organization that could speak on behalf of the entire community of Russian -speaking residents.
The power of personal connections and trust
We were lucky that at that moment real like -minded people and understanding officials, such as the Minister of Internal Affairs, Nebokolis Siliciotis, were nearby. He took responsibility and resolved difficult issues quickly and essentially.
The acquired image of the newspaper and the personal ties of the publishers came in handy for the new association and when the wives of Cypriots began to refuse to obtain citizenship, since it was missed for several days when extending the residence permit. Siliciotis and this issue took on personal control. The Horizon Association has become a kind of bridge between Russian -speaking residents and the government, people came to us with personal problems, and we gave them to the minister directly. We created and implemented in practice the concept of cooperation and joint work with other organizations. The forces of the Horizon association prepared a “general concept of the activities of Russian compatriots”, we established ties between all Russian -speaking organizations of the country, issued general brochures, telling about their work, and conducted joint events.
In 2023, closing the Horizon association, we understood that over 16 years of work, Igor Alekseevich Nosonov and I did everything possible to help people and create a living and friendly Russian -speaking community on the island. And this will forever remain an important part of the story of the “Herald of Cyprus” and my personal history too.
Ideland - island of childhood and happiness
Когда подросли мои дети, я столкнулась с новой проблемой: на Кипре катастрофически не хватало детских праздников и мероприятий. Ходить с детьми в принципе было некуда: на всех детских площадках мы побывали уже по десятому кругу. I decided to get down to business myself. И летом 2007 года был организован Международный детский фестиваль IdeaLand, в котором уже в первый год приняли участие 3 500 человек 30 национальностей. All participating children lived in Cyprus. Всё было бесплатно – в рамках фестиваля мы организовали десятки концертов, выставки, спектакли, соревнования и детские развлечения. This was the first children's holiday in the history of the island of this scale. Мы проводили его десять лет подряд, пока у меня были силы, время, деньги и желание. Потом свои дети выросли, стимул исчез, и я с удовольствием подарила бы кому-то эту идею и налаженный механизм организации, но за такой масштабный дорогостоящий проект никто, кроме «Вестника Кипра», браться не решался. Then we marked The tenth anniversary of the festival and ended this stage of our lives.
Team and scale of work
By that time, 30 full-time employees and the same number of deserts, translators, authors and freelancers had already worked in the Vestnik Cyprus. Under the newspaper, the “telephone reference service” began: you could call and ask almost any question. The newspaper, magazines, holidays, regular meetings with officials, Russian Help Line (telephone reference and information service)-all this worked thanks to people who believed in our common cause and put their strength and soul into it.
Natalia Kardash
(Fragment from the book “20 years in Cyprus - in the center of events”, published in 2019)
This article is part of a series of articles about the history of the "Herald of Cyprus" dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the newspaper. Read other materials by tag#History of the Herald of Cyprus and by links:
How in 30 years the "Bulletin of Cyprus" has influenced the life of Russian -speaking people
1995. Advertising booklet, which accidentally became the beginning of a new era
1996. The newspaper comes to life: the first headings, the first letters of readers
1997. They came here, "to talk in Russian"
1998. "Bulletin of Cyprus" - almost "Literary Gazeta"
1999. "Bulletin of Cyprus" united lovers of books and films
2000. Library "Vestnik Cyprus" and the first KVN
2001. Change of team: a new stage in the history of the newspaper
2002. Seven employees and a thousand guests
2003. Sturrent period: magazines, courses, reference books
2004. The largest regional media holding
2005. The anniversary year and the emergence of multinational holidays
2006. The editors received up to 500 visitors per week
