Careers

April on Netflix is not for fools

by
April on Netflix is not for fools

– Hans Zimmer is one of the best music composers in Hollywood with a career spanning over 40 years.
– The Matrix trilogy became a milestone for modern sci-fi films and launched the careers of the Wachowski sisters.
– Ripley is a series based on Patricia Highsmith’s novels starring Tom Ripley, with Andrew Scott in the lead role.
– Jimmy Carr’s new special on Netflix tackles topics like gun control, being cancelled, consent, and hecklers.
– Dead Boy Detectives is a new series by Neil Gaiman about two dead boys who solve crimes dealing with the supernatural.
– The Maze Runner trilogy is a successful Young Adult film series set in a dystopian future.
– Rebel Moon – Scargiver is the finale of Zack Snyder’s epic space saga.

Private education: rushing to meet growing demand

by
Private education: rushing to meet growing demand

English language schools in Cyprus are experiencing significant growth due to the influx of foreign companies and the arrival of families from regions experiencing conflict, such as Israel and Ukraine. This surge in demand has led to expansions and new school openings across the island, particularly in Limassol, which has seen a notable increase in students due to the Russian presence prior to the Ukrainian conflict. Both local and international families are seeking high-quality education with English as the medium of instruction, influenced by factors such as Cyprus’s EU membership, remote work opportunities, and regional conflicts. However, this growth is challenged by regulations on class sizes, bureaucratic delays, and difficulties in recruiting staff and obtaining work permits for prospective employees. Despite these challenges, the commitment to education remains strong among Cypriot families, who are willing to make financial sacrifices for their children’s education, viewing it as a crucial investment.

Shifting focus in higher education

by
Shifting focus in higher education

The number of EU students enrolling in British universities has significantly decreased by more than half since the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union in 2016, with notable declines from Italy, Germany, and France. This trend is also observed in Cyprus, where students are now considering universities in other countries. British passport holders and children of British passport holders residing in the EU can still apply for UK universities and receive home fees until January 1, 2028. Before Brexit, EU students paid just over £9,000 in home fees and had access to student finance, but now, with no loans available, tuition fees can rise to £38,000. Despite the increase in tuition fees, some UK universities still offer home fees or scholarships to reduce costs. Students from Cyprus are exploring universities in various countries, including the Netherlands, France, Ireland, Greece, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Canada, the USA, and Australia. There is also a noticeable increase in students applying to local private universities in Cyprus due to the variety of courses, scholarship opportunities, flexible entry requirements, and easy application processes. Students are increasingly pursuing courses that offer immediate employment opportunities, with a growing interest in fields such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, risk management, data analysis, art and design, real estate, business, economics/finance/accounting, law, medicine, engineering, psychology, and physiotherapy.

‘The Color Purple’ cast tops NAACP Image Awards

by
‘The Color Purple’ cast tops NAACP Image Awards

– Danielle Brooks did not win the Oscar for best supporting actress but won the NAACP Image award for outstanding motion picture with “The Color Purple” cast.
– Brooks expressed gratitude for the NAACP awards recognizing “The Color Purple” team with several nominations.
– The NAACP Image Awards are focused on Black actors and are organized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
– Fantasia Barrino won outstanding actress, and Taraji P. Henson won outstanding supporting actress at the NAACP Image Awards for their roles in “The Color Purple.”
– The original 1985 film adaptation of “The Color Purple” received controversy from Black-led organizations, including the NAACP, and did not win any of its eleven Oscar nominations.
– The 2023 musical adaptation of “The Color Purple” directed by Blitz Bazawule did not have any major cast members win an Oscar.
– Other NAACP Image Award winners include Amanda Gorman (chairman award), Usher (entertainer of the year), and Colman Domingo (outstanding actor).

Limassol, ’s Frederick University to host 2024 Youth Tech Fest

by
Limassol, ’s Frederick University to host 2024 Youth Tech Fest

Frederick University is co-organizing the second Youth Tech Fest Cyprus 2024, which will occur on April 20, 2024, from 9 am to 4:30 pm at the University’s Limassol campus. The festival aims to promote digital literacy and engage children and young people in ESTEAM fields (Entrepreneurship, Science, Technology, Art, and Mathematics) through a variety of activities, workshops, masterclasses, and shows in areas such as Robotics, Gaming, Woodworking, XR/VR, and science. The event includes a Girls Go Circular workshop for schoolgirls aged 14-19, focusing on digital skills and the circular economy, organized by Junior Achievement Cyprus and Frederick University. The festival also features a Youth Tech Summit for educational technology insights and best practices, an Open Competition for student projects, and an Award Ceremony. Admission to all festival activities is free.

We have made so many mistakes since the 1940s

by
We have made so many mistakes since the 1940s

Leontios Ierodiakonou, in his analysis of the Cyprus problem, highlights the decision-making failures of Cyprus’s first two presidents following the Turkish invasion. He attributes these failures to various factors, including fear of losing popularity, protecting political careers, and personal interests, which hindered the ability to make difficult but necessary decisions. This approach led to setting unattainable targets that ultimately benefited Turkey by perpetuating a stalemate and allowing the consolidation of the invasion’s outcomes. Ierodiakonou also revisits historical instances, such as Makarios’s rejection of constitutional revisions agreed upon with the Turkish Cypriots and Spyros Kyprianou’s rejection of international plans for settlement, to illustrate missed opportunities for resolving the Cyprus problem.

7 out of 10 single mums face survival issues in Cyprus, survey shows

by
7 out of 10 single mums face survival issues in Cyprus, survey shows

A survey conducted more than three years ago by the Ypatia Equality Foundation for the Justice Ministry in Cyprus, titled ‘The Financial Repercussions of Divorce’, revealed significant financial difficulties faced by single mothers in Cyprus. Key findings from the survey include:

– Approximately 70% of single parents, predominantly women, are struggling to manage additional bills, raise children, generate income, and service debt inherited from their former spouses.
– Over 50% of single parents live at or below the poverty line, facing social exclusion.
– One in three single parents lost their employment following divorce.
– Despite the survey’s findings being submitted to the United Nations, it has not been utilized by authorities to improve the situation.
– Only 60% of divorced women are employed full-time, with more than 30% of single parents being unemployed.
– Family and friends provide more support to divorced women than social protection services.
– One in two divorcees live under the poverty line, with an annual income of around 10,000 euros.
– Nearly 60% of divorced women encounter daily practical issues at work, negatively affecting their careers, with many forced to leave their jobs due to the inability to balance work and childcare.
– More than half of male divorcees face housing issues, losing the family home, while nearly 70% of single mothers struggle with house mortgage payments.
– Eight out of ten single mothers limit their social lives to essential activities related to their children.
– 50% of divorcees, both male and female, believe that courts should consider the reasons for debt accumulation during the division of debt between former spouses, highlighting the issue of single mothers inheriting significant loans.

Nearly half of Cyprus graduates over-skilled for their jobs

by
Nearly half of Cyprus graduates over-skilled for their jobs

– Approximately 46% of Cypriot graduates consider themselves overeducated for their jobs.
– A study by the department of higher education of the education ministry in Cyprus identified skills mismatch as a major concern.
– The study is part of a programme funded by the EU Recovery and Resilience Plan aimed at addressing skills mismatch between education and the labor market.
– Skills mismatch and overeducation are major challenges across Europe, not just in Cyprus.
– The study quotes the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) on the need to align individuals with appropriate skills to suitable jobs.
– Various types of skills mismatches include overeducation, undereducation, horizontal mismatch, over-skilling, and skills obsolescence.
– National data on the type and extent of skills mismatches in Cyprus are limited.
– The study aims to collect data on graduates’ pathways after higher education and the labor market’s needs for knowledge and skills.
– Undereducation is less of a problem, with a small percentage of graduates reporting lower education levels than required by their jobs (9% in 2016/17 and 8% in 2020/21).
– The field of natural sciences had the highest percentage of graduates reporting being undereducated (22%).
– The study also measured over-skilling and under-skilling, finding that graduates’ skill levels were significantly higher than required by their current jobs for almost all skills assessed.