May 2007

To celebrate 50 years of involvement in education on the island of Cyprus, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) marked the occasion with a Golden Jubilee celebration and special awards presentation.

Every year LCCI qualifications, taken in over 100 countries, acknowledge exceptional achievers by the award of gold and silver medallions.  These are presented to candidates who score highest in the most popular LCCI qualifications in individual countries or in some cases worldwide, and are also recognition of the excellence of the training centres who prepare these candidates.

LCCI qualifications have been hugely popular during their time in Cyprus, with the award of over 50,000 qualifications in the last five years alone, and the occasion was marked by a ceremony at the Hilton Park Hotel on Friday 11th May.

Unusually bad weather didn’t prevent teachers and students attending the celebrations, and joining them to help honour the jubilee was Peter Millett, British High Commissioner, who addressed the audience stressing that Education was at the heart of the relationship between Cyprus and the UK. He said “LCCI’s presence is to provide opportunities for Cypriots to have access to UK education and qualifications.  It is an example of the very best in the UK/Cyprus relationship”.   Also at the ceremony were Nigel Snook (Chief Executive of the awarding body -responsible for the jubilee-), Mr. Richard Walker (Director of the British Council) and Mrs. Koulla Afrodisi  (representative of the Cypriot Ministry of Education)

Mr Snook pledged that LCCI will continue to serve Cypriot learners by continuing to pursue beneficial accreditations, to ensure that quality standards remain high and to improve delivery through the use of technology. He then paid tribute to the training centres and surprised the audience by announcing that to mark 50 years on the island, LCCI were honouring the individuals who have made the years so successful by admitting them to the Fellowship of LCCI International Qualifications.  These fellows were George Tsouris, Takis Manolis, Pantelis Stylianades, Andreas Neofytou, Eugene Kolarides and finally Oriana Smyrniou; in honour of both her continuing work with LCCI and also that of her father, Nicos Smyrnios, one of the true pioneers of introducing new LCCI qualifications in Cyprus. The Fellows were delighted with the honour and Mr Snook commented; “Meeting and rewarding such talented students and dedicated tutors is the most rewarding part of working in education.”

The High Commissioner joined Mr Snook, in awarding 13 country gold medallions and 13 silver medals for excellence in financial and secretarial qualifications.  In addition to this 8 World Silver medallions were awarded.  Apt for a golden celebration, the jubilee was also marked by the award of a world gold medallion to Christos Theodoulou for the highest world score in the field of book keeping.

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