NICOSIA -- The Cyprus EU Presidency during the second term of 2012 is being generally recognized as a successful one, Cyprus Minister of Education and Culture Giorgos Demosthenous said here today.

While taking stock of the results produced by his Ministry during the Presidency, Demosthenous said that Cyprus managed to gain the respect and appreciation of its European partners. “We managed to prove worthy of the expectations of even the most powerful EU member states” the Minister noted.

He added that the Ministry of Education was guided throughout the Presidency semester by the goals it has set from the beginning, including among others the excellent preparation and implementation of the Presidency program, the promotion of the work in education, along the advertisement of Cyprus tourism and hospitality.

Referring to the statistics, Demosthenous said that during the Presidency, 17 meetings and Councils took place in Cyprus, including two Informal Councils of Education and Culture Ministers. Moreover, the Presidency organized seven high level meetings, six meetings of experts, a youth meeting, a sports forum and a ministerial meeting in Oslo, Norway. In total, around 2,300 participants took part in the meetings, the Minister said.

He went on by saying that the culmination of the Education Ministry’s activities was the Council of EU Ministers, on November 26-27, which was held in Brussels.

The Ministry of Education was responsible in five areas of activity, including education, culture, youth, sports and the audiovisual sector. Concerning the first area, Demosthenous noted the important agreement concerning the Council Recommendation on the validation of non-formal and informal learning, a long-standing issue preoccupying member states.

Another priority area was the issue of literacy, and according to the Minister, the Council adopted Conclusions that may offer solutions to existing problems though quality education.

Demosthenous elaborated further on the results of the Cyprus Presidency concerning youth and the area of culture. In the audiovisual sector, the Minister noted particularly the adoption of Council Conclusions for a better and safer internet for children.

In sports, finally, he counted among the achievements, the Presidency Conclusions for the formulation of a strategy to combat the manipulation of the results of sports events.