Education Minister Dr Justin Valentin, and Youth, Sports and Family Minister Marie-Celine Zialor on official mission to Cyprus |11 May 2022

Minister Valentin, Minister Zialor and PS Roucou in a souvenir photo with Cyprus’ Minister of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth, Prodromos Prodromou

Seychelles seeks support with teacher exchanges, sports management and sports science

Education, youth development in the arts and culture, sports management and sports science are possible areas being explored for cooperation and collaborations between Seychelles and Cyprus.

These were among the topics discussed on Monday, between Seychelles’ Minister of Education, Dr Justin Valentin, Minister Marie Celine Zialor of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Family and Cyprus’ Minister of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth, Prodromos Prodromou.

For education, Minister Valentin is seeking the help of Cyprus with teacher training, teacher and student exchanges as well as the possible recruitment of teachers for subjects such as mathematics and science, as there is a lack in Seychelles. The opportunities for Seychellois to study in Cyprus were also discussed as the island has several universities with some offering programmes in English.

Minister of Youth, Sports and Family, Marie-Celine Zialor expressed her wish to have support for youth development in the arts and culture, where possible cooperation will be discussed with the youth board in Cyprus.

Minister Prodromou has welcomed the possibilities for cooperation and said that some initiatives can start immediately. Follow up meetings, and consultations under the guidance of the foreign affairs department are expected to take place before the cooperation what can be formalised through a memorandum of understanding.

Both parties have agreed that collaborations between them will be very fruitful with mutual benefits as both share similarities, both are island nations, both share a heritage as former British colonies and Seychelles is where Archbishop Makarios III, the spiritual and national leader of Cyprus together with three other Cypriot nationalists struggling for their country’s freedom from the British colonial rule were sent to exile in 1956.

Sport is an area where Seychelles is seeking assistance with capacity building, sports science and sports management. In another meeting on Monday, the Seychelles delegation met with the president of KOA ‒ the Cyprus Sports Association ‒ Andreas Michaelides.

Minister Zialor briefed Mr Michaelides on the country’s effort to professionalise sports, its quest to win its first Olympic medal and its agenda for the development of sports tourism as a new sector.

On his part, Minister Valentin emphasised on sport management as a potential area of study and improvement in the physical education curriculum. Scholarships in sports science and sports management were also discussed.

Through possible cooperation, Seychelles can also benefit from exchanges of coaches and athletes as well as technical support for sporting events such as football, basketball, volleyball, swimming, sailing and tennis.

In an earlier meeting on Friday, Ministers Zialor and Valentin held discussions with the chairperson of the Cyprus Special Olympic Committee, Dr Eleni Rossides, where support is being sought for special athletes in Seychelles and building the capacity of their coaches and trainers, in the spirit of inclusivity and as they also can bring home the first Olympic medal.

The Seychelles delegation also comprising principal secretary of the family department Clive Roucou is on an official mission to Cyprus, to explore future collaborations in education, youth development, special needs and sports.

Joint Press Release from the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Family