Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanoli praises tradition of social giving by shipowning families as First Lady lends her patronage to World Maritime Day event
Cyprus’s Deputy Minister of Shipping, Marina Hadjimanoli, paid tribute to the contribution of women to the country’s maritime industry and its long tradition of philanthropy, at an event in Athens held ahead of World Maritime Day.
Addressing the gathering, titled “Woman – Shipping – Social Contribution”, Hadjimanoli said the event brought together three themes she described as closely intertwined: women, the shipping industry, and service to others.
Shipping, she said, was one of the most important pillars of the Cypriot economy and a community with a strong international presence, but stressed that beyond the ships, the numbers and the commercial activity, the industry was fundamentally about people. She noted that shipping families, shipowners, companies and organisations across Greece and Cyprus had built up a significant tradition of charitable and social giving over the years, supporting healthcare, education, social welfare, young people, culture and the environment through foundations, donations, scholarships and sponsorships.
That tradition of giving, she added, had extended to standing by individuals and families in need, and had proved particularly significant during times of crisis and natural disaster, when solidarity and rapid mobilisation from the shipping community could make a real difference.
Hadjimanoli singled out the role played by women within that culture of giving, saying many women from the shipping community had taken on important roles in social and charitable work over the years, contributing with sensitivity, dedication and persistence to initiatives with a lasting social impact. She said a woman in shipping was not only someone who worked in the industry, but could equally be a professional, a scientist, a woman of the sea, or a woman who contributed to society through her family, charitable foundations and personal initiatives.
She singled out the First Lady of Cyprus, Filippa Karsera Christodoulides, as an example of such a role model, describing her as a wife, mother, sister and diplomat, and a valued companion to women striving in their daily lives. Hadjimanoli thanked the First Lady for attending and for placing the event under her patronage for another year.
The minister also thanked Polys Hadjiioannou, president of the Cyprus Union of Shipowners, and the union’s members for their longstanding support of the Deputy Ministry’s initiatives, as well as Cyprus’s ambassador for his contribution to the ministry’s goals since she took office.
