Nicosia: We must ensure that every person lives with dignity, says Kombos at S. Soulioti award. The State will continue to support and highlight commendable efforts and collectively ensure that every person, regardless of age, lives with respect and dignity, said Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, in his speech at the Stella Soulioti Human Rights Award ceremony to the Cyprus Third Age Observatory, which took place on Wednesday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Cyprus News Agency, during the five years since the award was established, the State has had the opportunity to recognize and honour individuals and organizations that have distinguished themselves for their contribution to the protection of human rights in the country.
The organization being honoured today, the Cyprus Third Age Observatory, has dedicated ten years of action to this important field, the Minister went on to say, adding that the Observatory has achieved significant results, considerably improving the quality of life of older people, to the best of its ability, by enhancing their sense of security, dignity, and feeling of continued active participation in society.
"This year's award therefore highlights the importance of recognition, protection, and dignity for all, regardless of age. This is because older people are not simply witnesses to our history, they are key pillars of both our history and our society, they are the people who, through their contributions, have shaped and secured the present. This year's 'Stella Soulioti' award is therefore a recognition of this invaluable contribution, but also a clear commitment that the State will continue to support and highlight such commendable efforts and collectively ensure that every person, regardless of age, will live with respect and dignity," he concluded.
In his own address, the Executive President of the Observatory, Dimos Antoniou, said that today's award is not just an honorary recognition, but "a resounding statement that dignity, equality, and respect for older people is not a social issue that we remember occasionally, but a matter of substance, a matter of human rights."
He noted that the Observatory began its journey ten years ago "with a simple but compelling observation that many elderly people, despite having given everything-family, work, effort, and values, often still end up feeling invisible and, in many cases, actually are invisible. Loneliness, exclusion, age discrimination, fear, neglect, abuse, financial exploitation, and sometimes truths that hurt us as a society."
"Today, we do not hold this award as an end in itself, we hold it as a promise that we will continue to defend the right of every person to age with respect, security, and participation, and that we will continue to remind everyone that our society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable and wisest members. We therefore dedicate this award to the elderly people of Cyprus, to our parents, to our grandparents, to those who taught us what it means to love through actions," concluded Antoniou.