“Language is the primary vehicle of intellectual cultivation,” stated Rector of Frederick University, Professor George Demosthenous, during the awards ceremony of the 1st Pancyprian Spelling Competition for the 2025–2026 school year.

Frederick University and the University’s UNESCO Chair for Lifelong Learning and Adult Education, within the framework of their initiatives to strengthen the Greek language, participated as co-organizers of the competition, together with the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth (YPAN) and the Photos Photiades Foundation.

The competition was organized on the occasion of the establishment of February 9 as the “World Greek Language Day” by the UNESCO Executive Board.

The final competition was recently held at the Ministry’s Event Hall, with keynote speaker the distinguished Professor of Linguistics George Babiniotis, President of the Ministry’s Committee for the Greek Language and Honorary Doctor of the School of Education and Social Sciences of Frederick University.

“It is a great honor to co-organize this initiative,” said Rector George Demosthenous in his address. “Professor Babiniotis and I are connected by a long-standing friendship and a deep intellectual partnership, which was strengthened through our joint service at the helm of the Ministries of Education of Greece and Cyprus. We share the same fundamental belief: that language is the primary vehicle of intellectual cultivation and that spelling is a central skill that strengthens thinking. It is precisely these shared views that we seek to convey to our students and educators: faith in the power of language and the need for a humane and democratic school that inspires teachers and nurtures happy students.”

The students who participated in the competition demonstrated, through the process of oral spelling, the importance of the correct use of the Greek language, showcasing a high level of linguistic cultivation, dedication, and effort. The Rector of Frederick University congratulated the participants for their commitment and the teachers for their guidance, while also thanking the Ministry and the Photos Photiades Foundation, the competition’s sponsor, for their contribution.

Frederick University and its UNESCO Chair for Lifelong Learning and Adult Education regularly organize events and implement initiatives that strengthen the Greek language and highlight the value of spelling - not as a peripheral skill, but as a fundamental foundation upon which all subsequent learning is built. In this context, they have already collaborated with the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth to organize a series of lectures by Professor Babiniotis aimed at training educators on language-related issues, and they will continue their collaboration this year with new workshops.