From the President...
Dear Fellow Harvard Alumni,
On behalf of the Harvard Club of Cyprus, I would like to welcome you to our local alumni community and invite you to become a member of the official club!
The Harvard Club of Cyprus was established in 2011 and in a brave first step, the Harvard Club of Cyprus held its inaugural event in Nicosia. Featuring Dr Bernard Kouchner, former French Foreign minister, Founder of the Doctors without Borders organization and former Harvard professor, as its keynote Speaker this was an event that served not only to bring together not only members of the local Harvard family but also to have a wide appeal to more than four hundred prominent figures of the Cyprus community, including members of parliament, ministers, ambassadors and other diplomats, academics, business leaders and other professionals.
Throughout the years, true to its Mission, our Club has sought to provide a forum to exceptional keynote speakers of the Harvard Community so that our alumni, their guests as well as the local Cyprus Community will have the privilege to indulge in the words and thoughts of renowned thinkers who travel to Cyprus especially for this purpose. Such keynote speakers have included Professor Richard N. Cooper, Maurits C. Boas Professor of International Economics at Harvard, member of the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Executive Panel of the US Chief of Naval Operations, and the Brookings Panel on Economic Activity and former chairman of the National Intelligence Council and Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs. It also included His Highness Sheikh Muhammad of Kuwait, former Harvard professor, Mr Vuk Jeremic former President of the UN General Assembly,Professor Andrew Berry, Mr Ron C. DeShay, and others.
The Harvard Club Activities Calendar has been subsequently enriched with ad-hoc networking events such as Harvard’s Global Networking Night, Wine Presentation and Tasting held in an informal, laid back atmosphere as well as the launching of the Annual Harvard Book Prize Award. Offered to two local High Schools during the first year it is hoped that the Harvard Book Prize Award will reach five schools. The bi monthly “Lunch Event” was also recently added to the Club Activities Calendar. Limited by its nature to fifteen participants at a time, the “One table, One Conversation” lunch concept allows a small number of Club members to interact freely with a leader of the Cypriot community as a guest of honor. Our guest of honor will typically introduce a subject briefly and then an interactive conversation takes place throughout.
Small as our country and alumni base may be, we are nonetheless strong believers in our Club’s mission in promoting and supporting Harvard Alumni matters and in enriching dialogue and cultural discourse. I would, therefore, like to encourage you to give us your thoughts and ideas and also have involved in our many activities.
I hope to see you all at our next event!
Sincerely,
Evan Gavas
President, Harvard Club of Cyprus