President of the Republic of Cyprus Tassos Papadopoulos, left, and HSPH Dean Barry Bloom at the signing of the agreement at Loeb House.

The World Health Organization has cited the Mediterranean region as a key area for protection and for concern about public health in the future, noted HSPH Dean Barry Bloom. Cyprus faces significant environmental challenges, such as seawater incursion into the island’s largest aquifer and increasing pollution from sewage and industrial waste.

Addressing the President, Dean Bloom said that he looks forward to collaborative projects that will inform research on these and similar issues, adding: "The future is ultimately not just in our hands, but in the hands of our students and our children. We hope that this initiative will provide top-quality education and training in environmental and occupational health to students, scholars, and mid-career professionals. The initiative will disseminate important information on the environment and health to professionals in the region, [and] we hope, as well, to broader audiences."

Said President of the Republic of Cyprus Tassos Papadopoulos, "We care about public health. We care about the environment because it touches upon the life of each and every individual in Cyprus, and not only our present generation but generations to come." He expressed the hope that Cyprus, historically at the crossroads of European and Asian cultures, will become "a regional center for research and excellence with the assistance of your institution."

From l to r, Chair Joseph Brain, Minister Yiorgos Lillikas, Dean Barry Bloom, and President Tassos Papadopoulos in Snyder Auditorium

At the event in Snyder Auditorium, Yiorgos Lillikas, Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, Republic of Cyprus, said the initiative will hold mutual benefits for its participants, adding: "There will also be benefits for Cyprus’ neighboring countries, since the environment does not have borderlines, and the solutions [to address] pollution of the environment must have at least regional, if not global, application."

Joseph Brain, Chair of the Department of Environmental Health, and Petros Koutrakis, Professor of Environmental Sciences, described the goals of the initiative and how the effort is expected to be organized. Said Professor Brain: "We want to understand the environmental conditions in Cyprus. What is the air that people breathe? What water do they drink? What is the condition of the marine environment? What about the workplace?" Assessing the environment, he added, will aid understanding of the association between environmental conditions and human health.

	Above, Petros Koutrakis at the announcement at HSPH

Professor Koutrakis provided an overview. Joint research projects and the development of local scientific expertise in Cyprus and the region will be two of the major objectives of the initiative. In addition, training through short courses and a one-year program in environmental health will be offered through the Cyprus International Institute. The institute will also serve as a think tank, where researchers can work with policymakers to translate scientific information into public policy, said Professor Koutrakis. To that end, large international conferences and symposia are expected to be convened periodically at the institute.

HSPH will continue to offer master’s and doctoral degrees and postdoctoral research training at its Boston campus to qualified students from Cyprus and the region. Over the next decade, each year a minimum of five students from that region who have been admitted through HSPH’s regular processes will receive fellowships to the School, returning to their countries with new environmental knowledge and skills to practice and train others.

Professor Koutrakis will direct the program at HSPH. In Cyprus, efforts will be directed initially by Philip Demokritou, Assistant Professor of Aerosol Physics in the Department of Environmental Health, who is taking a leave of absence from the faculty to get the new initiative under way.

A video of the presentation in Snyder Auditorium is available at http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/cyprus/.