My family's journey through migration and adaptation has deeply influenced my perspectives and values. In the early 20th century, my grandparents, originating from Nicosia, Famagusta, and Dali in Cyprus, migrated legally to Egypt in search of a better life. It was a time when moving for a better life meant embracing hard work without the safety net of State welfare. My grandfathers found employment in Cairo ‐ one as a waiter and the other managing a confectionery factory ‐ demonstrating resilience and integration into their new community.
In the early 1920s, my maternal grandmother fled Constantinople (now Istanbul) at the age of 17 as a Greek refugee to settle in Egypt. This move was crucial for our family's future, allowing my mother and subsequently myself, my four children, and two grandchildren, to exist and thrive.
My widowed grandmothers had to uproot for a 2nd time. The political landscape in Egypt during the 1960s forced my family to relocate once again. Following the 1956 Suez Crisis and amidst rising anti-Western and anti-Christian sentiments, we sought safer countries. To complicate matters, my father who had recently converted to a banned small Christian denomination was in grave danger. To the dismay of my Orthodox mother, he risked jail or worse for his newfound religious beliefs. So, my extended family moved to England, Greece, Canada, and Cyprus. This period marked a significant transition in my life, as I moved to London, starting school with no English, and adapting to a new culture from a very young age.
I was a teenage father to a severely disabled son so could not attend university. Regardless, I passed various aptitude tests and launched my career in IT during the technological boom of the mid-1970s +. My roles in major international organisations led to rapid promotions, providing me with extensive experience and expertise in specialized IT areas. I do not profess to be a genius, it's because I was very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, during the tech boom.
After a decade, I transitioned to consulting and established my own international software companies, focusing on lecturing and automating IT problem, change, and risk management internationally. My experience extends to venture capital, intellectual property, generative AI, and as an accredited mediator in alternative dispute resolution (ADR). My life's journey involved spells living in the UK, USA, and Mexico.
On Christmas day 2003 I went to the occupied areas to give a blood donation 'gift'. Not out of love of the 'TRNC' authorities or politicians, but to symbolically pay a long overdue family 'blood' debt out of honour. Back in the early 1920s at great risk to themselves, Turkish friends smuggled members of my ethnic Greek family out of Constantinople.
My blood donation was extremely well received by the hospital's management. In the photo I took we can see something some may find very unusual: Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot, Russian, Ukrainian, Palestinian, and Israeli blood is the same colour. We are all human beings that bleed.
Until the end of 2022, I had the privilege of volunteering part-time with Cyprus Samaritans, a national charity. For 12 years, it was a humbling experience to listen to and provide confidential emotional support to distressed, sometimes suicidal, individuals in Cyprus. Additionally, I had the honour of serving as its patron for two years until I stepped down to run as a presidential candidate.
In February 2023, I ran as a presidential candidate, fully aware of the slim chances of winning, particularly as Greek is not my first language. Nevertheless, I am very proud that my political ideas were widely disseminated and discussed. Following the presidential election, I actively continued to advocate for change and improvement in Cyprus, engaging with top government officials, including direct Presidential advisors, Ministers, and Members of Parliament. I am proud to report that several of my proposals, such as solar panels for all, online policy referenda, and online petitions to parliament, are being adopted by the government and parliament. These efforts, unless confidential, are shared on my public Facebook page.
For the record, I have been approached by political parties to join them. I politely declined even though if I accepted, I may have been guaranteed an elected position.
Recognized as an expert in generative AI, I have been proactive in educating both the international private sector and the Cypriot public sector on how AI can safely revolutionize our lives and reduce tax burdens. My MEP campaign materials, including my manifesto and videos, were created with the assistance of AI technologies.
Driven by a commitment to represent the unvoiced, I am now running as an independent MEP candidate. Recent legislation passed by self-serving political parties has unjustly disqualified individuals without degrees from serving as advisors to ministers or the president. I staunchly believe that the 75% of Cypriots aged 24-64 without degrees, particularly women, should not be treated as second-class citizens.
I urge you to support my candidacy, not just as a rejection of entrenched powerful political parties, but to elect an independent voice who is qualified and eager to represent Cyprus and the EU. Once elected, I will dedicate myself to serving the people, free from the influence of any political party I must worship daily, or any special interest groups I must obey to get votes and funding.