The Role of the Diaspora in Cyprus’ Fourth Industrial Revolution

By Christos Karaolis, president of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK

The Covid-19 pandemic has shaken the global economic system and forced a radical re-think of the strategies pursued by countries and companies alike. Even when things return to normal, we will see a new, more digitally accelerated, normal taking root. In these times of uncertainty, new winners can emerge. To be a winner, the Republic of Cyprus will need to utilise all its assets and this includes its growing and successful diaspora.

Across the decades, the Cypriot diaspora around the world has proven itself resilient and highly adaptable. Over 50 per cent of the diaspora is found in the UK. The UK-Cypriot diaspora, created largely from refugees who fled the Turkish invasion of 1974, is now in its second, third and fourth generation and consists of leaders in multiple fields. The UK diaspora has been forged by combining the best of both nature and nurture i.e. what both Cyprus and the UK have to offer.

UK-Cypriots are proven innovators (Demis Hassabis at Google DeepMind; Prof Kypros Nicolaides), captains of industry (Harry Theochari as Chair of Maritime UK; Constatin Cotzias European director at Bloomberg LP), entrepreneurs and philanthropists (John Christodoulou, Theo Paphitis, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Tom Toumazis) and have driven policy change at the top of Government (Lord Andrew Adonis, Dame Janet Paraskeva). These are just a few of the many examples of the bright lights within the UK-Cypriot diaspora.

Despite the success that these individuals have enjoyed, they retain a strong passion, pride and interest in their homeland. These individuals freely give up their time and are willing to share their expertise to advance our diaspora here in the UK for example, by supporting our newly established UK Cypriot Professionals Network to mentor the younger generation. Recently, we also established an Economic Diplomacy Roundtable under the Chairmanship of the Cypriot Foreign Minister to engage with and utilise the expertise of these individuals.

Whilst we are increasingly using this talent to advance our UK-Cypriot diaspora, these individuals and the wider talent of the diaspora, can be a very effective resource for Cyprus as well. Whether it is accelerating Cypriot companies (through sharing insights, best practices of even seed funding), or mentoring/raising the aspiration bar for the next generation of talented individuals on the island, the diaspora has a key role to play.

As we think about effectively leveraging the knowledge and brand of the increasingly successful UK-Cypriot diaspora to help shape the fourth industrial revolution in Cyprus, there are two priorities:

1. We must be even more systematic about creating the networks to identify these individuals and bring them closer to the diaspora. For example, in the last year alone we saw two Federation member organisations form – Cypriots in the City, Cypriot Medical Society – these are great examples of how our diaspora is re-shaping
2. We need to build on the foundations of the Economic Diplomacy Roundtable and work with the Government of the Republic of Cyprus to create the forums and infrastructure that meaningfully utilise the expertise of the wider diaspora

The good news is that the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK, and the wider diaspora movement, are working on these priorities with the Presidential Commissioner Photis Photiou and we have already seen tangible results. The Commissioner recognises the significant potential of the diaspora and shares the same belief that it is one of Cyprus’ most valuable assets. Therefore, I’m confident as Cyprus goes through its fourth industrial revolution, the diaspora will be at the heart of the engine room.