Our little island is a blank on the Google map; no coloured points represent our wishes for the coming year

At the very end of 2012, Google did something it had never done before. And has never done since.

It launched a New Year map.

The idea was that people all over the world could upload their hopes, wishes and dreams for the year ahead. And thousands did: registering their location and their intent for 2013.

The interactive map is still available today – a window into our past. It speaks to us across the decade: 12 years ago, it says, you were a different person. You led a different life, possibly in a different town or country.

Since then, your circle of friends may have shifted; family members have come and gone. Careers have changed, relationships have flamed or died. Economies have transformed, technologies emerged. Yet, despite these winds of change, our hopes and dreams remain, ultimately, the same.

The details may differ: in Rio, a poster hoped ‘To lose 20 kilos this year’, while in Southampton another promised ‘To get fit in 2013’. The language may vary: in New York, someone asked to ‘Do better in school’. In Beijing, a Mandarin post translates to ‘I want to study hard and pass the entrance exam!’ In Bahrain, a comment in Arabic requested ‘A percentage of 96% or more in my final exams’.

But even those whose countries are in conflict expressed very similar wishes: in Odessa, a loving mother hoped ‘To give birth to a healthy child’; in Moscow, another asked that her newborns were ‘Healthy twins’. In Israel, someone was determined that in 2013, they would ‘Reach out for peace’. And on the West Bank, a longer message that included thanks for family, ended with ‘We must stop being silent.’

Across the world, the same wishes emerged again and again; hover over different countries on the map, and watch the messages repeat.

But those wishes also carry through time. Who among us would not still hope for health, for success, for love and for peace?

These desires are as timeless as they are universal, connecting us not just across borders but down the years.

Granted, there are a few outliers (including a resolute soul in Dublin who aimed ‘To say ‘NO’ more this year’, and a Birmingham dreamer who planned to ‘Become a superhero and save the universe’!). But for the most part, the essence of what we long for remains the same.

Even in Cyprus – though this, we can only assume. Because our little island is a blank on the Google map; no coloured points represent our wishes for 2013.

In hindsight, this might be a good thing: most of us would rather forget the year entirely! But, if we redid the same map today, perhaps there would be a few posts from Cyprus?

After all, back in 2012, just over half of Cyprus’ homes had access to the internet; by 2022, we were at 94 per cent household internet saturation!

And, as 97 per cent of the island prefer Google to any other search engine, that’s almost all of us who might (in our spare time) come across such a survey and add our hopes for 2025…

Emre works in the hospitality industry in Kyrenia. For this 26-year-old, career is paramount: “I’m hoping for a promotion. I’ve worked bloody hard all year, taken on loads of extra responsibilities. It’s time!”

Carla, an expat PR director in Limassol, is also focusing on her job. Although 47, she too feels it’s time for a change: “After 20 years at the same company, I need something very different.”

For others, family is everything.

“My wife died last year, so all my wishes are for my children,” says 56-year-old Nicosia doctor, Giorgos. “I just want them to be happy. That’s all that matters.”

And, in Paphos, 69-year-old grandma of five Helen, hopes that her grandchildren “will be happy this year. The world is so competitive now; it wasn’t this way when I was young. I worry about the pressure they’re under.”

Some have more specific hopes.

“I need to get my blood pressure under control,” says 62-year-old Limassolian, Andreas. “This year I’ll try to focus on my health.”

And, 35-year-old Stella, an illustrator from Larnaca, has a clear creative ambition: “I want to hold my own art exhibition. It’s a dream I’ve had for years; 2025 feels like the right time.”

Others mention our island.

“I just want to see progress on the Cyprus solution,” says 44-year-old Mehmet, a history teacher from Famagusta. “It’s been too long – we need peace.”

And 29-year-old Alexia, a marketing consultant in Nicosia, suggests that the past few years have felt “very uncertain for Cyprus. It’s hard to plan for the future when so much feels out of our control. I hope 2025 is calmer, more stable for us all.”

Then there’s the diaspora. They may be located abroad, but they’re still a vital part of our island community. What are they hoping the coming year might bring?

“I want to visit Cyprus lots in 2025,” says Eleni, a 32-year-old insurance broker based in London. “I miss my people, I miss the food, I miss the sun!”

And Toronto-based consultant, 50-year-old Stavros, has determined this is the year “to teach my kids about their Cypriot heritage. We speak Greek at home, but I’d like them to understand the history of the island.”

The original map may be 12 years out of date. (I find myself hoping the original posters did pass their exams; were able to bear healthy, happy children; managed to exercise. Though I am a little disappointed our heroic Brummie has not yet saved the universe!)

But if we asked people now what they hope for, what they wish for, what their New Year’s dreams might be, they’d probably be much the same.