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cyprus

The Perils of Procrastination

I know that I’m not alone in procrastinating about some issues – both from a personal and business perspective. However, this was a characteristic I quickly eliminated from my life, as it has so many negative consequences. I’m not talking about putting off washing the windows one week, but chronic procrastination.
Cyprus society and culture seem to still have a long way to go though! What prompted and inspired my blog this week was a result of two polar opposites regarding communication and responses to emails, from Cyprus and abroad. I asked for some quotes from four companies in Cyprus, and within 24 hours, had a response from only one. The others have still to reply! It isn’t difficult to fathom who secured the work.
The emails from Europe garnered a response from everyone. So, what is one to deduce from this? Is Cyprus slow? Well, not everyone – but it’s the responders who are achievers. There are a few people in my address book who seemingly respond almost before I’ve sent a message… well, you understand what I mean. I asked how they keep up, and the response was “If I respond immediately, it looks efficient, but also, my head is cleared and I’ve taken action, so don’t need to keep it pending. You can imagine with over a hundred emails a day requiring action, I would never get them done if I didn’t respond immediately.” Bang goes the theory of not being distracted by emails and leaving time during the day to address them.
Procrastination has also cost our government as we all know from huge disasters which have happened over the last years. The incident at Mari, when we literally blew up our people and electrical station because of ‘passing the buck’, the financial crash of 2013 because of being in denial, the fines and penalties we’ve incurred for not implementing EU directives and the list goes on and on.
Procrastination is also a great driver of stress. Planes take off, deadlines pass, jobs go to the applicants who submitted resumes on time, theatre tickets and vacation packages sell out, students fail because of lack of revision, and the list goes on and on. It creates a cycle of self-defeating behaviour, which results in a downward spiral of self-esteem.
It is time for us to take action. There is no band-aid solution but I’m a firm believer in writing down and making lists divided into categories. Allocate a time spam and do the difficult tasks first. Build in down time too – so that you reward yourself for progress. That good feeling will inspire you to get to the next step.
If everyone takes responsibility in their work environment, and stops passing the buck and making excuses for other flaws in the system, we will make great strides forward!
What is your opinion?

Warmest wishes to everyone
Saskia

Saskia's Blog

Apathy in Cyprus for Free Services

written by Saskia Constantinou

As the organizer of #CIFF2017 (Cyprus International Food Festival) my dream is to cultivate a demographic of local and international foodies to Cyprus showcasing our cultural diversity while using local services and products to produce the festival. So blah blah – what did I do? To draw further attention to #CIFF2017 which will take place on 23 and 24 September at Molos in Limassol, I created the #CIFF2017 Best Limassol Restaurant Awards to run for a week in May. The entire concept was and is simple. The restaurants would receive FREE promotion and would receive all the printed marketing material for their premises. They literally did not have to do anything except confirm that we could include them on the website for people to vote for them. Is it possible that from hundreds of restaurants in Limassol, only 5 have taken advantage of our offer? I’ve heard many excuses including “we don’t have time, we don’t need promotion, why is it free, I can’t decide, I’ll tell the owner…” If we were in any other country, restaurants would be jumping at the offer of free promotion without having to do anything. Why is there such apathy in Cyprus, where we even say, there is an economic crisis? I welcome ALL comments and advice about how we can go forward in the mission to develop a greater, international foodie culture!

Warmest wishes to everyone Saskia

Saskia's Blog

The Berlin Philharmonic – What makes them great?

written by Saskia Constantinou

So the Berlin Philharmonic has come and gone and the event is over! People paid lots of money to sit in the midday sun and listen to music – so does that mean that we are truly becoming culture vultures? Is the accolade of European Capital of Culture having an impact? Or, is it that the Berlin Philharmonic as a revered product, attracts?

I have met and interviewed several of the musicians in the orchestra, and listen almost daily to the thousands of recordings with much pleasure and joy, but did not attend the concert as I didn’t want to attend an ‘event’ or listen to a concert with amplification outside.

The ticket demand though did interest me and I question why in Cyprus, we cannot with our orchestra reach the same level of respect or at least strive towards it. The Berlin Philharmonic was founded by just 54 musicians who broke away from their previous conductor when he announced that they were going to be put on a fourth class train to Warsaw for a concert. Their first concert hall was in a building previously used as an ice rink! They are now ranked in the top 10 orchestras around the world and have a fan base of millions. It didn’t happen overnight – it was a result of a meticulous attention to detail and quality. The brand, Berlin Philharmonic is the result!

Cyprus is in dire need of a long term cultural policy devoid of political interference. It has to have a mission and aims, fiscal planning with a path properly paved. It needs extensive research from successful models, such as the Berlin Philharmonic which needs to be done within a stipulated time frame. While many may cry that there is no budget, my reply is that it is not only about budget – it’s about keeping to the long term objectives and building a future. Cyprus does not have a proper concert hall (with brilliant acoustics for music), we don’t have an opera and ballet company – so our youth leave, and our orchestra doesn’t have permanent trombonists!

Of course, in the past 10 years, there have been steps forward such as the CYSO now performing for the September opera each year, but progress is far too slow which I put down to a lack of Cultural Policy. Or am I completely mistaken and there is a Cultural Policy of which we don’t know? We have a huge amount of talent and potential here, and should be the cultural hub of the Mediterranean.

By Saskia Constantinou

Saskia's Blog

Proper Planning

written by Saskia Constantinou

I have been referred to as a control freak and an ‘over-planner’ but only in Cyprus, where procrastination and lack of planning across many sectors seems to be the norm. I think without question, the prize should go to the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture.

There are a few organisations in Cyprus, me being one of them, who believe that music, art and culture is an essential part of our well-being and necessary even under the most dire economic circumstances. In fact, there are so many reports, surveys and statistics from around the world which show that cultural and creative industries drive sustainable development and create job opportunities.

So why, does the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture not have any sort of long-term fiscal planning or even a plan about the future of the cultural sector?

Each year, cultural organisations and festivals, which rely on the funding of the ministry, have to prepare reams and reams of paperwork (all printed and copied numerous times creating a fail with regard to environmental awareness) to request validation of their programmes and ideas. It’s not the best solution, but understandable if at least they replied. The paperwork has to be in by November of the previous year. We are now in April 2017, and have not heard any results of whether our projects will be able to materialise. In fact, one of my projects scheduled for March had to be cancelled.

The frustration levels are exceptionally high for local organisations but we are also ashamed in front of our international guest artists. Top artists are booked years, yes years in advance, and dismiss other possibly bigger engagements if they are contracted for a festival. Furthermore, when we are trying to encourage a new tourist market (dare I say higher calibre and not be misunderstood…) in higher income groups, they too plan and see which are the best festivals to go to.

Last year, organisers were advised that new measures had been put into place to receive answers quickly. These promises have again not materialised.

My suggestion to the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture is to eliminate the extensive paperwork which they can clearly not cope with, and instead implement a 3-5 year plan for the larger, more reliable festivals who already have a track record and history, to be allocated their funding so at least, they can do proper planning.