On 7/12/ 2020 the Vice President of Dione Mr. Iraklis Pattas visited the Russian Cultural Center in Cyprus and had a meeting with Mrs. Diana Borisova, co-chair of the Youth Club of Russian Compatriots in the Republic of Cyprus. In the meeting it was agreed that Dione , the Youth Club of Russian Compatriots and the Russian Cultural Center will develop together philanthropic cultural events. In addition, Mr. Pattas accepted the invitation of the Youth Club of Russian Compatriots for participation of Dione in their project Futurum Talks.

Futurum talks: charity and humanitarian aid

As part of the Futurum Talks project, young people and experts from Russia and Cyprus discussed aspects of mutual assistance in the modern world

In the first part of the discussion, an expert in the field of psychology,  clinical psychologist of PASYKAF Сostas Michaelides spoke. The speaker touched upon the scientific side of the human instinct for mutual assistance. Initialy he offered an example from a paper by the journal of social, cognitive and effective neuroscience in which studies examined a gene named COMTE which influences neurotransmitters in the brain. Previous research has linked those neurotransmitters to positive emotions and social behavior like bonding. People at large have 2 variations of COMTE GENE called VAL/VAL and VAL/MET. It has been proven that there is a genetic component to altruistic behavior. Moreover studies of identical twins have shown that even when identical twins were separated at birth and were raised in different families  when they examined at a later stage in their lives were found to have quite similar dispositions in altruistic behaviors. He also gave examples of psychotypes-altruists from the works of F.M. Dostoevsky and the literature of ancient Greece. Also, the professor spoke about the activities of the Bank of Cyprus Cancer Center and the PASYKAF charitable foundation, which raises funds to support cancer patients.

Iraklis Pattas, Vice President of the Dione Youth Organization, shared his experience in implementing projects related to charity and the young generation, and also expressed his point of view on the future of philanthropy. Moreover, he present the plans of Dione for the near future regarding philanthropical events including those that will be organized along with Youth Club of Russian Compatriots in the Republic of Cyprus

Diana Borisova, co-chair of the Youth Club of Russian Compatriots in the Republic of Cyprus, emphasized the importance of implementing projects aimed at humanitarian support of fellow citizens and spoke about the Good Deed project, which was organized by the Representative Office of Rossotrudnichestvo in the Republic of Cyprus, the Gradle of Hope Association, the Association of Russian-Speaking Residents Paphos, Russian-speaking Orthodox parish of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Limassol.

Live recording is available at the link – https://fb.watch/2X_xEO6Z_r/

Questions to the participants on the topic of the discussion are accepted by e-mail – [email protected]