7The impact of the pandemic on the community in terms of health, both physical and mental. This will include mortality and dealing with grief as well as dealing with wider issues of isolation. Questions arising from the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on mortality within the community will also be considered.
We would like to explore the impact of Covid-19 on the health of the Cypriot community in the UK as a whole – over and above that felt by those based in London alone. An exploration of available statistics would be noteworthy as would a comparison of the experiences of those who are more isolated in terms of community support.
Lunchtime Symposia Series
Covid-19 and the Cypriots Diaspora in the UK
May – July 2021
The Cyprus High Commission and the Cyprus Centre at the University of Westminster are pleased to announce a series of on-line lunchtime symposia themed on Covid-19 and its manifold and diverse impact on people of the Cypriot diaspora in Britain.
Attendance is free. To register, please email:
a.chrysostomou@westminster.ac.uk
Symposium 1: HEALTH
Thursday 20th May
12.30pm – 1.30pm (BST)
Programme
Introduction and Official Opening
Moderator and host: Dr Petros Karatsareas, University of Westminster
Welcome Address:
His Excellency, the High Commissioner of Cyprus, Mr. Andreas S. Kakouris
Core panel:
Dr Linda Papadopoulos: Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, Author and Broadcaster. Having built an outstanding reputation in both academia and broadcasting, Dr Linda is an active researcher with a prolific publication record; her work has been published in some of the most highly-regarded academic journals and has informed government policy, most notably a highly acclaimed independent review for the Home Office on the effects of sexualisation on young people. Her work on the impact of social media on mental and cognitive health has received recognition by both policy makers and stake holders and she has sat on Advisory boards of major corporations advising on a variety of issues. She was recently awarded the prestigious EVCOM Fellowship Award in recognition of her outstanding and prolific academic publication record and for being an exceptional communicator as both an author and broadcaster. Linda will explore the impact of the pandemic from a psychological viewpoint and the effect it has had on both the community and individual.
Dr Athina Mavrou: Cyprus Medical Society. Athina is an Internal Medicine Trainee at Imperial NHS Trust. She obtained her medical degree from St George’s University of London Medical School with distinctions and since then has continued her clinical training at various hospitals in London. Athina worked on Covid wards during the last year and will focus on the medical aspect of Covid such as the nature of the symptoms, the severity, as well as the long-term implications of covid-19 and how they affected the community.
Dr Huseyin Cakal: Assistant Professor, Keele University. Huseyin obtained a DPhil in Social Psychology from the University of Oxford before joining the School of Psychology as a lecturer in psychology. Huseyin has a particular passion for policy oriented research on extremely disadvantaged communities in the least accessed regions and will explore how Covid has influenced minority groups in general and specifically the Cypriot Diaspora in the UK from an academic viewpoint
Michael Yiakoumi: Author and journalist, Parikiaki. Michael has reported on the effects of the pandemic in the Community across this last year and will share his findings and thoughts as to why the Community appears to be disproportionally affected by the virus from a journalistic viewpoint.
Lorna Vassiliades Mental Health and Heritage Researcher.Lorna’s background is a career in journalism for national newspapers and magazines and she has written three books for Psychologies magazine. Lorna recently conducted a survey among the Greek Orthodox community investigating heritage and mental health. This is for an interim study between her MSc in Creative Arts and Mental Health, and forthcoming PhD at Queen Mary University of London. She will introduce aspects of this research relating to Covid-19.
Guest panellist: Dr George Kassianos CBE UK National Immunisation Lead for the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).George has been the National Immunisation Lead for the Royal College of General Practitioners since 1996, of which he is a Fellow. He chairs the Pan-European Group on influenza RAISE (Raise Awareness of Influenza Strategies in Europe) and is Board Director of the European Working Group on Influenza. George is the author of ‘Immunisation Childhood and Travel Health’, has edited a number of medical books and has lectured worldwide in over 30 countries. Dr Kassianos will be present to field any questions that may arise pertaining to the vaccine and immunisation.
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