Satellite Broadband Internet in Odou Village, Cyprus

1. ODOU Youth Committee Satellite Broadband Internet in Odou Village, Cyprus Alexis Nicolaou 7 May 2009 Brussels

2. ODOU Village ODOU Youth Committee 7 May 2009 Brussels

3. ODOU Village The view of Odou village from the road above the village can not be described in words or even encompassed in a photo. The houses are built amphitheatrically on the surrounding hills. Houses with tiled rooftops, picturesque balconies, courtyards with shady vine trees climbing everywhere are characteristics of the village. All these are surrounded by the lavish green vegetation of the Valley. 7 May 2009 Brussels

4. ODOU Village • Odou village is located in the mountainous district of Larnaca at an altitude of about 800m • The population of Odou is 200, with most people working in agriculture • Odou is famous in Cyprus for its citrus fruits & vegetables, especially tomatoes The picturesque village of Odou with its traditional architecture, its cobbled streets & footpaths, is an example of a genuine traditional community that should be preserved.

5. Youth Committee of Odou • The Youth Committee of our village has 65 members: • Students of the primary school of the village • Students of elementary and high school • Students from our village that study in colleges and universities in Nicosia or abroad • Other young people that live in the village • Odou only has 1 small primary school with only two teachers that supervise & teach all 6 classes of the school • The school is based in a small building in the centre of the village • The Youth centre is equipped with satellite TV, various electronic & table games, a pool table & a canteen

6. Youth Committee of Odou We organise various events in the village & all the members of the YC are involved in various activities. In the frame of the YC there is a theatre club & a traditional dance club.

7. Broadband Internet availability • Odou is not covered by a terrestrial infrastructure able to provide broadband internet to the inhabitants of the village • The students that were going to the high school & who had interaction with students from other areas that were able to have fast internet, really felt this difference • Those students had: • Access to a lot of information to prepare their assignments • Were able to communicate with their friends via internet • Could play games on the internet • Their interaction with the internet helped them to enhance their computer skills, as well, much better

8. Broadband Internet availability • Some parents used to take their children to a relative’s house in other areas that have internet access to get information to prepare their assignments • Students in the colleges & universities were forced to stay until late in the universities in order to have access to internet & do their assignments find information etc. • A lot of university & college students that study in Nicosia are forced to go & live in Nicosia

9. Broadband Internet availability • The teachers in the primary school can only use the PCs that are available to them in the school to teach their students only MS Office • They do not have access to emails & to the webpage of the Ministry of Education to get information & educational material from there • In general the unavailability of internet created the feeling of being inferior to the other people that did have access to the internet & consequently to information

10. Satellite broadband internet to Odou • The Ministry of Communications & Works of the Cyprus Republic announced in March that all villages in Cyprus without broadband internet access will be covered by satellite internet access in combination with WiFi • This service will be open and free to the people of these villages • The first satellite terminal & WiFi access point to Odou was installed last month at the Youth centre of the village & the coverage of the whole village is expected to be finalised next week • The habitants are very excited by this development

11. Satellite broadband internet to Odou • Mr Nikos Anastasiou (the president of the village) said the connection to wireless technology was of particular importance to the picturesque village’s 50 youngsters “We have 50 young people at primary, gymnasium & tertiary level,” he said. “This will please our young because they will now be on par with youth in urban areas & they won’t feel inferior… It will open their horizons.” • A big party was organised a week after the installation of the internet in the village to celebrate it. This shows you how much the people of Odou were waiting for this to happen & how much they needed it.

12. Celebrations Kids dressed in traditional uniforms using the internet, next to the preparation of the Cyprus traditional food - Souvla. Young kids dressed in traditional Cyprus uniforms are welcoming the Minister of Communications & Works to Odou.

13. Satellite broadband internet in Odou

14. Satellite broadband internet in Odou • The young people from the first day of the installation of the internet in the youth centre started using it with excitement. They bring their laptops to the centre & get the information they want for their school assignments, their hobbies etc. • Young kids are so excited that they can find pictures & news about their favourite singer or football player • Students from the high school come to the centre & download information they need for their school work & go to their house to prepare their work

15. Satellite broadband internet to Odou We are sure that this service will prevent urbanism. It will also help people that left the village for the cities to return to our beautiful village more often & stay for longer during the summer period. Agro tourism can be developed more easily in the village & will create more job options for the young people of the village.

16. Thank you! Special thanks to European Satellite Operators Association (ESOA) for inviting me to be here today.