2020, a difficult year …
Dear members and friends of the Cyprus Biological Society (CBS),
Happy New Year
We had a difficult, demanding year in 2020. The Covid 19 pandemic, which is still going on, has certainly greatly affected all of us, health, education, scientific research and of course CBS. Nevertheless, 2020 was an important and productive year.
Biological scientific research has continued to amaze us with its increasingly important discoveries. It is indicative that out of the 10 most important scientific discoveries of 2020, five are related to Biology (see Science scientific journal) and this fills us with pride, as biologists. Certainly, the greatest scientific achievement of the year is the discovery of not one but several vaccines for the SARSCoV2 coronavirus with a huge contribution of biological research. We hope that these vaccines will help to tackle the pandemic. We are confident that Biology will continue to grow rapidly in the coming years.
During this difficult year we have set as our priority the strengthening of Biology and CBS in all public aspects. All of us, the Governing Committee and members and friends of CBS, have undertaken the following new actions in 2020: (10 most important)
1. Strengthening the participation of CBS abroad, networking and cooperation.
2. Creation of a new modern website of CBS.
3. Increase the membership and friends of CBS.
4. Establishment and commencement of operation of CBS Committees.
5. Establishment of CBS Awards for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Biology Students that were announced in all the Departments of Biology of Cyprus and Greece institutions.
6. Announcement of five Honorary Members with personalities of recognized prestige.
7. Strengthening the public voice of CBS with letters, announcements, posts in Mass Media etc.
8. Announcement of jobs for biologists and education and training opportunities.
9. Notification of the article of the month.
10. Provision of scholarships for short, long-term, summer and scholarships in collaboration with other institutions.
I am grateful for the cooperation, the participation and the interaction we had during this difficult year. Rest assured that your suggestions, ideas, and suggestions are listened to and we work to make them a reality.
I’m sure there will be better days to achieve more together. With these thoughts I wish from the bottom of my heart to all the members, friends, and associates of CBS a Happy New Year, productive and creative for all. Above all, healthy and safaty.
Dr. Andreas Hadjihambis
President of the Biological Society of Cyprus