Students abroad urged to register on crisis platform

Cyprus’ Foreign Ministry is urging students leaving the island for studies abroad to register on the Connect2CY online platform set up to help Cypriots overseas in times of crisis like COVID-19.

The online platform was launched in March last year when the coronavirus pandemic broke out, aiming to chart the presence of Cypriots around the globe and be in a position to offer consular help in case of emergency.

The ministry is reaching out to all Cypriots living overseas to register with the platform, or if they have already done so, to check if their details have been correctly recorded.

It said the platform enhances authorities’ ability to precisely chart the presence of Cypriots around the globe and “be in a position to offer consular help in an even more effective manner where it is necessary, also through the network of the Republic`s diplomatic missions abroad”.

The platform can be accessed through the webpage www.connect2cy.gov.cy.

The Foreign Ministry said the platform is regularly updated to manage the ever-growing number of crises in our time.

The authorities used the platform to keep in touch with Cypriots abroad during the coronavirus, facilitating their return to the island during lockdowns.

It was also helped them reach out to Cypriots living in Lebanon in the aftermath of the devastating blast that rocked Beirut last August, which killed hundreds and left thousands of people, including Cypriots, homeless.