History

IMME was founded in 1999 on the initiative of Dr. Andreas Sophocleous. Over the years it organized scientific conferences and seminars on the role of the media, the history of the Cypriot press and EU policies in the field of audiovisual media. It supported the participation of journalism students in seminars held at EU institutions and held exhibitions and honorary events for Cypriot journalists and literary figures. It has published 21 monographs and has contributed to the publication of dozens of books with collaborating publishing houses.

Andreas Sophocleous

Professor Sophocleous served as the IMME’s Director until 2015 and as its Honorary President and member of the Board until his death in 2018. He began his career as a teacher and later served as a Senior Officer and Director of the Press and Information Office of the Republic of Cyprus between 1969 and 1995. He taught Journalism at Intercollege and later the University of Nicosia. His research interests focused on the History and Geography of Cyprus, the Cyprus Problem, the History of the Cypriot Press and Cypriot Literature of the Nineteenth Century. He was a prolific researcher and writer; his six volumes on the History of the Cypriot Press covering the period 1878-1960 and 1960-2010 are considered the most significant record of the field. In 2010 Dr Sophocleous was honoured by the Athanasios Botsis Foundation for the Promotion of Journalism and in 2011 he was awarded the National Literary Prize of the Republic of Cyprus’ Ministry of Education and Culture.