Cyprus must turn its diaspora into a network of global ambassadors and give them a clearer national story to carry abroad, speakers told the Cyprus Diaspora Forum in Limassol.
The message was delivered during the panel “Marketing and branding: a stronger global identity”, held on May 7, 2026, at the Amara Hotel, where speakers said Cyprus has the stories, diaspora networks and foreign communities to strengthen its global image, but still lacks the strategy to bring them together.
The panel was moderated by Dora Christofi, head of marketing at Finance Magnates, and brought together Adonis Violaris, Agis Charalambous, John Antoniades, Marianna Konina, Savvas Agathangelou and Stavriana Nathanail.
Cyprus must tap into diaspora to boost its image
John Antoniades, chief operating officer of Phileleftheros Media Group, said Cyprus has a large diaspora but has not activated it effectively.
He noted that Cyprus should take its diaspora more seriously, not only as an emotional link to the island but as a practical network that can help promote the country, support business expansion and carry credible stories into international markets.
Antoniades said many Cypriots abroad remain strongly attached to the country because their families preserved the values of the Cyprus they left behind. “When we left, or when our parents left, or our grandparents left, they stay frozen in that time,” he said. That attachment, he suggested, could become a strength if Cyprus gives the diaspora a clearer message and stronger links with institutions at home.
Antoniades said Cyprus needs a narrative from the country’s leadership, supported by “four or five pillars of communication around the identity”. Those pillars, he said, could include education, technology and Cyprus’ strategic location.
The goal, he said, should be for that narrative to filter through national media, institutions, businesses and Cypriots abroad, creating a more aligned message.
He said diaspora engagement should then become more structured. Cyprus could identify people abroad who fit into specific sectors or storylines, bring them into events, connect them with institutions and encourage them to support investment or business links.
Antoniades said the island is already changing through technology companies and globally minded Cypriot businesses. “There are Cypriot-owned businesses that have scaled globally, that know how to activate the diaspora already,” he said.
He said companies expanding to markets such as Japan, Southeast Asia, Dubai and the Middle East could use diaspora Cypriots as bridges because they understand both Cyprus and the countries where they live. “They can understand me. They can understand my business, my culture, as a Cypriot,” he said.
Antoniades said engagement with the diaspora also had to offer value to those being asked to help. Writers, entrepreneurs and professionals abroad needed to see how stronger links with Cyprus could serve their own work and businesses.
He said Cyprus should connect the diaspora with public and private institutions and “arm them with the stories” they can carry through their own networks and audiences.
Cyprus has brilliant people abroad but needs a strategy to use them
Stavriana Nathanail, CMO of Digital Tree, said Cyprus needed more than digital marketing tools to reach its diaspora. The challenge, she said, was how to connect people abroad with each other and with Cyprus.
She said forums, community-building and recognised ambassadors could help, adding that Cyprus has successful people abroad who remain largely unknown at home.
“We have brilliant people abroad. We have talent. We have people that achieve amazing stuff,” Nathanail said, arguing that Cyprus needed a way to use them as ambassadors on a global scale.
Cyprus can use AI to strengthen its image
Savvas Agathangelou, co-founder and head of marketing strategy at The Luxury Playbook, said Cyprus also needed to understand that people increasingly rely on artificial intelligence and search systems when deciding where to relocate, invest or do business.
He said AI models draw information from trusted sources, including media, content creators, YouTube, forums and other online material. Cyprus, he said, needed to ensure that the right information appears in those systems.
“What we can do at this stage is utilise international media when it comes to international searches,” Agathangelou said.
He said Cyprus is still not prominent enough in AI-driven answers about relocation and business. “If someone goes, ‘Should I relocate to Cyprus?’ or ‘Where should I relocate my business?’, I can confidently tell you that Cyprus will not be the first country appearing,” he said.
Agathangelou said other countries had invested heavily in international media visibility and had become more prominent in search results and AI answers as a result.
He said Cyprus needed to influence those systems now, while it was still possible to shape the information they use. “This is the moment that we can utilise international media and sources to actually influence this narrative,” he said.
He also said Cyprus already had the stories it needed, but lacked the distribution to get them to the right audiences. “I think we have the stories. What we need is distribution,” he said.
Returning to AI later in the discussion, Agathangelou said artificial intelligence could no longer be treated only as the start of a marketing funnel. He said the same AI conversation could shape awareness, consideration and final decisions.
“The beauty of this model is that it can be top, middle and bottom of the funnel at the same conversation,” he said.
He said events and campaigns were useful, but AI-driven platforms reached far larger audiences. “These engines are reaching billions of users every day,” he said, arguing that Cyprus needed the right digital infrastructure and structured data to make those systems work in its favour.
The country needs to agree on a clear identity to promote abroad
Adonis Violaris, managing director of Cyprus Shipping News, said the country needed a central pool of information that people abroad can use to promote Cyprus in their own communities.
“These success stories that we have in Cyprus, we should be able somehow passing them to these people, to these micro ambassadors that we have in every country,” he said.
Violaris said Cyprus’ shipping sector already promotes itself abroad under one identity, with the industry travelling as a cluster and carrying the Cyprus shipping brand internationally.
Foreign communities in Cyprus can act as ambassadors
Marianna Konina, founder and CEO of Reputation City, said foreign communities already living in Cyprus could also help promote the country. Konina, who relocated from Ukraine, said she considers herself a Cyprus ambassador.
She said Ukrainians in Cyprus had created practical online information to help others relocate, including guidance on housing, driving licences, bank accounts and other everyday needs.
Konina said there are 24,000 Ukrainians in Cyprus and that many can promote the island abroad by sharing real experiences. She said people abroad should be able to hear from others who have already made the move and can offer support.
Cyprus should promote the benefits of relocation
Agis Charalambous, senior associate at Michael Kyprianou & Co LLC, said Cyprus should connect diaspora communities not only with Cypriots on the island, but also with people who have already relocated successfully.
He said word of mouth remained the strongest medium because people trust those they already know. “For thousands of years, the strongest medium is the word of mouth,” he said.
Charalambous said Cyprus should show people abroad what they are missing by not relocating to the island or using what Cyprus has to offer.
Agathangelou said the first step should be a platform to connect the different communities, stories and networks. “We need a way to connect all these dots,” he said.
He added that people would need incentives and a “win-win” reason to contribute their time. “People are not giving you their time that easily,” he said.
Speakers agreed that Cyprus must first define the story it wants the diaspora to carry, then build the platforms, media links and institutional support to distribute it. They stressed that while the country already has stories, people and networks abroad, what it lacks is a coordinated strategy to connect them and feed reliable information into global media and AI.
(Pictures by Antonis Antoniou)
Read more: