A 20-month project for the promotion of issues concerning the environment and sustainability through bicommunal cooperation was presented on Thursday at the beach of Lemba village, in the Paphos district.
The project of AKTI Project and Research Centre, “AdvocaCY: Participate, learn, challenge, decide: stronger Cypriot Civil Society for sustainability, advocacy and change”, aims to engage Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot civil society organisations and informal groups. It is supported by the Active Citizens Fund Cyprus and implemented by AKTI, in collaboration with the Turkish Cypriot organisation MASDER and the Norwegian organisation Norsensus.
As mentioned in the presentation, an important pillar of the project’s implementation is the promotion and development of cooperation networks between organisations, contributing to the overall vision of strengthening civil society, through the organisation of bicommunal networking workshops.
President of the Board of AKTI, Xenia Loizidou said at the presentation that the aim is to offer training to members of organisations and groups, in order to promote but also consolidate the message that sustainable development is a human right of the civil society of Cyprus and an important tool for peace. She added that AKTI has been working for 25 years to promote sustainability in Cyprus, international networking and the empowerment of civil society so that small organisations, informal groups and citizens, are informed and participate in public affairs, especially in terms of sustainable development and the environment.
Serdar Atai, vice president of MASDER, stated that sustainability concerns the whole island and that everyone must work together for a better environment and for peace.
For his part, the head of the community of Lemba, Thoukis Chrysostomou, stated that his village is working for a better environment and the democratic participation of its citizens.
The project is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, through EEA and Norway grants.
Source: Cyprus News Agency