Paphos may have been selected in the bid for the European Capital of Culture 2017, but the whole effort left Nicosia Municipality with a significant legacy: a cultural strategy that has since been implemented with steady and substantial steps. With its philosophy of culture by all for all, Nicosia continues to dynamically graft this strategy by giving the baton to the efforts of the Nicosia District to claim the title of European Capital of Culture 2030.
One of the pillars of 2030 is co-creating with children and youth and on the occasion of World Children's Day 2024, two actions will mark Nicosia's candidacy on Sunday 2 June 2024: "EduLive Nicosia" in the morning and in the afternoon "Nicosia: a puzzle of cultures".
"EduLive Nicosia"
This is a series of activities that aims to introduce us to the neighbourhoods and villages of the Nicosia region. The series of actions starts from the neighbourhood of Ayios Kassianos on the occasion of the 100 years since the foundation of the historic Ayios Kassianos Primary School, which stands in ruins in the Nicosia buffer zone, a few metres from the existing school building. The action on Sunday June 2nd is addressed to citizens of all ages and is an initiative of the school's teachers as part of which 3rd and 4th grade students were trained to provide guided tours to their neighbourhood.
The children's tour (lasting 60 minutes) will start at 10:00. from the Ayios Cassianos Primary School and will end in the courtyard of the church of Ayios Cassianos. At the same time, a guided tour of Byzantine culture (duration 45') in the area will be held by the Byzantinologist Dr. Christodoulos Chatzichristodoulou, starting from the courtyard of the church of Ayios Kassianos.
The event is organised by the Municipality of Nicosia, the Nicosia International Festival, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, the Ayios Kassianos Primary School and the Ecclesiastical Committee of the Church of Ayios Kassianos.
"Nicosia: a puzzle of cultures"
On the same day at 18:00, pupils from primary schools in the Nicosia District will put together a puzzle that presents Nicosia as it is and has always been: a mosaic of cultures. The aim of the action is to engage children in creative activities, to highlight our cultural heritage and to showcase Nicosia through their eyes.
The children, under the guidance of their teachers, were invited to paint pieces of the puzzle with elements from the historical periods of Nicosia and Cyprus, inspired by edifices, vases, castles, statues and motifs of our cultural heritage taken from the folk art of Cyprus and the folk art of nationalities living in Nicosia.
The event will start at 18:00 at Spyridaki Square on Makarios III Avenue and will be accompanied by music, artists (craftsmen, painters, etc.) presenting their work, as well as children's activities including light painting, and programming activities and robots from the Frederick Institute of Technology's Robotics Academy. In addition, Frederick’s Department of Education will introduce children to the famous grass heads, showing them how to make heads from which grass "hair" grows.
Alongside the children, Frederick Institute of Technology students shall present the exhibition "Turning metal into hope". The students, under the guidance of faculty member Simos Markitanis, constructed 13 sculptures from recycled metal as part of their Special Welding course. During the event, the sculptures will be sold at an auction and the proceeds will be donated to financially support children with cancer.
The event "Nicosia: a puzzle of cultures" will culminate at 20:30 with a "bright" co-creation by the children.
The event is organised by the Nicosia Municipality, the Nicosia International Festival, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth and the Federation of Primary School Parents' Associations of Nicosia. The action is supported by Frederick Institute of Technology and Bean Bar.