Cities 4 YOUth Event in Cyprus (24 to 28 of November 2025)
Introduction – Implementation of the Event in Pissouri
From 25 to 27 November 2025, our international CERV event took place in the vibrant community of Pissouri, combining learning, cultural exchange, youth participation, and hands-on experiences across the region. Over three days, participants from five countries engaged in a rich programme that included visits to local institutions, cultural landmarks, workshops, debates, and collaborative activities with schools, youth councils, and community organizations.
The implementation began with ice-breaking activities and a warm welcome by key local leaders at the Pissouri Community Council, followed by a dynamic treasure-hunt through the village—a signature educational method used by ACPELIA. The following days expanded to cultural visits in Paphos, meetings with the Municipal Youth Council, archaeological explorations, and the intensive preparation for the Oxford Debate held during the Cities for YOUth Festival.
The event culminated at Lykeio Apostolou Louka Kolossiou, where students and international participants took part in the debate, creative workshops, traditional dance and singing sessions, and a powerful cultural celebration. The programme concluded in Limassol with a visit to the Youth Board of Cyprus, followed by evaluations, certification, and a farewell gathering.
This webpage includes the full documentation, text, and extensive photo gallery showcasing each moment of the implementation—highlighting the learning, collaboration, and unforgettable experiences that made this event a success.
Day 1: Tuesday November 25, 2025
The first day of the project, seeing both familiar faces and new positive ones. Our day began with simple icebreaking and teambuilding activities to get comfortable with each other, as not only we will be spending the next 3 days together, but 8 selected participants will directly take part in the debate during the festival during on Thursday at Lykeo Apostolou Louka Kollosiou.
Our next stop was taking the bus to go to Pissouri village proper, where we went to visit the offices of the Pissouri Community Council which was where we met four distinct, yet just as important figures, each playing a unique and crucial role in shaping the village's cultural and social landscape.
- Mr. Nikolas Nikolaou, president of NGO ACPELIA. This organization is the host for this work package.
- Haris Stylianides, president of SKE Pissouriou. SKE standing roughly for Welfare council of Pissouri, which manages the kindergarten, after school activities, and most importantly, youth initiatives for the young residents of Pissouri.
- Panikos Panayiotou, president of Politistikos Omilos Nostos Pissouriou. This organizations focuses on all aspects of culture, including singing, and dancing events, including dances not only Cypriot, but from all corners of Greece from Crete as far as the Pontius.
- Panayiotis Mavroudis, president of the Community Council of Pissouri. Mr. Mavroudis shared his perspective on the village's governance, highlighting the balance between maintaining Pissouri's traditional charm and addressing contemporary challenges such as youth engagement and community cohesion
Each provided valuable insight of Pissouri as a whole. Discussing both the challenges the village faces, from limited resources for youth activities to maintaining cultural traditions in a rapidly changing world to best practices that organizations like ACPELIA does to combat this.
Of course, the give the opportunity for all participants, as well as the aforementioned leaders of Pissouri, each municipality as part of this project shared their stories and realities.
After enjoying traditional Cypriot cuisine in the Pissouri square, participants set on to do a treasure hunt game in Pissouri, an ever popular activity in Pissouri that ACPELIA uses in its daily youth work to teach participants, both foreign as well as Cypriots outside from Pissouri. Check them out below!
Tasks in Pissouri: https://cerv1.webnode.page/tasks-in-pissouri/
After returning back to the accommodation, two distinct activities took place.
The first was the Oxford debate preparation. Bobbie went over all aspects related to the oxford debate that was set to take place during the festival. The prompt of the debate was revealed, which was -
"This House believes that individual lifestyle changes are more important than government policy in fighting climate change."
The 8 persons taking direct part in the debate was chosen and both the proposition as well as opposition were promptly prepared for the festival ahead.
Not to miss out on sharing our culture, we hosted a cultural night, where each of the five countries of Cyprus, Poland, Italy, Spain and Portugal presented foods, snacks, dances, and even quizzes.
Day 2: Wednesday, November 26, 2025
This day focused entirely on the west of Pissouri, with numerous cultural stops, as well as a significant stop at the Paphos town hall.
Petra tou Romiou, also called Aphrodite's Rock, is a famous landmark on the coast of Cyprus near Paphos. According to legend, the goddess Aphrodite was born from the sea foam at this spot. With the assistance of the Cypriot participants, our guests had a better understanding of the area.
Next was our meeting at the Paphos Town Hall where, just like the day prior, we met just as significantly important persons. These were –
- Aggelos Onisiforou - The Deputy Mayor of Paphos
- Antonis Christodoulou - Chairman of the Municipal Youth Council of Pafos
- Doxia Mina and Rodothea Vassiliade - Members of the Municipal Youth Council of Paphos
These members explained to us all the steps the Municipal Youth Council of Paphos takes in order to strengthen youth participation within the city. They described how the council gathers the opinions and needs of young people, organizes events and activities that encourage active citizenship, and works closely with the municipality to ensure that youth voices are heard in local decision-making. Most importantly, was how exactly they work alongside with national agencies such as IDEP and the Youth Board of Cyprus (Οργανισμός Νεολαίας Κύπρου), to the point where the Erasmus+ Days Festival, that took place all over Europe on the 19th of October took place in Paphos, as opposed to the usual and expected capital of the country.
Our remaining two stops were the Tomb of Kings in Paphos, an impressive archaeological site known for its underground tombs carved into solid rock, as well as House of Dionyseus, one of Cyprus's most important ancient sites, featuring preserved Roman villas, mosaics, and public buildings. The park covers structures dating from the Hellenistic to the Middle Ages.
Upon returning to the accommodation, the 8 selected participants for the debate met up with Bobbie, for last minute preparations and to learn some tips and tricks for the Oxford debate.
Day 3: Thursday, November 27, 2025
The ultimate day, the Cities for YOUth Festival, taking place at Lykeo Apostolou Louka Kollosiou.
After participants received a tour of the school, and the facilities it offers, participants headed to the auditorium for the festival to begin!
With introductions by the principal of the school of the school, Mrs. Stella Agathokleous and a presentation of Erasmus programs, as well as a rundown of our CERV project, Bobbie went next on the stage to explain rules and concepts of the Oxford debate.
Afterwards, participants headed to the stage, with the proposition team Afonso, Eduard, Natalia and Saúl, to debate against the opposition, Julia, Amalia, Styliana and Sofia.
With head-to-head arguments, based on realities, statistics, examples of government intervention, practices in other European countries the results were clear. The audience themselves voted that indeed, government should be more hands on when it comes to sustainability, citing examples such as the purposely costly trash bag initiative in our very own Aglandjia province in Nicosia.
The festival however, continued, with activities taking place at all 4 corners of the school. With both the students and participants from our CERV project the activities were as follows -
- Image theater – where students and participants alike created plays with bad endings, with a rewind making it so the audience themselves intervene in the play and find solutions
- Art and Collage - where students and participants alike used magazines and cutouts, to create vision boards of how they want themselves to be in the future
- Dance - where students and participants alike learned traditional Cypriot dances
- Singing - where students and participants alike learned how to sing Cypriot traditional songs, using the Cypriot dialect directly.
After these activities, all students and participants alike returned to the auditorium for the closing ceremony. These included songs and dances prepared by groups of students themselves, dressed in traditional Cypriot clothing, showing off their skills to the fullest.
Going to Limassol proper, we visited the offices of the Youth Board of Cyprus in Limassol, where Mr. Marinos Pavlou explained all about youth initivative programs taking place in Cyprus. These included showcasing –
- Youth Cast – an ongoing podcast by the Youth Board of Cyprus covering topics important to youth, such as innovation, informantion entrepreneurship and culture.
- EkfraCY – a platform to give young people in Cyprus a democratic, interactive space to express their opinions directly to decision-makers.
- Youth Wiki - an EU online portal that facilitates the dissemination and comprehension of national youth policies in European countries. In the portal one can find information on the decisions, actions, institutions and political discussions that have an impact on youth.
- STEAMers – a program that helps youngsters build creativity, imagination, and important skills through modern STEAM methods such as programming, robotics, and AI. It offers weekly sessions led by experienced instructors, giving participants a fun and modern learning experience using innovative technology.
With some free time to explore Limassol, participants returned to the accommodation for evaluations, receiving their certificates and a farewell party.
Next stop – Kielce!
