NEW EUROPEAN SUCCESS OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF ATHIENOU APPROVAL OF A PROGRAM SUBMITTED AS A LEAD PARTNER

The Municipality of Athienou, with the help of a partner from Greece and with partners 4 other cities from Europe, submitted a proposal as a Lead Partner, within the framework of the EUROPE FOR CITIZENS Invitation, to the “Cities Network” action. The proposal of the municipality AGORA was submitted before the closure of this call on 01/03/2019, when 130 valid proposals were submitted. Only 18 out of the 130 valid proposals were approved, or 13.4%, and the Municipality of Athienou’s application is among them.

It is a great success for the Municipality of Athienou, which succeeds in the approval of a second program as a lead partner, through the horizontal programs of the European Union, which, in addition to the substantial result for Athienou, helps to raise European funds for Cyprus, something which other big municipalities do not succeed.

Apart from the Municipality of Athienou, the Municipalities of Smolyan Bulgaria, Cinicello Balsamo of Lombardy – Italy, Santa Maria Da Feira of Portugal and Athens of Greece participate in the program.

The AGORA program concerns an open dialogue in a public space, through the experimental method of dialogue and participation as in Ancient Athens. This activity promotes the European Union understanding and the democratic engagement of the participants. It benefits the participants by facilitating the effective aspect of learning while it enhances interpersonal relations and promotes interpersonal rewards. Moreover, it produces improved communication and discussion skills within the group and produces a more integrated view of the broader context within which sociological concepts fall. This activity also promotes individual discovery in learning.

The budget is €143.640 and is 100% covered by European funding. The program will last for 2 years and the first meeting will take place soon, at a time to be determined, in Athienou.