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1. Reducing obstacles to young people's access to culture

2. Disseminating information on cultural opportunities

3. Knowledge of cultural heritage amongst young people

Reducing obstacles to young people's access to culture

The Youth Board of Cyprus (YBC) runs the “Youth Initiatives” funding scheme which subsidizes young people and youth NGO’s, youth clubs and local youth councils to organise their own projects on different action fields. Three of those action fields are related to Cultural Interventions; Innovation and Creativity Projects; Youth and Books. According to the YBC’s 2022 infographics of the Scheme’s funded projects, cultural events seem to prevail in young people’s activities. Specifically, almost 30% of the actions funded in 2022 concerned cultural activities (109 funded projects out of 400 successful applications). Moreover, in an effort to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Youth Board announced a new funding scheme for young people and youth organisations entitled “ReCOVer20”. Around 30% of the funded projects concerned cultural activities (26 out of 86 approved projects). The above data is available on the YBC’s website (Στατιστικά Στοιχεία).

The "Youth Culture Card" was launched in 2023 by the Deputy Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Youth Board of Cyprus. Its purpose is to reduce obstacles to young people’s access to culture.. The Youth Culture Card is a prepaid card loaded with €220, which allow 18-year-old young people  to attend concerts, festivals, theatre, dance performances, art exhibitions, film screenings, arts festivals, visits to museums, and archaeological sites free of charge.

The aim of the card is to encourage young people to participate in cultural life and to enjoy activities that may not be financially accessible without it. Furthermore, it promotes young people's involvement in the cultural community and contributes to the development of cultural thinking and interest.

This measure is implemented on a pilot basis and the aim of the Deputy Ministry of Culture is to develop and improve it in order to offer even more to our culture and our young people.

Also, one foundation promoting specifically the access of young people to culture is the Larnaca Cultural Foundation for Children and Youth (Ίδρυμα Πολιτιστικής Δημιουργίας για Παιδιά και Νέους) established by the Ministry of Education,Sport and Youth in 2010, and hosted by the Municipality of Larnaca. The key objectives of the Foundation are to provide equal opportunities to children and youth to participate in creativity through cultural and artistic experiences. Also, it aims to strengthen interculturalism, to promote our cultural identity and participate in cultural and artistic projects by focusing on children, teenagers and the youth.  The Foundation organises on an annual basis a number of activities and programmes (e.g., creative workshops on theatre, music, personal development, creative writing, workshops with emphasis on architecture as well as script writing and film making) which enhance cultural participation of young people regardless of their nationality or financial background, in the broader region of Larnaca.

The Cyprus Theatre Organisation (THOC) during the year 2020/2021 organised two-day scenography and theatrical play workshops, named “Valitsa” (Εργαστήρια Βαλίτσα), in which minors who live in juvenile facilities can participate. For young people under 25 years, THOC also offers reduced ticket price (for THOC’s productions), as well as organized visits to their buildings with an educational program for theatre evaluation.

Furthermore, the Department of Contemporary Culture  of the Deputy Ministry of Culture  offers various funding opportunities to either professionals in the field, NGO’s, local authorities or general public, such as:

1. Culture programme II 2021-2025
2. Thymeli 2024
3. Cultural decentralization program 2024
4. Funding-Schemes for operating expenses 2024
5. Funding for presentation, communication, networking expenses of cultural organizations
6. Transit plan 2021-2025
7. Projects related to cinema
8. Program to strengthen creation and research in the field of contemporary dance – terpsichori 2024
9. Book and Literature sectors
10. "CYPRIA 2024" Arts Festival 
11. Plan to support cultural activities of religious groups (2024)

The programme guides, the criteria and the application forms of the above-mentioned funding schemes are available only in Greek and can be found in the Deputy Ministry’s website.

The Department of Theatre Development of the Cyprus Theatre Organisation, has been engaged since its establishment in 1979 in ways and projects that broaden and promote theatre activity in Cyprus, in cooperation with other bodies and social groups.The main activities of the Department of Theatre Development are the following:

• Subsidisation of performances by theatre companies which are active in Cyprus;
• School theatre – Organisation of the Pancyprian Theatre School Games and workshops for teachers;
• Amateur theatre – Organisation of the Pancyprian Festival of Amateur Theatre;
• Organisation of Masterclasses for various theatre disciplines;
• Collaboration with non-governmental organisations and groups for the promotion of activities for theatre;
• Financial support of organised groups that have among their objectives the development of theatre (Cyprus Centre of the International Theatre Institute, Actors Union of Cyprus, Cyprus Playwrights Society, etc.);
• Provision of information to prospective students, parents, professionals, organisations interested in the theatre in Cyprus, educational institutions, organised groups, etc.

It should be noted that due to the lockdown and the restrictive measures for the Covid-19 pandemic, several festivals and cultural activities had to be postponed or cancelled.  In an effort to support art workers and the cultural sector in general, the Council of Ministers decided the following measures:

• Artists (including young ones) were supported by a lamp sum amounting to €1.500 (Καταβολή έκτακτης χορηγίας σε επαγγελματίες των Τεχνών και του Πολιτισμού).Cultural NGOs received a subsidy based on certain criteria of up to €20.000.
• Further support was allocated to the programme “Culture”.

Disseminating information on cultural opportunities

One of main information providers to young people in Cyprus are the Youth Multicentres operated by the Youth Board of Cyprus. Therefore, information on cultural opportunities is disseminated through the Centres who are located in every city of the non-occupied part of the island. 

There is also the Cyprus Music Information Centre (CyMIC) Οestablished in 2008 by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth and the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra Foundation with the aim to become the primary provider of specialized information, publications and music scores about the whole range of Cyprus music.

Knowledge of cultural heritage amongst young people

Several actions for raising awareness on cultural heritage take place in the context of formal education,  as mentioned in the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth (MOEC) 2021 Annual Report . 

The UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) was established in Cyprus since the school year 1969/1970, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth. Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO that . It aims at promoting UNESCO's goals for young people. The ASPnet includes public and private primary and secondary schools, which engage in a variety of ways, such as by organizing conferences and participating in events hosted by other schools abroad. 

In the context of its implementation, the 43rd Pancyprian Symposium ASPnet took place between 30 March 2023 - 31 March 2023, in Paphos and Drousia, with the theme: "Sustainable Development, Protection and Promotion of the Cultural and Natural Heritage of Akamas". It was co-organized by the Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO, the National Coordinator of the ASPnet Cyprus Network and the Lyceum A' Ethnarchi Makarios III of Paphos.

The Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO operates under the supervision of the State as exercised by the Minister of Education, Sport and Youth through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry. The Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth provides the Commission with funding for its organizational needs and the promotion of its programmes. The Commission actively promotes the implementation of the UNESCO Conventions and Programmes in Cyprus in conjunction with all Ministries and Government Services, as well as with Non-Governmental Organisations the activities of which are related to those of UNESCO, in other words, education, culture, social studies and humanities, natural studies and communication and information.

The Cyprus Research Centre (CRC) was founded in 1964 with the aim of enabling Cypriot and overseas scholars to research the history and civilisation of Cyprus and to have the conclusions of the relevant research published on a systematic basis. Research programmes are connected with the most fundamental aspects of Cypriot studies, that is on the history, folklore, linguistics, literature, ethnography and sociology of Cyprus. The CRC. has a specialised library covering the history and civilisation not only of Cyprus but also that of Greece, Europe and the Middle East in general.

The Organisation of European Programmes and Cultural Relations was established in 2020 by the decision of the Council of Ministers, with the aim of undertaking the management of the National Contact Points for the European programs related to the field of culture, as well as the promotion of other related programs and actions. The Organisation undertakes, among others, the management of the "Creative Europe Desk" Cyprus and the National Contact Point for the "Citizens, Equality, Rights, Values" programme. As the Creative Europe Desk for Cyprus,  the organisations provides assistance to cultural and creative agencies regarding the Creative Europe Programme. The Desks are designed to provide services such as:

• Free information and guidance on how to access funding opportunities under the Creative Europe Program
• Regular updates on audiovisual and culture related issues at European level.
• Networking support facilitating contact between cultural operators in different countries and partner finding opportunities.