On this page

1. Governance

2. Cross-sectorial cooperation

Governance

The main actor involved in policy making in the field of social inclusion of young people is the Social Welfare Services (Υπηρεσίες Κοινωνικής Ευημερίας) of the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare (Υφυπουργείο Κοινωνικής Πρόνοιας). The Deputy Ministry was established at the end of 2021. Some of the responsibilities of the new authority are the creation of programs towards social inclusion and improved level of living for all, including the Social Welfare Services, the Department for Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities and the Benefits Service. In general, the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare aims to provide all citizens equal access opportunities to social services, through which it aims to support individuals and families. Moreover, the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare has employed more than 40 social workers in December 2024, who are based in Local Authorities nationwide,after the successful pilot implementation of the "Neighborhood Social Worker" program, the next step is to proceed with its nationwide expansion.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance ( Υπουργείο Εργασίας και Κοινωνικών Ασφαλίσεων) is also a major actor in social inclusion, since its mission is to promote social justice within a free democratic system based on the pillars of social cohesion and social inclusion. The Ministry works on the maintenance and continuous improvement of the standard of living and the quality of life of the working population and of society in general. 

Apart from the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, the following public actors are also involved in  policy-making regarding young people’s social inclusion:

The Ministry of Interior (Υπουργείο Εσωτερικών) whose mission is to formulate and implement human-centered policies. The anthropocentric action of the Ministry of the Interior is based on the following policy pillars: a) A qualitative upgrading of the services provided to the citizen, b) Answer to the new housing plans put into effect on 1.1.2007, c) Upgrading the role and restructuring of local government, d) The intensification of the efforts to reconstruct and simplify the processes that prove inadequate to meet the modern needs and needs of the citizens. The  Migration Department (Τμήμα Μετανάστευσης) is responsible to promote social cohesion policies and practices through the adoption of various methodologies and mechanisms, including children and youngsters regardless of their cultural and/or religious background.

The Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth (Υπουργείο Παιδείας, Πολιτισμού, και Νεολαίας), which is responsible for the fields of education, youth and sports. Also, the Youth Board of Cyprus runs under the Ministry and is responsible for advising the Minister and the Council of Ministers on youth issues; in addition,  the Cyprus Sports Organization (“Κυπριακός Οργανισμός Αθλητισμού") which is connected to the Ministry and takes care of the sports culture in the country. Students’ social inclusion is considered one of the Ministry’s main aims in all levels of education, through the adoption of various methods and practices.

The  Ministry of Health (Υπουργείο Υγείας) whose mission is the continuous improvement of the health of the population of Cyprus, through the prevention of disease, and the provision to every citizen of high level health care, respecting the rights of every patient to high-quality medical care delivered with dignity.

The Office of the Commissioner for Gender Equality (Γραφείο Επιτρόπου για την Ισότητα των Φύλων), which is the institution responsible for designing Gender Equality Policies, implementing and monitoring the implementation of these policies. The National Action Plan for Gender Equality between Men and Women 2019-2023 (Εθνικό Σχέδιο Δράσης για την Ισότητα μεταξύ Ανδρών και Γυναικών 2019-2023) stresses the need to support vulnerable groups of people such as children and youngsters, in order to gain access in education and life-long learning, which will enable them to develop necessary knowledge and skills for a full participation in society.

The Office of the Commissioner for Children’s Rights (Επίτροπος Προστασίας των Δικαιωμάτων του Παιδιού), whose mission is to protect and promote the rights of the child. The Commissioner’s role is to a) represent children and their interests at all levels, b) promote public awareness and sensitivity so that children’s’ rights in the family, at school, and in the community are safeguarded, c) identify and promote the views of children where they themselves cannot be heard, d) monitor legislation relating to children and to submit proposals aiming at their harmonization with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, e) carry out public awareness campaigns, f) appoint a representative of the child in judicial proceedings affecting him/her and finally g) represent children in procedures affecting them.

Cross-sectorial cooperation

A mechanism of cross-sectorial cooperation has been set up for the Strategy for Social Policy 2021-2027 (Στρατηγική για την Κοινωνική Πολιτική 2022-2027) between Ministries, Departments, Agencies involved in defining policies and measures on social inclusion. In particular, for the development of the Strategy for Social Policy, the Social Welfare Services, as the competent coordinating authority for social protection and integration issues, worked closely with representatives of the two main categories of partners:

• Ministries/ Services and Local Authorities and                                                                       

• Social partners and civil society.

At the same time, all the stakeholders involved in this Strategy are also represented in the Cross-sectorial Working Group on Youth working for the National Youth Strategy 2017-2022.