9.5 Green volunteering, production and consumption
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Green volunteering
The 'Green Volunteering' program, launched by the Youth Board of Cyprus in 2024, encourages young people to gain experience in environmental issues through volunteering. It aims to raise awareness, promote eco-friendly actions, provide environmental education, and foster active participation. Eligible activities include tree planting, cleanups, recycling, and environmental workshops. The program is open to informal youth groups, local and national youth organizations, youth centers, and secondary schools, supporting collective efforts to protect the environment and engage youth in meaningful projects.
As mentioned in the section 9.4, the initiative 'Let’s Do it Cyprus' promotes also green volunteering among young people. A similar campaign is the “WEGREEN CYPRUS” (Πρασινίζουμε την Κύπρο) which acts for the reforestation and recuperation of natural sights destroyed by the catastrophic forest fires during summer of 2016. The campaign is run by the Department of Forests, the Cyprus Forest Association, the Commissioner for the Environment and other relevant public authorities. The programme is financed by private and public donations and its operational needs are covered totally through voluntary work. The target group of the programme is the entire population in Cyprus, including young people.
Green production and consumption
In October 2023, the Office of the Commissioner for the Environment organized an event titled 'Environment, Sustainable Food Production, and Consumption' at the Atsas Educational Center in Skouriotissa, in recognition of World Food Day. The event aimed to highlight the importance of sustainable nutrition through discussions, interactive activities, and educational workshops. Experts from various sectors explored responsible consumer practices, food waste reduction, and the role of local food production in sustainability and regional development. The event also featured local agri-food products and hands-on activities for children. It was organized in collaboration with regional organizations and co-financed by the Directorate-General for Development.
There are no main top-level policies, programmes, projects or initiatives that foster young people's participation in green production and consumption apart from the ones mentioned above and in section 9.4 on Non-formal and informal learning.