Cyprus Youth Council and Cyprus Youth DiplomaCY announce that the House of Youth Representatives has been shortlisted by Salto Participation and Information Resources Center, as one of the best projects in Europe regarding youth participation.
The House of Youth Representatives has been selected as one of eleven best projects in Europe (among 70 initial candidates) which help empower youth and promote their representation in decision-making processes.
The award ceremony of SALTO PI Awards will take place online on Thursday, May 14, 17:00 and will be broadcasted live via the SALTO PI page on Facebook. The ceremony was scheduled to take place in Talin, Estonia, however the live event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Representatives of the 11 shortlisted projects will participate in the ceremony. Christiana Xenofontos of Cyprus Youth Council and Ioanna Demosthenous of Cyprus Youth DiplomaCY will represent the House of Youth Representatives.
As the co-organisers of the project, we are especially proud for this honour. The House of Youth Representatives is a project that has managed to give a voice to youth in Cyprus, has opened channels of communication between young people and state officials, and has achieved to involve youth in the policy-making of the Republic of Cyprus. However, we believe that the most important achievement of the project is that it has created active citizens who care about the common good.
Therefore, the success of the project belongs to the 300+ young people that have taken part in it since 2016. The people who have sent the message that the young men and young women of Cyprus request and deserve a place at decision-making processes.
The success of the project could not have been possible without the support we have received from state institutions. First, we would like to thank the Youth Board of Cyprus, which has provided the funding for the project, for its trust and support over the years.
We would also like to thank the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus, which with its decision in 2017 to institutionalise the project, has created a permanent space for young people in decision-making processes.
Also, we would like to thank the House of Representatives for its support, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance, The Ministry of Interior, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, which willingly opened their doors for us to and heard our suggestions.
We are also grateful to the Officer of the Ombudsman, to the Commissioner for Volunteerism and Non-Governmental Organisations, to the Commissioner for Gender Equality and to the Commissioner for the Environment, for their feedback regarding the project.
Last, we would like to thank the former state officials, experts, academics, and the civil society representatives who, over the years, have supported the project through their meetings and discussions with the young representatives.
Regardless of the results of the SALTO PI Awards, we consider the project to be victorious, as it has managed to institutionalise the dialogue between young people and the state and has achieved to bring youth closer to decision-making.
We both, Cyprus Youth Council and Cyprus Youth DiplomaCY, will continue to strive for enhancing the project and the young people of Cyprus.
Cyprus Youth Council & Cyprus Youth DiplomaCY
Nicosia
May 12, 2020