Children came up with a host of ideas for making their neighbourhood greener, from planting more trees and adding benches to creating spaces for play, walking and socialising, during an event in Nicosia on Sunday.
The ‘Our street needs green!’ activity was held in Ayioi Omoloyites as part of the Laou Laou Open Streets initiative, aimed at creating greener and more welcoming neighbourhoods.
The activity was organised as part of the European Climate Pact and coordinated by Cyprus’ European Climate Pact ambassador Eirini Andreou.
Working with a large map of the neighbourhood, children were invited to transform dull streets and redesign them according to their own ideas.
Using modelling clay and other natural and recyclable materials, they added colour, greenery, play areas, pathways and other features, turning their imagination and ideas into a model of the greener, more welcoming and accessible neighbourhood they envisioned.
The activity gave children an opportunity to express their ideas through play and creativity, while encouraging a wider discussion about public spaces and how cities and neighbourhoods should look and feel.
“The children showed us, in their own way, something very important: they want neighbourhoods with more greenery and more space to move around, play and come together,” Andreou said.
“We should listen to their voices when discussing the cities we want to create. This is also at the heart of the European Climate Pact: bringing climate action closer to our everyday lives and encouraging everyone to take part,” she added.
Laou Laou Open Streets, an initiative by OPU Collective, was held as part of European Mobility Week, transforming streets in Ayioi Omoloyites for one day into spaces for people, activities and community interaction.
The European Climate Pact is a European Commission initiative aimed at encouraging individuals, communities and organisations to take part in climate action and help build more sustainable communities.
Launched as part of the European Green Deal, the European Climate Pact supports the EU’s goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050.
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