By Maria Gregoriou
A NETWORK of volunteers and the Nicosia municipality have joined forces to promote an extensive cultural, social and environmental programme which aims to draw active participation from as many city residents as possible.
Organisers hope the planned events will create a more vibrant Nicosia and support its citizens during the economic crisis. They hope that more Nicosians who believe in a cultural, green and lively city will join in the efforts.
The first cultural events of the volunteer group Lefkosiazo – taken from the words ‘Nicosia’ and ‘alive’ – will begin tomorrow with the first in a series of free screenings of classical Greek and English films. These will be shown every Wednesday of July, twice in August and twice in September at the open air theatre of the cultural foundation of the Bank of Cyprus in Socratous Street in Faneromeni area at 9pm.
Entrance is free and the money collected from refreshments will go to charity organisations.
Municipality councillor and cultural committee chairperson Leoni Orfanidou described how the project came about at a press conference yesterday.
“One evening we all got together. We are all very different people but we all have a common love of Nicosia. Because for us Nicosia is a living place with huge potential, we wanted to do something for our city,” he said.
“We are a network of volunteers who believe in the unique power of action and want to share our vision for a better Nicosia. We believe now is the perfect time for our creativity and energy to be put into action.”
The group’s vision has been endorsed by Nicosia mayor Constantinos Yiorkadjis who called yesterday for the active participation of all those who were born in Nicosia or have chosen the capital as their home.
“Now more than ever, we must take action to create a city that we envision and deserve,” he said.
The Lefkosiazo network of volunteers is divided into five teams.
The ‘culture’ team will organise cultural events and performances. The ‘green’ team aims to help by cleaning and improving public spaces. The ‘plus’ team will support social actions. The ‘city’ team will focus on Nicosia’s rich history by arranging city walks and tours while the team ‘our voice’ will promote activities, lectures and publications.
The 1955 Greek film Laterna, Poverty and Pride kicks off the film programme tomorrow. On July 10 the 1931 film City Lights with Charlie Chaplin will be screened, followed by the Greek film A Greek Woman in a Harem on July 17. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly will be shown on July 24 and the Greek 1968 film The Taming of the Shrew will be on the last Wednesday of the month.
The 1933 comedy Duck Soup will be shown on August 7, followed by the Greek 1960 film Mandalena on August 28.
The 1963 film The Great Escape will be shown on September 4 while the programme will end with a screening of the 1953 film Roman Holiday on September 11.
To become a volunteer with Lefkosiazo go to http://www.lefkosiazo.com/. You can also view upcoming events as they are announced and make any suggestions or comments.