Initiative Coordinator: AKTI Project and Research Centre (Cyprus)

Partners: Norsensus Mediaforum (Norway)

Relative Outcome: Increased Citizen Participation in Civic Activities

Duration: 5 months

Grant Amount: € 3,990.00

Through this bilateral collaboration, AKTI Project and Research Centre and the Norwegian organisation Norsensus Mediaforum, aim to organize and participate in a three-day visit to Norway for training/mentoring purposes on topics related to communication and public engagement tools and practices e.g., how to introduce the hands-on technology engagement tool Tiganokinisi-(http://www.tiganokinisi.eu/)).

This initiative aims to the exchange, share and transfer of knowledge, expertise, and best practices to enhance AKTI’s digital presence for online campaigns (such as AKTIs annual campaign ‘’#Potavristou’’*), to increase the impact of the ongoing project AdvocaCY which benefits from a grant under the Active Citizens Fund Cyprus programme, and to deepen the already established partnership between AKTI and Norsensus.

The activities planned for this initiative consist of a three-day visit in Norway, where two members of AKTI will travel to Oslo for a hands-on training on how to maximize public outreach and increase digital communication capacity, using specific tools and examples. This initiative will ultimately result in a knowledge transfer tool to be shared with other CSOs on topics related to enhancing and promoting citizen participation and engagement. AKTI will be able to gain valuable knowledge and experiences that will be ultimately transferred to other CSOs across the divide, through the activities of the AdvocaCY project, creating a spill-over effect. To be more specific, this tool will be used as a mean to encourage citizens through AKTIs online platforms (e.g. social media) to get informed and participate in actions and events related to the environment, sustainability and climate change, increasing pubic engagement, while raising awareness related to sustainability and climate change.

*#Potavristou is a citizen-based initiative, where AKTI urges citizens to reach out and pick-up garbage from wherever they are (schools, neighbourhoods etc) for the entire month of September promoting volunteerism and active citizenship.