Dozens of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot volunteers cleaned the bastions of Nicosia's Venetian walls on Saturday morning, as part of the bicommunal environmental initiative "Let's Do It! Nicosia 2026," organised by Let's Do It! Cyprus in cooperation with the Turkish Cypriot organisation Green Peace Movement (Yeşil Barış Hareketi, YBH), as part of World Cleanup Day. The event was supported by the High Commission of India and the Embassy of Ireland.
World Cleanup Day is one of the largest global citizen mobilisations against waste and environmental pollution, and has been officially recognised by the United Nations as an International Day, marked each year on 20 September.
"Let's Do It! Nicosia 2026" began simultaneously at 9.30am from two points in Nicosia's historic centre: the Faneromeni church and Büyük Han.
The two groups of volunteers carried out clean-ups along the bastions of Nicosia's Venetian walls before heading toward the Home for Cooperation, where they met at around 11am.
More than 150 volunteers take part
Speaking to the media, Nicosia Mayor Charalambos Prountzos described the event as "a very important initiative as part of Let's Do It! Cyprus and efforts to clean up Nicosia and improve the environment."
"This is a civil society initiative, which this year was supported by the High Commission of India and the Embassy of Ireland, with a good number of people taking part," he said.
"Along the stretch of the Venetian walls from Stasinou Avenue to the Home for Cooperation, around 100 people took part in this effort, including a great many children and young people. That sends a very positive message about society's need to bring about the change it wants to see," he noted.
Prountzos also stressed that "society can bring about the changes it needs by taking part, mobilising the community, and giving of itself for causes that are universal and shared, such as cleanliness and environmental protection."
"The bicommunal character of the event is obviously very important. I'm glad that Mehmet (Harmancı) and I had the opportunity to take part in this initiative together," he added.
"This isn't the first time, it's the umpteenth time this effort has taken place, but it grows every year, and we're very happy about that," he stressed.
Asked about the results, the Mayor of Nicosia said several bags of waste had been collected, adding that in one stream of the Pedieos River, 15 to 20 bags of non-biodegradable waste that had accumulated there due to recent rainfall were collected.
'We must care for our city together'
For his part, the "mayor" of the occupied part of Nicosia, Mehmet Harmancı, said he was "very happy" to have taken part in the event alongside Charalambos Prountzos, "encouraging civil society to come together for the sake of our city, to send the message that we share the same environmental problems."
"If one side gets polluted, the other is affected too. We need to look after the city together when it comes to the environment and cleanliness. We need to cooperate, understand one another, and work together for the sake of our city," Harmancı said.
"I'm glad that Charalambos (Prountzos) cares so much about the city, and working with him gives us the energy to do the same things on our side too," he added.
Finally, he said around 60 volunteers from the occupied part of Nicosia took part in this year's event, adding that "every year there are more."
Source: Cyprus News Agency (CNA)
