News

AKTI’s Argonaftes Marisa Ieridou and Valentini Stavrou, attended the Youth in Action Program ‘Sustainability, Capacity and Development Camp’ for Youth Leaders (Action 4.1), that was held in the village of Ankelohe in Germany between 31st May- 8th April 2013. The participating countries were Cyprus, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and Germany and the participants were all youth leaders in NGOs in their countries. The aims of this training were to give practical experience to the NGO youth leaders about how to create a sustainable organization.

Experienced trainers guided the participants through challenges through which the participants learnt how to:

• Create long-term strategy for the organization.
• Motivate more people to join the organization and work on projects.
• Ensure sustainable and long-term funding for the organization.

The training was done through outdoor simulation activities where the teams had to achieve difficult tasks with limited resources. Through simulation the participants acquired and practiced their soft skills, which are necessary for efficient leadership of NGOs such as public speaking, negotiation skills, presentation skills and sales skills.

AKTI’s Argonaftes Anthi Gavriel, Marisa Ieridou and Valentini Stavrou, attended the information visit in Brussels between the 17th – 20th of April 2013 organized by the European Commission in Cyprus. Greek and Turkish Cypriot members of environmental NGOs were the target participants. The aim of the visit was to acquaint the participants with the European Union’s Institutions (the Commission, the Council, the Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions). Main focus was given to the European integration, citizens’ rights and the policies of the European Union and particularly the actions of the Commission related to Environmental Protection and Climate Change. Presentations on the initiatives of the European Union with respect to environment and climate change were given to the participants who had the opportunity to network with the other participant organizations, as well as with policy officers of the European Commission.