Nicolas Kyriakides, founder of the “Oxygono” NGO received the European Parliament’s European Citizen’s Prize 2022 on Friday.
The awarding ceremony took place at the EU House in Nicosia, in the presence of Cypriot MEP, Loucas Fourlas, as well as of EU member states ambassadors and officials of the European Commission Representation and the European Parliament Office in Cyprus.
In his speech, Kyriakides said that the prize is not a personal one, but is awarded to “Oxygono” and its affiliate projects, the “Cyprus Forum” and the “Nomoplatform” – an electronic legislative watchdog aiming to increase transparency. “Therefore, it is awarded to the dozens of people who have been working on these projects,” he said.
Kyriakides noted that “Oxygono” is an independent platform, which has been trying to exert positive pressure and serve in a constructive way.
“We wanted to contribute to building a culture of political impartiality and morality,” he added.
Moreover, Kyriakides announced that in April the “Oxygono” team will launch another project the “Cyprus Forum: Cities,” which will be the most significant local authorities conference in Cyprus, taking place in a different city every year.
Kyriakides and all recipients of the prize in other EU member states will travel to Brussels in November to be honoured during an event at the European Parliament.
.@NicKyriakides: Μπορεί η βελούδινη επανάσταση του @oxygono_org να μην φέρνει αποτελέσματα από τη μία μέρα στην άλλη, όμως είμαστε αισιόδοξοι και η προσπάθεια θα συνεχιστεί για μια πραγματικά συμμετοχική και κοινωνικά δίκαιη παραγωγή πολιτικής.#ECP pic.twitter.com/gcPga6GNz6
— EP in Cyprus (@Europarl_CY) October 21, 2022