Dozens of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot volunteers cleaned the bastions of the Venetian walls of Nicosia on Saturday morning as part of the bicommunal environmental initiative “Let’s Do It! Nicosia 2026.” The event was organised by “Let’s Do It! Cyprus” in collaboration with the Turkish Cypriot organisation “Green Peace Movement” (Yeşil Barış Hareketi – YBH) as part of World Cleanup Day. The initiative was supported by the High Commission of India and the Embassy of Ireland.
World Cleanup Day is one of the largest global citizen mobilisations to tackle waste and environmental pollution. It has been officially recognised by the United Nations as an international day observed annually on September 20.
“Let’s Do It! Nicosia 2026” kicked off simultaneously at 09:30 from two locations in Nicosia’s historic centre: Faneromeni Church and the Büyük Han.
The two volunteer groups carried out cleanup operations along the bastions of the Venetian walls of Nicosia and subsequently headed toward the Home for Cooperation, where they met at approximately 11:00.
In a statement to the media, the Mayor of Nicosia, Charalambos Prountzos, described the event as “a very important initiative within the framework of ‘Let’s Do It! Cyprus’ and the 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 significant public participation,” he emphasised.
“Along the section of the Venetian walls stretching from Stasinou Avenue to the Home for Cooperation, approximately 100 people took part in this effort, including a great many children and young people. This sends a very positive message regarding society’s need to bring about the change it desires,” he noted.
At the same time, Prountzos conveyed the message that “society can bring about necessary changes through participation, by mobilising the community, and by contributing to causes that are universal and shared by all, such as cleanliness and environmental protection.”
“The bi-communal nature of the event is obviously very important. I am pleased that Mehmet (Harmancı) and I had the opportunity to take part in this initiative,” he added. “This is not the first time—this initiative has been undertaken countless times—but it grows every year, and we are very happy about that,” he emphasised.
Responding to a question, the Mayor of Nicosia stated that a significant number of bags of waste were collected, adding that 15 to 20 bags of non-biodegradable waste —accumulated due to recent rains— were gathered from a tributary of the Pedieos River.
On his part, the ‘mayor’ of the Turkish-occupied part of Nicosia, Mehmet Harmancı, said that he was ‘’very pleased to join Charalambos (Prountzos) and encourage civil society to come together for the sake of our city, to give a message that we have common problems on environment.’’
‘’If one side is polluted, the other side is also affected. We need to take care about the city together in terms of environment and cleaning-wise. We need to cooperate, understand each other, and work together for the sake of our city,’’ Harmancı pointed out.
‘’I’m glad that Charalambos (Prountzos) is very keen on the city, and working with him is giving us energy to do the same things over there as well,’’ he added.
Finally, he said that around 60 volunteers from the Turkish-occupied part of Nicosia took part in the event this year, adding that ‘’every year they are becoming more.’’
The Cyprus News Agency (CNA) was the media sponsor of the event.