Festival trail ends in Nicosia

A FUN-FILLED festival to celebrate everything multi-cultural, ranging from food to dancing, will be taking place this Sunday at Phaneromeni square in Nicosia from 6pm to 9pm.

The festival, which is mainly being organised by Intercollege Larnaca and comes under the auspices of the Nicosia Municipality, promises activities for all ages.

“The aim of the festival is to help integration and for everyone to understand each other, by showing each other’s cultures,” said Costas Apostolides, one of the festival organisers.

Food from countries as far apart as China and Mexico, will be on offer throughout the festival, along with Georgian, Pontian and Cypriot dances. There will also be a Cameroonian fashion show and a Brazilian Martial Arts display.

Children will be kept entertained with a bouncy castle, face painting and arts and crafts.

“These are initiatives that the municipality welcomes and supports as an opportunity to find out about other cultures and support mutual respect,” said Mayor of Nicosia, Eleni Mavrou. “It presents the richness that multi-culturalism can give a city through entertainment.”

According to Apostolides, the festivals have been held island wide already including Paphos, Limassol and Larnaca with Nicosia being the last stop on the festival route.

Other activities linked to the festivals have had a more serious aim, with some of them targeting specific problems faced by non-EU nationals. Two round tables were held, one in Limassol and one in Nicosia, which highlighted how computer and pharmaceutical companies in Cyprus have problems getting highly qualified people from abroad to fill certain positions due to immigration restrictions.

The festivals are funded partly by the EU integration fund and partly by the Interior Ministry.

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