MATCH (Mediterranean as the Climate Hotspot) addresses the Mediterranean’s climate crisis by bringing together art, community action, and environmental awareness.

Promoted by local cultural organisations and rooted in community gardens, MATCH empowers residents through visible mitigation practices and the promotion of resilient, place-based ways of living. Central to the project are transnational artistic residencies across five Mediterranean cities, where artists co-create meaningful, community-driven works that inspire grassroots responses.

These initiatives are strengthened through an ambitious capacity building programme that cultivates a dynamic, cross-sectoral network across the region. Over two days in Nicosia, artists and partners will gather in an open and collaborative space for learning, exchange and reflection, paving the way for the residencies to follow.

In Nicosia, MATCH takes place in the Gardens of the Future, an oasis in the heart of Old Nicosia and winner of the 2022 New European Bauhaus Prize. The Gardens brings together artists, architects, gardeners, philosophers, and neighbours to cultivate produce, ideas, and community. Once abandoned following the island’s war and division in 1974, the site has been revived through collective care and municipal support, symbolising regeneration and coexistence.

In Cyprus, MATCH Capacity Building Workshop builds on D6:EU’s long-standing work linking culture and the green agenda through initiatives such as Emergency, Influence and Practice (2022) and CONTESTED DESIRES: Constructive Dialogues (2024–26), a Creative Europe programme exploring colonial heritage and its environmental impact.

Meet the contributors

Clymene Christoforou, Co Director (D6EU) has extensive experience in international cultural development, and advocates culture’s role in sustainable development, project lead for transnational programmes she serves as an expert for European Platforms and networks international cultural diplomacy institutions.

Argyro Toumazou, Co Director (D6:EU) is a cultural consultant and producer with over 20 years’ experience. She promotes culture as a catalyst for social change and sustainability. Argyro brings the work of  Culture Action Europe to Cyprus, is a member of the Anna Lindh Foundation Cyprus Steering Committee and advocates on a national level for cultural rights and development.

Nicholas Anastasopoulos, National Technical University, Athens, Greece, specialises in  environmental management, sustainability and alternative social and living formations with research interests in sustainability, commons, the urban condition, communities, systems theory, degrowth and ecology. 

Xenia Loizidou Chair of the Board, AKTI, is a non-governmental, non-profit Project and Research Centre based in Nicosia, Cyprus – winner of European Citizens Award at Delphi Economic Forum 2025, is a Civil and Coastal Engineer and an expert in participatory decision-making, sustainability, green and blue growth.   

Georgios Georgiou (Nicosia Municipality) is a landscape architect, working at the Green department at the Municipality.

Vasiliki Vasileiou (Nicosia Municipality), is a Greenery manager and PhD candidate, at the Municipality of Nicosia

Nikos Georgoudis (OEPCR) CY co-ordinator for National Contact Points/Desks for Creative Europe, CERV, and the New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative, providing information, guidance, and support to beneficiaries and stakeholders..

Margarita Ioannou (OEPCR) supports the Culture Moves Europe programme for the cultural mobility of Cypriot artists and organisations.