Communicating the benefits of the Cohesion Policy to the citizens of Cyprus.
(Grant)
Media coverage for Cohesion in Cyprus is rather limited.
Besides some official announcements by the beneficiaries or the Managing Authority only few news items can be found that clearly mention cohesion policy. When media are reporting on the implementation of key projects they do mention the EU funding but without any more details on the level of support, programme etc.
Citizens seem to be unaware of the impact the policy has to their lives. According to the findings of the 2021 Eurobarometer 497 only 39% of the Cypriots asked knew at least one project in their area that was funded by EU funds.
Against this background the main objective of our project is to illustrate and assess the role of Cohesion policy in: delivering the EU’s political priorities, addressing current and new challenges and making sure that no region or city will be left behind.
We want to support all efforts to communicate Cohesion by providing unbiased, objective, and easy to understand information to the Cypriots.
We will achieve this through a holistic media partnership that includes TV, radio, online media and events to ensure that targeted audiences will be approached in the best way, in the medium they prefer to consume news.
In 12 months we will produce Sustained TV and online coverage of Cohesion, Multimedia, audio and online articles explainers, podcasts, music and knowledge radio contests, 3 events in Cyprus and 1 Brussels and an online library with handbooks for stakeholders.
Our aim is to improve awareness and knowledge of the citizens and stakeholders and inspire debates on the impact and the future of the policy. Informed citizens are resistant to misinformation and active stakeholders help to shape cohesion to better address the needs of the citizens.