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On 16 October 2025, the Municipality of Nicosia officially adopted the Charter of Consultation and Participation , a landmark policy document designed to institutionalize participatory governance at the local level. The Charter was prepared under the guidance of the Executive Director of Oxygen for Democracy and Founder of PolicyLab, George Isaia , who led the process in close collaboration with the municipal administration and Mayor Charalambos Prountzos . The drafting of

In 2025, the Law on Citizens’ Initiative  ( Ο περί της Πρωτοβουλίας Πολιτών Νόμος του 2025 ) was officially resubmitted to the House of Representatives, marking an important step forward for participatory democracy in Cyprus. The initiative was led by the Founder of PolicyLab and Advisor to the Commissioner for the Citizen, George Isaia , who coordinated the process of updating and refining the law in close cooperation with the Commissioner’s Office and key institutional stak

Why this topic? Why now? When Cyprus’s Minister of Education, Dr. Athena Michailidou, recently called for “the reintegration of civic education” and the strengthening of “the education of active and democratic citizens,” her words resonated with hope. For many Cypriots, it sounded like a long-overdue promise to bring civic learning back into the classroom and, more importantly, into society itself. But what does this vision truly entail? And where should Cyprus look for the

In an age of eroding trust, technology and civic action are redefining how citizens hold power to account. In 2023, 44% of people in OECD countries reported low or no trust in their government. At a time when many countries are facing a crisis of trust in their governments, civil society organisations (CSOs) have developed ways to engage the public in keeping governments accountable. Modern technology has made it easier than ever to access information, and citizen-led parlia

Abstract This article examines the correlation between the implementation of participatory mechanisms and democratic performance, as measured by leading democratic indexes. Through a comparative analysis of European nations, the findings suggest that countries which have adopted a greater number of maturely developed participatory mechanisms consistently achieve higher scores in democratic performance metrics. Read the full article here: https://policypress.cy/bridging-partic