Major European Distinction for the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia for ‘Sector 2: Nicosia – The Green Line Project’

With great emotion and pride, the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia has announced that its ‘Sector 2: Nicosia – The Green Line Project’ has been honoured
with a European Heritage Award / Europa Nostra Award in the category ‘Citizens’ Engagement & Awareness-raising’. The award recognises outstanding heritage-led projects that promote intercultural dialogue and strengthen citizens’ active participation and civic responsibility.

This recognition by Europa Nostra reaffirms the role of the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia as a dynamic institution that highlights cultural heritage as a living tool for awareness-raising and social cohesion.

The ‘Sector 2: Nicosia – The Green Line Project’ was conceived, developed and implemented by the Museum’s team and reinterprets the creation of the Green Line that runs through Nicosia through the perspective of the city’s people and the shared trauma they continue to experience. At its core lies the exhibition Sector 2: Nicosia, where oral testimonies, objects, photographs and personal memorabilia are connected with archival material, forming a temporary exhibition that links individual memories with collective history.

Theatre professionals, designers and digital application specialists created an immersive environment featuring audiovisual material, soundscapes and virtual reality installations that guide visitors through the past and present of the city. The exhibition presents the complex history of Nicosia in an authentic and unbiased manner, allowing space for personal interpretation and reflection while encouraging dialogue, reconciliation and peaceful coexistence.

Guided tours along the Ceasefire Line, lectures shedding light on both well-known and lesser-known aspects of the history of division, educational programmes
and workshops for families and school groups were organised. In addition, documentary screenings, the concert ‘O Makridromos’ [The long road] and the publication
of an extensive catalogue further expanded the project’s reach.

The project’s significant impact led to the creation of a parallel exhibition in Athens as part of the Cultural Programme of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2026, hosted at the Tobacco Factory of the Hellenic Parliament, co-organised with the Deputy Ministry of Culture of Cyprus and under the auspices
of the Hellenic Parliament. At the same time, in collaboration with the House of Cyprus in Athens, a programme of events was developed, including a small photography exhibition, a theatrical performance and guided tours for school groups, officials, diplomats and individual visitors, further strengthening cultural and historical dialogue between the two capitals.

Through these actions, the Museum transformed memory into a lived experience and participation into a tool for meaningful dialogue. As the Museum’s team states:
‘This distinction is a great honour and belongs to everyone who contributed. Sector 2: Nicosia is an open invitation to see the capital in a different light, to listen,
to understand and to connect. It is dedicated to the people of Nicosia and Cyprus who continue to dream of a united city… a united homeland.’

The ‘Sector 2: Nicosia – The Green Line Project’ was implemented with the support of public authorities, organisations, institutional partners and media sponsors, standing as a strong example of collective effort and the power of collaboration.

Sponsor: The A. G. Leventis Foundation / Media sponsors: O Phileleftheros, Philenews / TV media sponsor: Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation / With the support of: Nicosia Municipality │Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation – Digital Herodotus │ Press and Information Office (Photo Archive and Newspaper Archive), Ministry of Interior, Republic of Cyprus │ Cyprus State Archives, Ministry of Justice and Public Order, Republic of Cyprus │ CYENS Centre of Excellence │ The Association of the Friends of the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia and the A. G. Leventis Gallery

Contributors:

General coordinator: Tzeni Lymperopoulou Savvidou | Curation, research and collection of exhibition material: Chrysostomos Sakallis | Curators: Tzeni Lymperopoulou Savvidou, Maria Patsalosavvi | Archive assistant: Panagiota Chatzoglou | Exhibition consultants: Loukia Loizou Hadjigavriel, Demetra Theodotou Anagnostopoulou | Scientific consultants: Petros Papapolyviou, Antigone Heraclidou | Stage design: Magdalena Zira | Set design: Elena Katsouri | Museological planning advisor: Nayia Savvides | Exhibition graphics / branding: Appios Creative Studio | Text editing: Alexandra Pel (English), Georgia M. Panselina (Greek) | Translation: Antigone Heraclidou, Despina Pirketti | Promotion: Margarita Kounnafi, Rafaella Konstantinou| Educational programmes: Mariel Kouveli | Administration: Lella Lymboura | Special constructions: Yiannos Kyriakou | Technical works and lighting: Argyris Argyrou | Health and safety manager: Nicos Pampoulos | Editing of digital material: Wavemade Productions | Virtual reality application: CYENS – ITICA / Museum Lab | Soundscapes and videos: Artemis Evlogimenou | 3D virtual tour: DuooVision Ltd | Conservation of exhibits: Andri Meli | Digital printing: Arnold’s Digital Printers Ltd | Perspex mounts: Mageva Plastics Ltd | Painting of exhibition scenery: Stefanos Nearchou