The challenge
Geographical isolation is a significant challenge for environmental organizations on islands, as it usually hinders their ability to connect with each other and collaborate effectively. Limited resources, including funding and staff, further compound this challenge, making it often difficult for organizations to initiate and sustain collaborative initiatives among the islands.
The solution
Bringing together local environmental organizations from different islands of the Cyclades presents a valuable opportunity to leverage collective expertise, resources, and experiences for the benefit of environmental conservation and sustainable development in the region.
Driven by this need, CPF designed and implement its flagship program CPF Islanders’ Forum, which incorporates CPF’s role within the civil society: It demonstrates CPF’s role both as a hands on donor (wishing to increase the capacity of grantees and offer support beyond funding), and as an organization that implements programs, offering to locals opportunities for networking and collaboration, experience and knowledge sharing, best practices’ and challenges’ exchange. The CPF Islanders’ Forum is a key annual event of the CPF Cycladoscope Program .
In 2019, the first CPF Islanders’ Forum was initiated in Syros. 40 participants from 25 local entities of 10 islands of the Cyclades (Syros, Tinos, Amorgos, Milos, Andros, Naxos, Kythnos, Paros, Antiparos, Santorini) and experts participated in the islanders’ environmental Cycladic dialogue meeting in late October 2019. The meeting was organized in partnership with the Protected Area of the Cyclades Management Body, the Municipality of Syros and Plastic Free Greece.
Learn more here.
In 2020 the CPF Islanders’ Forum went digital due to the pandemic, with more that 30 participants from 11 islands. For three days, they participated in the virtual event, presenting their remarkable efforts to preserve the unique nature of the Cyclades, sharing their experiences and building bridges for future collaboration. The sessions of the 1st day were live streamed publicly on social media. In 2021, the Forum was repeated as a virtual, closed, event, to exchange updates, opportunities and challenges in a friendly informal environment.
In 2022, the Forum took place in Paros, at the Parillo Hotel, where we welcomed 50 local participants, from 30 entities and 17 islands. This was the first time that CPF gave the opportunity to organisations out of the Cyclades to take part in, aiming at broader collaboration across the Aegean Sea. For three days, participants shared experiences on environmental efforts in their islands, exchanged ideas for cooperation, good practices and concerns, and made field visits and tours. The 2022 Forum was implemented with the valuable support of the Empiria Group, THENAMARIS, Attica Group, MAVA Foundation, and Leventis Foundation.
In 2023, the Forum went digital, with 18 participants from 12 islands. That year we hosted the initiative Sustainable Cyclades, a journalistic project that focuses on the critical issues facing the South Aegean island complex as it experiences the pressure of hyper-tourism and the investments that aim to serve it. During the meeting, the members of the Forum shared crucial environmental challenges their islands face, and actions needed to be tackled. Then, the journalists presented their initiative, highlighting their investigating research approach and interest in receiving insights about critical issues on the participants’ islands.
In 2024, the CPF Islanders’ Forum took place in Santorini, welcoming a range of participants numbering around 90 and representing 22 islands and 60 associations, this year’s Forum offered selected open events as well as closed sessions for members. It was a dynamic and invigorating amalgamation of different associations and topics of discussion, touching the hearts and minds of all involved as we shared struggles and successes, and laid the framework for strengthened cooperation throughout the island network. Read the press release here, and in Greek here.
Initiative updates
