CARE Festival: Taking care of the future together

Events & Activities Larnaca CARE Festival: Taking care of the future together Dc77073 Larnaka 2030 Cmyk Relevant News Ireland sets out agenda ahead of taking over EU presidency 27 June 2026 CARE Festival: Taking care of the future together 27 June 2026 New look for Costas Tsielepis & Co Ltd 27 June 2026 Advertorial 27 June 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber How can care become a driving force for change in our communities and our shared future? This question served as the starting point for the CARE Festival, an initiative of Larnaka 2030 that highlights care as a cultural, social, and educational value. Through the intersection of arts, education, and active participation, CARE (Cyprus Arts and Education) creates a space for dialogue, creativity, and collaboration, where people of different ages and backgrounds come together to shape more inclusive, supportive, and sustainable communities. At its core lies the belief that care extends beyond personal relationships and can serve as a meaningful cultural practice capable of influencing the way we live, learn, create, and engage in public life. At a time when societies are challenged by inequality, conflict, and exclusion, CARE advocates for stronger relationships, collective responsibility, and active participation as essential foundations for a fairer and more sustainable future. When an Idea transforms into Action The CARE journey began in October 2023 with its first edition, creating a dynamic platform for the exchange of ideas and experiences around arts for children and young people. Artists, educators, cultural professionals, and families came together to explore new ways of connecting the arts with education and everyday life, laying the groundwork for a broader dialogue on the importance of care within our communities. A year later, the festival’s second edition, titled “We, the Women, the Mothers,” expanded this conversation by bringing contemporary social issues to the forefront. War, migration, displacement, the marginalisation of vulnerable groups, and the role of young people in Europe became starting points for reflection on how the absence of care shapes social realities and why collective action is more necessary today than ever before. Stories of Connection and Participation CARE extends far beyond the duration of a festival. It operates as an ongoing platform that connects individuals, organisations, and communities in Cyprus and abroad, fostering a network for the exchange of knowledge and experiences centred on creativity, participation, and care. Through artistic residencies, school initiatives, international collaborations, and participatory processes, CARE invests in building meaningful relationships that extend well beyond the boundaries of an annual cultural event. During its development phase, the initiative is expected to engage thousands of children, educators, artists, and families from different generations and geographical areas. At the same time, it is creating tools and structures designed to deliver long-term impact, including the CARE Book, the CARE Digital Community Archive, and an ever-expanding network of professionals working in the fields of care and culture. More than a cultural event, CARE is an invitation to rethink how we understand community, education, and participation. It reminds us that the most meaningful transformations begin when a city chooses to collectively care for its present and actively shape its future. Shaping the Present and the Future Salomi Paraskeva, Programme Development Officer at the Cultural Foundation for Children and Youth, which plays an active role in the design and implementation of these initiatives, commented: “I see the CARE Festival not only as a cultural event, but also as an opportunity to highlight Larnaka’s deeply rooted culture of care, which local people have nurtured and sustained around children and young people for generations. Our beloved festival has already celebrated two successful editions, and we are eagerly looking forward to its third.” “Through performances, artistic residencies, workshops, and activities in schools and public spaces, CARE and the city of Larnaka are transformed into an open environment for experiences, dialogue, and creative exchange. Children, young people, and adults interact and co-create as equal members of the community, demonstrating the power of care as a value that fosters trust, strengthens a sense of belonging, and empowers young people to express themselves, participate actively, and help shape the future of our city.” *The CARE Festival is organised by Larnaka 2030 in collaboration with the Cultural Foundation for Children and Youth and the Pierides Foundation, with the support of Youth Makerspace Larnaka, POED, OELMEK, the Larnaka Federation of Secondary School Parents’ Associations, the Larnaka Federation of Primary School Parents’ Associations, and the Cyprus ADHD Association. 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