Frederick University contributed as a Knowledge Partner and led the discussion on Cyprus Blue Economy, in the first ‘Cyprus Forum – Cities’, which took place in Limassol on April 7-8, 2023, hosted by Oxygono and Limassol Municipality.
The conference brought together local and international experts, politicians, technocrats, academics and civil society to discuss on the prospects and challenges for sustainable cities and sustainable growth today, providing opportunities for the formation of a long-term plan for the development of the cities and rural areas of Cyprus.
Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Maritime Transport and Commerce, Dr Angelos Menelaou, was the moderator of the panel discussion on the Prospects and Challenges for the Cyprus Blue Economy. In his concluding remarks, he emphasized the important role of Blue economy for Cyprus. He also stated that Blue Economy also means protection of the environment, sustainability, climate neutrality and coastal resilience: “The very ambitious ‘EU Mission’ provides an excellent opportunity for Limassol to develop a strategic plan for a smart and climate neutral city and for the blue economy sectors an opportunity to meet the environmental challenges and explore their potentials. It has become apparent from the discussion that the task of reaching environmental neutrality by 2030 will require careful planning, and hard, collaborative, and synergistic work. Ships and ports belong to a traditionally conservative industry, but they can gain grounds on environmental innovation always in line with EU directives and UN SDG goals. However, new technologies should be introduced with careful consideration regarding the environmental life cycle of these technologies including end-of life treatment and final disposal. Diversity and inclusion in the blue economy sectors should be strengthened. For one, the representation of female workforce in shipping in Cyprus must be documented more accurately and its role must be reinforced. It appears, from international bibliography, that women are particularly adept in pursuing sustainability strategies and Cyprus can benefit from this as well. Finally, the broadest possible cooperation from all stakeholders involved is required to maximise synergies and find holistic solutions to the challenges that lay ahead.”
Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture, Dr Byron Ioannou, participated in the discussion on sustainable mobility, commenting on the way that our cities are planned, designed and built. He said long-term planning is needed to change attitudes. “Actually we have designed our cities in a way that encourages and maximizes land development. Urban planning encourages scattered development in cities, which makes our cities less walkable. Even neighborhoods are not walkable because their layout does not comply with international standards. We need to redesign our neighborhoods, change them, see how they function, evaluate them and once these model neighborhoods are established, both citizens and investors will support them“.
Source: Frederick University I News (https://bit.ly/41uB3Qs)