Pafos Live 29 March 2024
Under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, the Memoranda of Cooperation between the Social Welfare Services, the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare, and the Local Government Authorities were signed today, March 28, 2024, for the pancyprian expansion of the European co-funded program "Neighbourhood Social Worker", which is part of the Cohesion Policy Program "THALEIA 2021-2027".
The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, in his address, referred to the strengthening of the local social network and the development of social service programs at the level of Local Government as a European-oriented social policy, implemented by many Member States of the European Union through the general approach for decentralization and strengthening of Local Government. The President of the Republic of Cyprus noted that "with this institution and generally with the reform we give much more powers to all of you, the Local Government. We are by your side to help you implement and successfully implement these powers that we give to Local Government".
The Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Ms. Marilena Evangelou, described the Neighbourhood Social Worker as an extremely important social service, noting that the start of the Pancyprian expansion follows the successful pilot implementation of the program in eight municipalities and communities, including remote/mountainous areas. As he said, the Neighbourhood Social Worker "is a successful synergy between the State and Local Government, which aims at the early identification of challenges and their confrontation, prevention and two-way communication with citizens."
The signing of a total of 39 memoranda of cooperation, corresponding to 17 municipalities and 22 community complexes, is, as Mrs. Evangelou underlined, the sealing of the beginning of the Pancyprian expansion of the Neighbourhood Social Worker, demonstrating the importance of synergies for the provision of better and better quality services to the citizen.
