IN NICOSIA: Inclusive. Innovative. Integrated.
Europe’s Last Divided Capital, Rising Through Innovation Nicosia is redefining how cities can turn challenges into opportunities. The last divided capital of Europe, stands as a living laboratory of inclusion, creativity, and transformation — showing that innovation can bring a city together, regenerate its spaces, and reimagine its future.
Under the vision “IN NICOSIA: Inclusive. Innovative. Integrated.”, the Municipality has made innovation a shared civic culture. Public buildings once marked by decline have been reborn. The old municipal market ‘Agora’ has been made home to the CYENS Centre of Excellence – led by the Municipality, a European Teaming Centre of Excellence for applied research and innovation in interactive media and artificial intelligence. Around CYENS, an expanding network of creative and digital spaces - including the Thinker Maker Space, CYENS Techub, and coworking hubs for students and entrepreneurs - is bringing new life to the heart of the city.
Nicosia’s innovation model is place-based and people-powered. It blends spatial regeneration with digital transformation through the Integrated & Spatial Development Strategies (2014–2030), the Smart Nicosia Strategy and Action Plan, and the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, ensuring that the city’s future is green, connected, and inclusive. The Smart City Programme introduces data-driven infrastructure - from smart lighting and air-quality sensors to waste management and parking systems - all interconnected through iNicosia, the city’s digital twin that allows citizens to visualise, understand, and shape their urban environment in real time.
Nicosia’s innovation ecosystem is diverse and collaborative. It brings together:
- Five universities and five national Centres of Excellence, generating new talent and research capacity.
- The CYENS Centre of Excellence, co-founded by the Municipality, public universities, and European Partners such as UCL and the Max Planck Institute.
- The European Digital Innovation Hub (DiGiNN), advancing digital solutions and AI applications for local SMEs and the public domain.
- A network of creative industries, social enterprises, and technology startups emerging within the Walled City’s restored buildings.
- The Municipal Multifunctional Foundation (KEEAED), empowering youth, migrants, vulnerable groups and jobseekers through digital and entrepreneurial training.
Nicosia is also strengthening social cohesion through Nicosia Together, its digital civic platform that invites residents, NGOs, and communities to co-design city projects, volunteer, and collaborate. Projects such as the New European Bauhaus redesign of Ledras Street demonstrate how innovation and aesthetics can converge to create more sustainable and inclusive public spaces.
Connected to European networks like Eurocities, EIT, and the New European Bauhaus, Nicosia shares its tested solutions with peers across Europe — inspiring other small and emerging cities to turn local complexity into global leadership. Nicosia is building bridges between people, disciplines, and ideas. It stands as a model for how innovation can heal, empower, and transform.