In celebration of the International Museum Day and European Night of Museums, on May 18 and May 20, respectively, the Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, together with the Cyprus committee of the International Council of Museums have launched a programme of engaging events for the family, themed Museums and Contested Histories: Saying the Unspeakable in Museum.

First established by UNESCO in 1983, this year’s International Day for Monuments and Sites, on April 18, was themed Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Tourism.

Renewed research conducted at the Tombs of the Kings, one of the most important archaeological sites in Cyprus, suggests that rather than kings, it is actually high ranking officials and aristocrats who were buried at the site.

In order to celebrate the founding of the European Union (EU) as well as the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, the Historical Archives of EU, together with a number of organisations including the European University Institute have created a travelling exhibit entitled Ever Closer Union: The Legacy of the Treaties of Rome for Today’s Europe.

On March 19, Ayia Napa Municipality hosted the finish of the annual LESPA-FIPA Rotary Historic Car Rally, giving attendees the unique opportunity to see 40 historic cars competing in the streets of Cyprus. 

On April 02, Autism Speaks, an autism advocacy organisation based in the US, will celebrate the start of its signature campaign, Light It Up Blue, with buildings and historical monuments across the world to be illuminated in order to raise awareness.