Ever wondered what it is like for a migrant in Cyprus? To experience their reality in the country? This May, the programme ‘Face Forward…into my home’ is organising an experiential walk in Nicosia with Jacqueline Akawi from Togo, walking the streets that marked the beginning of her life on the island.

Akawi is the programme’s Cultural Ambassador and on Saturday, May 31 she will embark on a different kind of tour of Nicosia. Along with her husband she will guide participants through Aischylou Street, Perikleous Street, the Dignity Centre, Eleftheria Square and the Nicosia Municipal Theatre, sharing stories of their experience.

They will share their journey from the moment they arrived in Cyprus, how the country welcomed them, and how they managed to build a new life from scratch. Walking through the city, they will remember the alleyways where their daughter took her first steps, the places that inspired them. Titled ‘Face Forward…into my story’, the tour will set off from the new Nicosia Town Hall on Aischylou Street at 5.30pm, conducted in English.

In Togo, Akawi was a bank cashier but her true passion was fashion design. She began by apprenticing under her mother, later taking formal courses in clothing design, and eventually started creating her own pieces. Now 29, Jacqueline creates clothing because it keeps her connected to her heritage and to her mother. Her goal is to help others, and her dream is to build a community where people can work while having a safe place to leave their children.

The upcoming event is a continuation of a Nicosia International Festival programme which consisted of a series of workshops attended by refugees and migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East who were forced to leave their homelands and rebuild their lives in Cyprus. Their portraits and stories were exhibited on the first floor of the Nicosia Municipal Theatre.

The programme also gave rise to seminars and workshops both by and for the participants, turning them into cultural ambassadors by giving them a platform to share their stories and creative work. It led to the organisation of the African Fashion Show, featuring nine fashion designers with migrant backgrounds and two Cypriot designers, showcasing fashion as a powerful tool for expression and inclusion.

Face Forward…into my story

Experiential walk with Jacqueline Akawi from Togo, a migrant living in Cyprus. May 31. Meeting point: New Nicosia Town Hall, 29 Aischylou street. 5.30pm. In English. Registration: 22-797979. [email protected]