ACTIVATE

Melina Nicolaides, originally from the island of Cyprus, was born in Washington, D.C. and moved to New Delhi at the age of seven. Her childhood years were spent in South Asia, followed by secondary education in Geneva, Switzerland, and completion of her studies at the St George's British International School of Rome (Head Girl). She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in History from Princeton University with the thesis ‘A Problem of Authenticity and Representation in a 19th Century Vision of the Orient’, as considered through Verdi’s opera ‘Aida’.  Following an extended training-period in Brussels at the European Union in the sectors of communication, information, audiovisual and culture (D.G. X), she went on to earn a multi-disciplinary MFA from Baltimore’s Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) which she attended as an A.G. Leventis Foundation Scholar, and where she received the institution’s multi-disciplinary Graduate Award.

As a visual artist, her work was exhibited in solo and over 50 group exhibitions internationally, in the USA, Europe, Middle East/N. Africa, and Asia, and she has received multiple governmental and institutional exhibition grants (painting—film—installation) in Cyprus and art fellowships in the USA, including three from the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities of the NEA.  Her work was also reviewed in diverse publications, such as the Washington Post, ArtNews Magazine, Contemporary Practices Journal, and can be found in public and in private art collections in the USA, Europe, and in the Middle East. Parallel to these endeavors, she also contributed to publications, cross-disciplinary workshops and conferences with topics such as art, culture and identity; art for conflict resolution; art as activism; and art to communicate the sciences, which over the years expanded the scope and purpose of her arts practice towards curating cross-disciplinary and research-based projects.

A move to live for the first time in her homeland of Cyprus was motivated by a desire to focus on topics both inherent or unique to the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East & North Africa. In this new context, her enquiry was directed specifically towards the exploration of environmental and climate-related challenges, which included the growing demand on natural resources, the decreasing availability of fresh water, degraded agricultural landscapes and declining food productivity—issues which continue to be exacerbated by ongoing political and societal changes in the region. Through this investigation and research, the objective of her professional work developed into something broader in context and marked a new trajectory in her career.

Drawing upon her personal experiences as a starting point, she established the Nonprofit Arts Organization ACTIVATE with the intention of creating a ‘zone’ in which to present projects developed through the exchange of knowledge between people with varied disciplinary knowledge and backgrounds. The aim was to create collaborative possibilities for people with a similar approach and commitment to related causes, and to develop initiatives that could be more creative and effective than if carried out single-handedly. On a regional level, the objective was to undertake purposeful projects that are strengthened by this cross-over participation, and which could help highlight the overlaps between the environmental, social, and political issues of this particular geographical area.

As Director of ACTIVATE, she is focused on creating cross-disciplinary projects that specifically address climate change-related challenges of the Eastern Mediterranean & MENA area. As science-based initiatives that bring together people from across this region and diverse spheres of knowledge, the aim of these projects is to build creative and solution-oriented collaborations related to water, food and energy security. In addressing such interconnected topics, the primary objectives include unifying the diverse efforts being carried out across the region – from within the scientific community and academia to individuals working on the ground – while also highlighting the multiple environmental, social, and cultural ‘connected points’ or commonalities shared between the countries and peoples of the MENA region. The underlying principle, while also encouraging public awareness, is to illustrate how working as a broader community – and acknowledging and integrating these factors – will ultimately benefit the crafting of appropriate strategies and applicable environmental policies for this region.

In 2019, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus launched the Eastern Mediterranean & Middle East Climate Change Initiative (EMME-CCI) an international initiative to help coordinate the efforts of this region to ameliorate climate change and its impacts, beginning with a scientific phase in which extensive research and knowledge was complied by 13 Scientific Task Forces made up of over 240 scientists and experts from across the region. Having been a member of the Task Force for the Built Environment, Ms. Nicolaides was then appointed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Advisor for the President’s Initiative on Regional Climate Action for the second and intergovernmental phase of the EMME-CCI, with a specific mandate to propose new communicative and cross-disciplinary pathways for a Climate Action Diplomacy strategy for the Cyprus Government Initiative, as complimentary to the existing diplomatic relationships and agreements with the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean & Middle East region.

Melina Nicolaides is internationally Permaculture Design certified (PDC), is an active member of the Advisory Board of the Future Earth MENA Regional Center (FEMRC), and served on the Steering Committee for the European Union Interreg MED olive and health sector Program Aristoil, now in an ongoing and on-the-ground capacity-building stage. In 2023, Ms. Nicolaides was invited to serve on the Board of Directors of the Tassos Papadopoulos Research Center, an academic institution devoted to the study of the Republic of Cyprus, and to the archiving of historical, political and diplomatic primary source material. This year she served on the Advisory Committee for the 3rd International Water Forum in Athens, Greece, and on the Steering Committee of the international conference, Climate Crisis In the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East Conference organized by The Cyprus Institute with the Academy of Sciences, Letters & Arts of Cyprus, that took place in Cyprus.

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Banner Image: Still from the short film Homo Bulla: 18 Days → produced within the Program of Cultural Exchange between
Cyprus & Egypt (2011 © M. Nicolaides).