Making the case for change on the road to peace in Cyprus

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Peace Exchange promised you an in-depth account of last week’s address by Cyprus civil society representatives to the UK parliament and London School of Economics (LSE).

(And in case you missed the blog’s preview of the trip, you can find it here.)

Bringing you that account is Michalis Simopoulos of the Cyprus Community Media Centre, so read on!

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There really is no substitute for practice. No matter the frequency, intensity, or ferocity of in-house discussions and deliberations; it is the delivery when it matters most that makes or breaks a message.

And this is exactly what happened in London last week, when seven Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot civil society representatives stood up and outlined their vision to two different audiences that serious structural reform of the Cyprus peace process is required for there to be a truly owned peace on the island.

And trust me, as an observer looking in on two packed-out gatherings, this was no easy undertaking. It is hard enough for one person to deliver a concise message about a topic as sensitive as this, let alone seven individuals piecing together and conveying as convincingly as they did a message of change.

May 15, 2012 first stop: The Houses of Parliament, and Yeshim Harris, whose organisation ENGI was so instrumental in getting this visit off the ground, was right about the weather! Light drizzly rain and a chilled wind greeted the team as they gathered outside the Cromwell Green entrance of the Houses of Parliament.

But the meeting that followed warmed everybody up, with Jeffrey Donaldson, MP joining a team discussion about how civil society can have a positive impact on peace processes.

Everyone was pleasantly surprised by his admission that, during his involvement in the Northern Ireland peace process, he started off regarding civil society as more of a nuisance than a voice to be taken seriously, but that in time, he and his colleagues came to realise “a challenge to the official rhetoric” was not such a bad thing after all, and that “raising the positive voices” through the vehicle of civil society was not only important but necessary to get to the 1998 Good Friday agreement.

After a traditional English pub grub lunch, the team met Simon Hughes, MP, the chair of the visit’s headline event, an open discussion on the topic of Cyprus: Tired of talking? Civil society to bring life to a stagnant process, organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Conflict Issues (APPGCI).

Joining Mr Hughes, who is also the co-chair of the APPGCI, was Baroness Meral Ece, herself a Cypriot by birth with strong views on the current status quo in Cyprus.

Despite the fact that the negotiations appear to be heading for deadline, both Mr Hughes and Baroness Ece agreed that “civil society’s voice needs to be heard and encouraged to come forward” and urged those present to ‘keep the dialogue going’ despite the presumed impasse.

And so to Committee Room 12, and a packed auditorium, including parliamentarians Nick de Bois and David Burrowes, as well as Lord David Hannay. Some 30 minutes later, and the message was clear, as the following quotes from members of the visiting team, attest:

 “The positions of the two sides are increasingly arbitrary and fail to reflect what the people actually want”

Alexandros Lordos

“Actions are not suspended until the compilation of a master text by the leaders”

Marios Epaminondas

“Need for CSO activism is evident in polls, which show strong support for any proposal that would give the public a greater say in the peace process”

Bulent Kanol

 “The irony is that, although civil society offers the grounds to youth to challenge conventional realities and make a difference, civil society remains handicapped within the political sector”

Katerina Antoniou

“A paradigm shift is required to allow ordinary people a voice in such processes”

Rana Celal

“The business leaders continue to meet to find new ways of flourishing business between the two communities, but they have hit a brick wall, due to political circumstances”

Meliha Kaymak

“Structural reform of the peace process is needed, in order to allow a harmonious collaboration of track 1 (the leaders), track 2 (civil society) and track 3 (the wider public)”

Michalis Avraam

16 May 2012 started with a show of dedication – Alexandros getting up at 6.30 am to answer the call of 107.6FM and speak on behalf of the group about the message of the London visit. Kudos Alexandros!

In the morning, the group gathered for a debrief of the night before with Simon Hughes, MP, who said that he had been “hugely encouraged” by the response of the audience, and expressed his commitment to “carry the message forward” in meetings with the relevant stakeholders in the weeks to come.

Yeshim shared with the group some very encouraging feedback from participants, and outlined how both ENGI and APPGCI could stay involved with Cyprus in the near future.

The positive messages continued to flow in the afternoon meeting with the UK Minister for Europe David Lidington, MP, who offered his support to the initiative and requested that he be kept informed once a plan of future engagement had been set up.

And so to Cowdray House at the London School of Economics (LSE), where Dr James Ker Lindsay, himself a long-time follower of the Cyprus peace talks, welcomed an audience of London-based Cypriots to the concluding event of the visit.

The audience listened intently to the group outline their message of change to the peace process, but the focus of the Q&A session that followed was how the model of collaboration can be taken forward or even replicated in London.

Speaking as someone who has interacted with the Cypriot communities in London, the audience’s interest in the work of the island’s civil society was as important as the message on the peace process. You can listen to a podcast of the event here.

17 May 2012 final stop: Heathrow Airport for the return journey.

Without doubt, this was a step up from the grass-roots activism which has characterised the work of the network and its partners thus far – a first navigation into the unchartered waters of advocacy, diplomacy, and targeted messaging about what needs to change in Cyprus if this country is to become one again.

This brave new world, however, will open up the network to a whole new set of questions about its accountability to the wider public, its position vis-a-vis issues such as human rights and the role of external actors in the conflict to mention just a few.

But it is a challenge that the network must meet if this proposal is to succeed and generate the necessary traction across Cypriot society.

Here, a final word of thanks to Yeshim Harris. In Yeshim and ENGI, ably supported by Sarah Blair, Cyprus’ CSO network has found an important ally, eager to support the work of civil society and promote its message to a wider audience.

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A big thanks to Michalis for sharing that with us! Join us again for more good stuff in the next post, coming soon.

Oh, and… if you’ve liked what you’ve read, please go ahead and share this post on Facebook and Twitter

Civil society to address UK parliament

Stop press! The Peace Exchange wanted to grab your attention bright and early this week, to let you know about something very important.

Civil society representatives from Cyprus are set to address the House of Commons in London tomorrow,Tuesday May 15, and will also be speaking at an open event at the London School of Economics the following day.

Youth Power’s Katerina Antoniou, who is part of the team that travelled to the UK capital, brings you the details…

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Youth Power has put some pretty exciting events in the pipeline, and they ‘ve got me anticipating for an eventful summer. Activities like entrepreneurial trainings, social innovation workshops and trips for regional socialising provide a good basis for skills development, exchange of ideas and new partners for social action.

I must admit though, what’s got me most excited is the chance, on behalf of Youth Power, to present on the role of civil society in Cyprus, along with six other civil society activists on Tuesday, May 15.

The seven-member advocacy team will have the chance to present its work and suggestions at the UK Parliament and the London School of Economics, to British politicians, the local Cypriot diaspora, academics, activists and the wider public.

The key message being conveyed is that it’s time for civil society to directly get involved in the Cyprus peace process, putting an end to a decades-long stagnation.

This will be achieved by making the peace process more transparent, more inclusive and representative of public opinion, and by creating direct links between the process and politically under-represented groups, such as youth.

Opportunities for promoting fresh ideas and airing  the voice of new generations are unfortunately minimal within the traditional political scene on the island, leading young people toward political pessimism and apathy.

Yet the peace process is in vital need of new voices and fresh ideas, as the island’s youth today appears more ripe to negotiate and reunite than our political leaders ever did.

The voice of youth has been traditionally marginalised with regards to the local political discourse; perhaps youngsters are considered less experienced, often with unrealistic expectations, and would be better off reinforcing existing momentums.

Yet young people offer a lot more than that: they offer ideas and provoke immediate action; they don’t mind challenging conventional norms nor being cynical towards traditional practices.

In other words, young people are more free to express opinions and provide solutions away from any ideological, political and/or societal restrictions.

Today, many young Cypriots choose to remain politically aware and socially active. Yet youth activism goes beyond reading a book, engaging in a political conversation, criticising leaders or organising social events.

The island’s youth has the potential to bring a new vibe to a malfunctioning peace process, and requests for its voice to be heard and heeded.

I do hope the London presentations will be one of many, where the message of inclusion can be successfully conveyed to provoke thought, generate reaction and achieve change.

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Thanks so much Katerina. Stay tuned for more reports and photos coming from other members of the London team later this week.

And meanwhile, won’t you share this post on Facebook and Twitter?

That’s all for right now… see you very, very soon!

You can read a Greek version of this post here, and a Turkish version here.

GUEST POST: celebrating a year of cooperation

The Buffer Zone’s cool factor went up several notches last Sunday, when Home for Cooperation (H4C) threw its ‘first birthday’ bash. After all, who doesn’t like a good party?

Silly question!

For those who couldn’t be there in person, Leslie Frost, a friend of the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR) – and Peace Exchange’s guest blogger this week – is here to give us all the details. Read on!

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A street party can’t change the world. But at H4C’s celebration of its first anniversary on May 6, there was a greater sense of possibility and genuine commitment to peace and goodwill across the Buffer Zone than overtly displayed in years of political negotiations.

And I’m here to report it was a rockin’ good time.

The genius of H4C is that it brings together many disparate groups, working toward common causes, and centred on values of knowledge, peace and tolerance.

Organisations like AHDR – the driving force behind H4C’s creation – co-exist with Peace Players, ENGAGE, Hands Across the Divide, Interpeace and Future Together, along with other civil society organisations, citizen groups and individuals who host their activities there.

(Not to mention, H4C recently opened a highly popular café where people gather daily for lunches, meetings, or simply a good chat over coffee and muffins.)

On Sunday, H4C’s resident NGOs had a joint display set up to inform revelers about the work of each organisation. On the less serious side, there were also games and activities for kids and adults alike.

For example…

Bike for Cooperation sent out more than 40 people in bright-yellow safety vests with orange balloons tied to their bikes, to ride around and through the old city of Nicosia.

There was also a flash mob, and street ‘artivists’ organised a Word Carrier activity, collecting opinions on what cooperation means.

Children sang “Happy Birthday” in Greek, Turkish and English; we took part in laughter yoga and danced in the street. And there was enough barbecued souvla for all – a minor miracle when the crowds come in numbers far larger than expected – more than 500 in all!

And for those who were volunteers, the event was particularly memorable.

“This for me was the peace activity of all times and I now believe in a positive change even more,” said Tevfik Ioannis Aytekin.

“I am grateful to the AHDR for giving me the opportunity to supervise the painting activity, through which three fantastic murals were prepared by motivated and  talented kids working on the idea of cooperation,” added counterpart Iacovos Psaltis.

As both event and symbol, the day was amazing.

You can’t solve the Cyprus problem with a street party, but Cypriots from all over, and guests to this beautiful island like me, came together Sunday, May 6 to support a vision of building something better.

If to imagine a better future seems like a utopian dream, that dream has a tangible home that is one year old now.

With a dream, and a space for dreaming, and the committed work that makes even such dreams possible, who knows what can be achieved?

I believe in the power of those who have a dream today. Happy birthday, Home for Cooperation. Many happy returns.

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Thanks, Leslie! You can check out lots more photos from the event here.

And if you’ve liked what you’ve read, please show some love and share it on Facebook and Twitter

That’s all for this time. See you in the next post!

A Greek language version of this post can be found here, and a Turkish version here.

GUEST POST: Nicosia – a hub of CSO innovation?

All kinds of shoes have trod the streets of Nicosia over the decades. Peaceful, hostile, curious, transitory, permanent, reconciliatory… And throughout its checkered history, the city has brought together innovators of all kinds.

In its most recent decades, such innovators have been drawn from civil society.

Peace Exchange hosts UNDP-ACT’s Christopher Louise this week, who offers a suggestion on why Cyprus is perfectly positioned to leverage civil society peace efforts for the benefit of the wider region.

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Civil society in Cyprus has been able to change the dynamics of the island’s conflict and the relationship between the two communities in the last few decades.

The Peace it Together network, supported by UNDP-ACT, has amassed a wealth of resources regarding the role of civil society in peacebuilding and reconciliation.

The future role of Cypriot civil society in pushing for peace on the island will depend on the ability to sustain a pluralistic political narrative and press for progress in both national and international fora.

A chance for this will come this month (May  15, 2012), when representatives of civil society organisations, supported by UNDP, will speak at the British Parliament in a public debate.

Considering the United Kingdom’s central role in efforts to resolve the Cyprus conflict, this will be a prime opportunity to elevate the critical role of civil society in peacemaking to the international level.

Later this year (October 9-11, 2012), civil society leaders from Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Arab states will meet at an inter-regional conference in the UN Buffer Zone in Nicosia to exchange experiences and ideas on how civil society can contribute to post-conflict and other complex transitions.

But why a Cyprus summit, and why now?

Put simply, UNDP’s local civil society partners want to tap the island’s potential as a cultural and geographical crossroads between Europe and the Arab world.

Meanwhile, Cyprus continues to play host to one of UNDP’s most concentrated and long-serving civil society-strengthening programmes, resonating with the current priorities for the role of civil society in the two regions:

So, where can we find the civil society innovators to make contributions to the inter-regional conference? What can Cypriot civil society learn from other countries in the two regions? How can inter-regional efforts bolster and support local efforts?

The Peace it Together Network welcomes all ideas!

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Peace Exchange thanks Christopher, and will of course update you on all related developments as they arise.

Until next time, stay tuned, and… see you in the next post!

A Greek language version of this post may be read here, and a Turkish language version here.

GUEST POST: CCMC marks new milestone in media collaboration

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You know the bits in the James Bond films when the athletic spy leaps over impossibly wide chasms, or flies across rooftops on a speeding motorbike, all the while keeping his balance, control and direction?

Well, there are situations when the obstacles are not physical, and the means to overcome them are words, ideas, opinions and collaboration – and yet the stakes are just as high.

This week’s guest post is by CCMC‘s Michalis Simopoulos, who shares with Peace Exchange the latest milestone in media collaboration across the divide, with the launch of the Collaborative Media Initiative report.

Take it away Michalis!

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It’s been a long time in coming, but was worth the wait.

Since the Collaborative Media Initiative (CMI) project started back in June 2010, Peace it Together partner CCMC has been grappling with what ‘media collaboration across the divide’ actually means.

Media is not only a broad concept, but a fluid one. After all, in an increasingly globalised information environment, is it really possible to isolate the media in one locality without considering its interdependence on regional, as well as technological developments?

One thing is for sure – the case of the media in Cyprus is not unique. Media in conflict and post-conflict zones has impacted the lives of ordinary citizens in both negative and positive ways.

On the one hand we may recall the incitement of ethnic hatred across the Rwandan airwaves contributing to horrific genocide in 1994. On the other, we can only marvel at the courage of journalists such as Gordana Igric, Director of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), whose organisation has changed not only the media landscape across this volatile region, but is transforming the culture of antagonism and hatred of decades gone by.

In the case of Cyprus, the conflict continues to frame relations between the island’s two main communities, placing additional barriers to effective communication and information exchange between them.

It also has the effect of marginalising the voices of those who speak of Cyprus as one, relegating the importance of issues relevant to all communities on the island.

So bringing together media professionals in this environment is a necessary step to promote a culture of trust and understanding between communities.

A Potential Untapped: Media Working Together Across the Divide in Cyprus, the final report of the CMI launched on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at CCMC, highlights the importance as well as the potential of media collaboration for the future of Cyprus.

The report has identified ways in which different stakeholders – be they at the decision-making level, reporting in the field, or at the grass-roots civil society level – can contribute to a greater convergence of the media across the divide.

But equally, it has emphasised the need for organisations like CCMC to further empower people like Osman Kalfaoglu and Giorgos Kakouris, journalists at Yeniduzen and Politis newspapers respectively, who want to “explore ways to allow journalists to be able to exchange information on a daily basis across the divide” and to “open up new fields of inquiry and to connect the issues that concern Cypriots from a new, island-wide perspective”.

The full report is available for download on the CCMC website, and if you have any suggestions on how CCMC can support people like Giorgos and Osman, drop us an email at info@cypruscommunitymedia.org.

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Thanks Michalis, an important milestone indeed!

Please keep the guest posts coming, and Peace Exchange will be back with more good stuff soon.

Have a great weekend and… see you in the next post!

You can read a Greek version of this post here, and a Turkish version here.

Coming together for One Day on Earth

A little over a hundred years ago, with the beginnings of what we would know today as cinema, few would have dared imagine that they would be able to view moving images on a screen as a kind of staple of daily life, let alone record their own lives and share it with people worldwide.

The advent of TV, mainstream news and the internet changed all that, and now, with the proliferation of cheap digital cameras, free editing tools and the vast outreach of online communities, we can effortlessly create content that, to varying degrees, is available – in real time – to all.

Given this amazing potential for capturing and sharing, a grassroots project like One Day on Earth – in which, on October 10, 2010, over 19,000 volunteer filmmakers from across the globe shot more than 3,000 hours of footage from their daily lives to combine into a feature-length documentary – may have seemed an inevitability.

Yet, in the words of the event’s creator, Kyle Ruddick, this first movie to feature footage from every country in the world on the same day: “it was a really challenging task to do” and represented a huge undertaking.

Given that the film highlights priority UNDP issues, such as women’s empowerment and sustainable development, and that filming took place in over 95 UNDP Country Offices, it is unsurprising that UNDP was one of the project’s partners in October 2010.

More specifically, 120 HD video cameras were donated to UNDP by the One day on Earth team and were sent to colleagues in UNDPs Country Offices all over the world, to film UNDP’s work on 10/10/10.

In the case of Cyprus, and as part of its mandate to be involved in grassroots collaborative media initiatives, Peace it Together together partner CCMC also submitted material for the film, shot at the old Nicosia airport.

The footage featured Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot youth sharing their views and experiences at the airport, which was abandoned after 1974.

So, when do audiences get to see the fruit of this burst of creative collaboration? The answer is, sooner than you think!

One Day on Earth has its world premier on Earth Day, April 22, 2012 and will be shown in over 160 countries around the world, including Cyprus.

CCMC, in partnership with Peace it Together partner Youth Power, will screen the documentary twice this Sunday, at 8pm at the CCMC Community Space in Nicosia’s buffer zone (with Greek subtitles), and in the CCMC Community Space hosted by the Environmental Society of Lefke (with Turkish subtitles), in parallel with screenings around the world at the same time.

More information on the screenings can be found here.

And for filmmakers who might have an interest in being part of this year’s recordings on December 12, 2012, as well as educators of kids aged four to 18, a wealth of resources as well as a community platform can be found on the One Day on Earth website.

Peace Exchange leaves you with a video of Ruddick’s Ted TV talk on the making of One Day on Earth, a project that harnessed the power of that most abundant resource we all share: our stories.

That’s all for this time. See you in the next post!

You can read a Greek version of this post here, and a Turkish version here.

GUEST POST: AHDR’s Teach and Learn! workshop series for educators

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With spring finally having taken a hold of the island, fresh approaches to peacebuilding are blooming and a whole host of activities gathering pace on the Peace it Together front.

This week, we hear from Maria Siakalli of AHDR, who offers us a guest post on Teach and Learn! – a series of free trainings to expose and equip Cyprus  educators to the latest techniques in history teaching.

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The first in a unique series of teacher training workshops, took place on Friday, April 6, at the ever-busy Home for Cooperation.

The workshop was led by experienced teacher trainers, who provided innovative ways to teach history and multiperspectivity, and introduced the latest AHDR supplementary materials for educators: “Learning the History of Cyprus through Artefacts – Teachers’ and Students’ Books”, “The Ottoman Period in Cyprus”, “Introducing Oral History”, “Thinking Historically about Missing Persons”, “Nicosia is Calling” and “A Look at Our Past”.

The turn-out was encouraging and attendees went away with much to put to use in the classroom.

“The seminar was very interesting … I believe it should take place more often and in a more extensive way,” noted classical studies teacher Sophia Arnaouti, adding: ”I’m willing to apply both the book materials used in the seminar, as well as all the ideas provided in my own lessons”.

For his part, Charalambos Solonos, also a classical studies educator, stressed that: “schools should show more interest in this initiative, embrace the book materials and support their implementation in school classes”.

Also appreciating the content of the training, Dilek Latif, a Near East University teacher stated: “I find these training seminars to be very useful, and the book materials offer sufficient guidance on how to implement these in the classroom.

“The books are precisely what teachers in Cyprus need because they provide an alternative approach to teaching history. They are a source of information that enhances history teaching, are student-centered and promote independent thinking. ”

The consultants and the AHDR Board were pleased with the participation of so many educators in the first workshop, and hope the experience will help them use these invaluable resources in their classrooms.

Two subsequent training workshops are set to take place on Friday, April 20 at KTOEOS in the Turkish language, and on Thursday, May 10 at the Home for Cooperation in the Greek language.

While the workshops are primarily aimed at history teachers, all interested educators are welcome to attend.

Certificates of attendance will be provided and every participant supplied with a free teacher’s pack of educational materials.

Lastly, the training is offered free of charge, but potential attendees must register for the workshop of their choice by completing a form which can be downloaded from the AHDR website here.

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Definitely an opportunity that’s not to be missed!

Peace Exchange thanks Maria for sharing the news about the workshops, and encourages its readers to keep the guest posts coming.

After all, your efforts for peace and reconciliation are what this blog is all about – and there’s always room to host your adventures, activities and insight here.

That’s all for this time, but we’ll be back again with more good stuff very soon.

Until then, enjoy the weekend and… see you in the next post!

A Greek version of this post can be found here, and a Turkish version here.