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Journalism

Bicommunal Radio Program

Community Development

Hasan Kahvecioglu (second from right), producer of the Talk of the Island radio program, Kyriakos Pierides (second from left) ,co-host, and Yucel Koseoglu (left), translator, with guests during a live broadcast.

Bi-Communal Radio Program

In 2005, HasNa initiated the Talk of the Island Radio Program, the first bi-communal radio program in Cyprus. The purpose of the radio program is to foster understanding, communication and respect between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots by examining the similarities and differences between the two communities’ through issues that affect them both.

The program also features a unique call-in option for listeners that allows Talk of the Island to serve as a much needed forum for promoting inter-community dialogue.

Program topics have included:

• The opening of the wall along Ledra Street, which had divided the Greek and Turkish sides of Nicosia for 44 years
• The use of the Euro as the new currency in the South and its implications for the rest of the island
• Water shortages on both sides of the island
• The obstacles to dialogue between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities

The radio program, which was created in collaboration with two local Cypriot non-profits – the Management Center and the Center for Neuroscience and Technology Institute (CNTI), is broadcast live every Saturday by Radyo Mayis in the North. In 2006, the program was awarded its first significant grant from the United States Institute for Peace.

This funding allowed Talk of the Island to adopt high-technology radio and phone lines and thus enabled Talk of the Island to become the only program, other than the UN, to be allowed to operate radio lines on both sides of the island.

Talk of the Island can be found on the internet at www.Talkoftheisland.com