Programs in Cyprus

Current Projects | Past Projects | Follow-Up Projects

Current Projects

Talk of The Island: Bi-Communal Radio Program

In 2005, HasNa Inc. initiated the Talk of the Island Radio Program in
collaboration with two local Cypriot non-profits; the Management Center from
the North and CNTI from the South.  The Program is the first bi-communal radio
program in modern Cyprus, and is broadcast live every Saturday 10:00 to 11:00
am by Radio Pyrgos in the South and Radyo Mayis in the North.  Issues discussed
in the program are relevant to the concerns of modern-day Cypriots, and the call
in-option allows for it to serve as a forum for dialogue between the two sides.
In 2006, the Program was awarded its first significant grant from USIP, the
United States Insitute for Peace.  The funding received allowed for the program
to adopt high-technology radio and phone lines, and made history by receiving
permission from the authorities for the first local line simultaneously
operating on both sides of the island (in the past only the U.N. had done
this).  Together the equipment and green light from the authorities enabled the
program to be broadcast live on both sides.  Recently, the program also began
broadcasting "street interviews" of local Cypriots.  Recent Lebanese refugees
arriving in Cyprus have also been interviewed to recount their experiences.

Talk of the Island can also be found on the internet at www.talkoftheisland.org
 OR : http://listen2myradio.com   Once you are on that page on the left under
Online Radios you will see "All Stations". Click on that and you will see
talkoftheisland in the list of radios that appear. Click on that and it will
open up another page with a box. Right under that box you will see it say               "Press here". That should connect you to the radio.

Volunteer Network Project

The Volunteer Network Project is a two year project funded by UNDP-ACT in Cyprus and is implemented by The Management Centre, The NGO Support Centre and HasNa. The project aims to build local and international networks among organizations in Cyprus that work with volunteers.  In order to achieve the ultimate objectives the first step will be to build a strong infrastructure capable of effectively promoting, supporting and celebrating organized forms of volunteer action.  The next necessary steps will be to build a local supporting infrastructure and CSO capacity to support organized volunteer action. Therefore, in the first stages, the project aims for the establishment and strengthening of a Volunteer Center, which will be the focal point for networking and partnerships among local and international CSOs willing and potentially capable to contribute to and benefit from local and/or international volunteer work. The Center will have as its main objectives to promote, support, and celebrate volunteer work both locally and globally. In order to reach its objectives, one of the Center’s functions will consist of matching the supply/demand of CSOs and potential volunteers as well as acting as a resource center on issues related to volunteerism in Cyprus. The Center will create opportunities for exchanges of volunteers, bringing Cypriots and international volunteers to work with local CSOs, and sending Cypriots abroad to volunteer internationally. 

HasNa conducted a two-week training program in Washington, DC between February 28th and March 10th, 2008 for the project coordinators of the Volunteer Network Project.  One of the project coordinators came from The Management Centre located in the north, and the other came from the NGO Support Centre in the south.  After receiving two days of conflict resolution training the project coordinators had the opportunity to visit several organizations in the area that work with women, children, youth, health issues and environmental issues. During these visits they learned more about these organizations’ programs as well as how they work with their volunteers. Specifically, they were informed about how these organizations recruit, utilize and maintain their volunteers.  The information compiled during these visits will be put into a brochure that will be developed by the project coordinators.  These brochures will be used to help organizations in Cyprus that have a similar mission statement to these organizations develop their volunteer programs, thus strengthening the volunteerism infrastructure in Cyprus.

New Media Landscape Now

HasNa is partnering with the Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute on a project to bring together journalists from both sides of divided Cyprus to produce a strong vision of an ideal media landscape for the island, including the development of a set of politically neutral terms to be used in the reporting of news on the island. The project will be conducted over eight months, starting in September 2007. It will recruit four recognized and respected journalists from each side of the island to engage in discussion throughout the lifecycle of the project and help to recruit participants for planned workshops and a closed-door conference. The conference will bring together 24 journalists- 12 from each side of the island. They will work together to finalize a vision of a future media landscape in Cyprus and to develop an action plan with steps towards a feasible transformation of the existing media landscape.

Past Projects

a) Young Journalists Project
In 2002, HasNa collaborated with peace activists in Cyprus to bring ten young Cypriot journalists to Washington, DC to learn about and practice conflict resolution skills, mediation, and modern journalism.  HasNa is building relationships with media organizations in Cyprus to bring a second group of journalists to Washington in early 2005.

b) Media Symposium In Cyprus
In May 2003, the members of the 2002 trainee group helped organize the first HasNa Media Symposium, bringing together senior journalists from the Greek Cypriot media for a provocative discussion of ethics in journalism, exploring the philosophy of media in Cyprus.  This symposium was a precursor to the ensuing Reconciliation Now Project.

c) Reconciliation Now Project
In September 2003, HasNa unveiled its plans to work with two leading Cypriot peace organizations, the Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute (CNTI) and The Management Center to support reconciliation programs.  Three workshops have been held in Cyprus bringing together more than 250 Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot business people to build economic cooperation, especially where it might redress economic disparities between North and South Cyprus.  In addition, a series of Media Literacy workshops, including Human Rights Through Media Literacy, has been launched, equipping citizens with a better understanding of biases and prejudices, and the skills to critically analyze print, broadcast, and online media and the way it shapes people’s perceptions about peaceful co-existence.

Background on Cyprus

Over the last year, a series of political developments have attracted international attention and have paved the way for new, grassroots peace building initiatives that aim to achieve a lasting solution to the Cyprus problem.

The collapse of the talks between the leaders of the two communities at The Hague in December 2002, an unprecedented popular mobilization of Turkish Cypriots, and the signing of the Cyprus Accession Treaty by the European Union (EU) all created pressure that eventually led to a partial opening of the border in April 2003.  More than half a million Cypriots crossed the Green Line for the first time since 1974, most of them to visit their previous homes, a very painful process that was handled with extreme responsibility by the majority of Cypriots.  Out of hundreds of thousands of crossings, only on a few resulted in observed tensions or expressions of violence.  This positive public behavior can be partly attributed to the dedicated and persistent work of peace-builders that took place during the past 10 years.

Journalism Training: Journalism training emphasizes ethics in print and broadcast media as well as unbiased, objective analyses and reporting.  In past programs, participants attended lectures and workshops at the following:

Committee of Concerned Journalists Lecture
Philip Merrill College of Journalism
National Public Radio Journalism Discussion
Northwest Current
Washington Post Tour
National Press Club Tour
World Bank Interviews
Western Policy Center Roundtable Discussion

Conflict Resolution Training and Cross-cultural Understanding: HasNa works with The Center for Dispute Settlement in providing conflict resolution training that focus on techniques including conflict management, meeting facilitation, communications, and mediation.

Both structured and unstructured dialogue sessions are arranged, affording the participants the opportunity to get to know one another in a neutral setting, thus allowing them to brainstorm about initiatives for peace and dissolve common stereotypes or preconceived notions about each other.

Follow-Up Projects
HasNa’s projects require that participants commit to working together for a year following their training in the United States. In Cyprus, this has meant bi-monthly meetings on the Green Line between Cypriots from both the North and the South.

The young journalists have also decided to cooperate on an online newsletter that covers issues ranging from economic and educational issues to the common cultural heritage of the North and the South to environmental and social issues.
Journal.