The civil society forum provided an excellent meeting point for organisations from all over Cyprus to come together and talk about civil society development on the island in terms of a couple of major themes: policy influencing, and peace building. Representatives from Cypriot NGOs, the UNDP, the European Parliament and Commission offices and international organisations such as the Council of Europe, all came to the buffer zone between the two sides of the island to analyse the current situation and determine how they can help to improve it in the future. Concrete ideas were brought out during the last session, and a f
ollow up meeting was planned in order to ensure the ideas were not lost, but turned into actions. The awards ceremony that followed highlighted the successes that some NGOs have managed to achieve through their work.
ollow up meeting was planned in order to ensure the ideas were not lost, but turned into actions. The awards ceremony that followed highlighted the successes that some NGOs have managed to achieve through their work. Face-to-face meetings with some NGOs working in Cyprus on development education and related topics highlighted the problems organisations on the two sides have to overcome to work together. The unique political situation on the island means they have to cross physical barriers as well as others in order to cooperate, and forming a platform that includes both sides has proved to be a step that was just too ambitious. It is also unclear how much EU funding for Cypriot organisations is open to Turkish Cypriots.
TRIALOG will provide training on a range of topics for Cypriot NGDOs in the autumn, and will continue to encourage the efforts of all organisations to work across the border, despite the difficulties posed by the political situation on the island, and to engage in European issues as much as possible.
Information provided by Rebecca Steel, TRIALOG
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