A program for cultural transformation is being developed by ordinary Cypriots after the island's politicians have proved unable to resolve the Cyprus problem, which has figured in international politics for over half a century.
The long-term educational program — "Cultural Transformation: Peace Culture Forum" — aims to remove the constraints of the past and open a new realm of possibilities for the future of Cyprus, so that Cypriots can live in peace and harmony. This multi-phase program was approved by United Nations Development Program, which is funding the first phase of the project — "Leadership Design and Commitment Phase".
Since 1974 the island has been geographically and demographically divided due to the bi-communal conflict between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The roots of the problem go back to the British period (1879-1960) where the colonial power, using the strategy of "divide and rule", successfully managed to separate the Cypriot society in two. In 1960 the island acquired independence from the British, forming the Republic of Cyprus.
The newly established republic was given limited independence with a "consociational" (bi-communal) democracy, with Britain, Turkey and Greece as guarantor powers. In the Cold War era, the imperialist West was against the independent progress of the Republic of Cyprus, which followed an independent, non-aligned foreign policy and refused to join NATO.
The new state of affairs in Cyprus was flimsy, and the first inter-communal clashes erupted only three years later after 13 amendments to the constitution were presented by President Makarios. The atmosphere thereafter was very tense, with the Turkish Cypriots reacting to Makarios' proposals. Turkish Cypriots withdrew from the government and many were forced to live in enclaves throughout the island.
In 1964, the first UN peacekeeping forces arrived in Cyprus to bring stability to the region. However both inter-communal and intra-communal conflict continued. Cypriots were fighting and debating among themselves over independence and the ideologies of "ENOSIS" union of Cyprus with Greece and "TAKSIM" partition of the island into a Turkish north and Greek south.
The latter became reality in 1974 when Turkey invaded Cyprus following a Greek coup against the democratically elected government of Makarios. Turkey seized 37% of the territory of Cyprus in the north, brutally displacing approximately 200,000 Greek Cypriots. Fifty-five thousand Turkish Cypriots were also forced to move from south to north, creating two separate communal zones. Since 1974 Cyprus also became very much divided in the minds of its people. Turkey transferred large numbers of settlers from Anatolia to the occupied areas with the clear intention of changing the demographic character of the island.
In Cyprus there is a lack of trust, understanding and sense of relatedness at all levels of society. What is missing is unity, common vision and willingness to transform the past. Because of this mistrust, Cypriots leave it up to foreign powers to resolve their issues, keeping up with past history — the affairs of the island had for centuries been settled by others over the heads of the people. The division of the island leaves unsatisfied the majority of Cypriots, both Turkish and Greek, and a desirable solution is yet to be found.
Peace and freedom
Peace and freedom are the general inherent communal qualities of human beings — and are what Cypriots need. They need this in order to enable their communities to prosper and transmit their culture and have the distinct character of the society reflected in the institutions of government. Greek and Turkish Cypriots together are calling for peace and their right to freely determine the future of their country.
Cypriots will unite in a series of bi-communal forums to let the international community acknowledge that a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem should be found by the people. The cooperation in the past between the two communities in social life and trade, as well as the common union movements, constitute excellent examples of peaceful co-existence of the island's two major communities. This is what inspires the Cultural Transformation Peace Project, a forum that strives for the development of a peace culture on the island.
Cultural transformation
The forum was initiated at the Constantinople conference where civil societies of Greek and Turkish Cypriots from all over the world got together aiming to develop a common vision for Cyprus.
Phase one of the project will take place in March 2008 — the Leadership Design and Commitment Phase. It aims to bring together around 80 people from both communities in Cyprus, representing a wide range of political parties, civil society organisations, unions, religious groups, academics and other figures. The participants (leaders) will get together and learn from experts such as Mastery Foundation and Generon Consulting. Mastery and Generon have successfully performed similar jobs before in other parts of the world such as South Africa and Northern Ireland. In such a forum, social leaders can be empowered to take on designing and commit to a long-term cultural transformation "peace culture" education program and see that it is followed throughout the society at all levels.
Three phases will follow:
Phase two — "Long Term Leadership Forum" — will involve mostly a subset of phase one participants and will be a long-term effort until "oneness" and a common vision are established.
Phase three is "Leadership and Cultural Transformation Intensive". The aim of this phase is to align an even wider range of organisations and government departments in Cyprus, to the oneness and common vision developed in phase two.
Phase four is "Completion and New Creation". It will include the general public. The desired outcome will be firstly to bring in individuals aligned with the Leadership Forum's vision, values and principles. It is intended to empower citizens for renewed relationships, removing resignation and cynicism, restore hope, confidence and trust, and finally create new realms of possibilities for harmony, trust and integration.
Cypriots are taking their future in their own hands, resisting the undesired division of their island and aiming to develop a common vision for a united Cyprus with lasting peace and a permanent solution.