AHDR Launches Imagine Peace Academy, Opening a New Chapter for Peace Education in Cyprus
The Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR) officially launched the Imagine Peace Academy on Sunday, 20 September 2026, at the Home for Cooperation in Nicosia, as part of this year’s International Day of Peace programme.
The Academy represents the next step in the evolution of Imagine, building on the methods, relationships and experience developed through years of peace education. It brings this experience together within a broader and more structured framework, creating new opportunities for sustained peace education, intercommunal engagement and participation in Cyprus and beyond.
Four pillars for a wider peace education community
The Imagine Peace Academy is built around four interconnected pillars:
- Educators’ Academy for Peace, offering monocommunal and intercommunal teacher training, sustained learning and co-creation opportunities
- Junior Academy for Peace, providing educational activities and longer-term learning pathways for young people aged 7–18
- Parents’ Engagement Platform, creating opportunities for dialogue and engagement with parents
- Regional and International Hub, strengthening local, regional and international partnerships and exchanges
Together, these pillars aim to connect children and young people, educators, parents, alumni and partners to a wider peace education community and create pathways for continued engagement over time.
The Academy will also develop networks of Educational Ambassadors and Youth Ambassadors for Peace, alongside study visits, annual conferences, the Teaching for Peace Award, alumni activities and exchanges.
Bringing the voices of Imagine participants forward
The launch also marked the premiere of AHDR’s new Imagine peace education campaign, featuring the experiences and voices of people who have participated in Imagine over the years. The campaign highlights the impact of encounters, dialogue and peace education, while bringing forward the personal experiences that have shaped the programme.
Watch the Imagine peace education campaign
The campaign complements Imagine Peace Voices for Cyprus, an additional project supported by the Federal Foreign Office of the Republic of Germany. Through this project, AHDR will run a parallel series of activities to reconnect and strengthen the networks built around Imagine, including educators, young people and former participants, while creating further opportunities for engagement in peace education.
Investing in peace and strengthening civil society
During the launch, Mirko Kruppa, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Nicosia, highlighted the importance of creating space and visibility for pro-reconciliation voices in Cyprus and strengthening the agency of those working to bring communities closer together.
The launch formed part of a wider International Day of Peace programme organised by AHDR, the Home for Cooperation and The Home Café under the message “Invest in Peace – For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.”
The programme brought together people and organisations from across Cyprus through dialogue, educational and creative activities and an NGO Fair. It also featured “Voices Against Racism: From Dialogue to Action,” a civil society discussion on strengthening cooperation against racism and discrimination.
Following the discussion, participants signed a Commitment to Action for Anti-Racist Education in Cyprus, initiating a participatory process towards a Civil Society Action Framework for Anti-Racist Education in Cyprus.
With the launch of the Imagine Peace Academy, AHDR is creating new ways for those who have already been part of Imagine, as well as those who will join in the years ahead, to stay connected, take ownership, make an impact and contribute to the continuation of peace education in Cyprus and beyond.
