Funded by: European Commission

Programme Period: January 2013 - January 2014

The Meeting Point was a one year initiative supported by EC Representation in Cyprus and administrated by AHDR in 2013. The one year project started in January 2013 and was officially launched on the 11th of May 2013 (the launch took place at the H4C as part of the Europe Day festivities and H4C 2ndbirthday celebrations). The festivities included a traditional folk dance performance by “HASDER” youth group and music performances by “MIMA” and "Oi Las” traditional Music Group.

The mission of The Meeting Point was to promote bi-communal dialogue and facilitate cooperation between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities in Cyprus. It was also an entry point to the Union for the citizens, offering general EU information, referring to specialized information sources, raising awareness and promoting debate. The Meeting Point also provided grassroots services tailored to local needs, enabling citizens in Cyprus to obtain free of charge information, advice, assistance and answers to questions about the Union's priorities, legislation, policies and programmes.

Within the framework of its operation, The Meeting Point organised a series of activities centred on issues such as education, youth and culture. These included:

Storytelling Clubs

The Meeting Point hosted several storytelling events at the Home for Cooperation, which aimed to bring together children from different communities in Cyprus. Children aged between 2 – 7 years were invited to the Home for Cooperation to listen to stories in 3 languages and had the opportunity to participate in peace building activities through drama, as well as other creative games.

Two of the ‘Story telling Clubs” organized were specifically targeted towards underprivileged children.

Photo Contest

The Meeting Point organised a photography competition award ceremony and the opening of an exhibition entitled ‘Cooperation’ that took place on 27th June 2013, at the Home for Cooperation. The event was attended by distinguished guests and photographers, honourable representatives of embassies and delegates of the European Commission Representation in Cyprus.

More than 400 photographs were submitted to the competition, which was on the theme of ‘Cooperation’, with photos received from both Cyprus and across the world. Images portraying the true meaning of cooperation arrived to the Home for Cooperation, from Australia, Canada, U.S.A., India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Qatar, Greece, Turkey, Hungary, Finland, Poland, Egypt, and the U.K., Ireland, Russia, Italy, Portugal, Serbia and many more countries.

Active Ageing/ Oral History

In the framework of reinforcing active ageing in Cyprus and preserving the oral history of Cyprus through recorded recollections of historical accounts, The Meeting Point hosted a traditional Cypriot evening for seniors on the 20thof September 2013. The event took place at the Home for Cooperation where 50 senior Cypriots had the opportunity of sharing their knowledge and experiences as they mingled with other people from across Cyprus.

Interviewers appointed by The Meeting Point recorded oral accounts that have not yet been recorded in any history book regarding inter-communal relations, both from the past and the present, as narrated by the participants. By sharing these unique stories, The Meeting Point helped collect living memories for future generations.

A follow up event was organized in January 2014, in which the documentary film ‘Mineworkers’ Memories’ was screened as a way of honouring the common struggle of labour rights for all Cypriots.

Political Discussions

On the 29th January 2014, the Meeting point organized its last activity. Youth leaders of various political parties from across Cyprus were invited to an inter-communal discussion that centered on the topic: “How Education cancontributein the Solution of the Cyprus Problem”.

Each representative presented their thoughts on the issue and an interactive public discussion followed.