Launch of Educational Programme ‘Imagine’

28 Nov 2017

Launch of Educational Programme ‘Imagine’

NICOSIA, 28 November 2017 - The 'Imagine' programme that runs under the auspices of the Technical Committee on Education and implemented by the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR) and the Home for Cooperation (H4C) with the support of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, continues this school year after succesfully completing the pilot phase in 2016-2017 school year.

Grounded in a holistic understanding of a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence, the programme is being implemented in two stages: in the first stage, experienced trainers visit the schools of participating students and teachers in both communities to facilitate activities that deal with stereotypes, extremism and intolerance and prepare them for bi-communal contact at the H4C. Then, in the second stage, groups of students from the two communities are paired and meet in the buffer zone where they participate in either peace education workshops with the AHDR or sports activities with PeacePlayers International.

'Imagine' addresses primary schools, secondary schools and lyceums and aims to bring together 2500 students from 50 Turkish Cypriot and 50 Greek Cypriot schools from all areas of Cyprus. The programme will continue until the end of the school year 2017-2018.

The ‘Imagine’ programme is supported by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany and has received special praise by the United Nations Secretary General in his two latest Reports on the United Nations operation in Cyprus.