The Cypriots and the Others:

Putting Cypriot Solidarity to Test

The shock that our country is going through these past weeks is one that most of us have not been prepared for. It has shaken the very foundations that we have been securely building and obliviously standing on, and it now puts to test the values that will either keep us together, as people, or tear us further apart. All of us encounter the growing realities of despair by those hit the hardest by Cyprus’ abrupt economic austerity. These are the realities of the unemployed amongst us, of the ones who fear losing their homes, of the pensioners and bankrupted business owners, of the mentally and physically disabled and of the elderly too frail to support themselves. 

What has been a breeze of hope in these desperate moments is the phenomenal wave of events being organised in response to the growing needs of the citizens amongst us. And these are not only the big charity efforts that are receiving immense support from people all over Cyprus. There are also smaller efforts; efforts whose character is more one of solidarity than of charity, and these too are multiplying on a daily basis. These are the efforts of the people who come together and set up groups for collecting food and funds that would pay for their neighbour’s bills, people cooking for community kitchens, and people who volunteer to look after children while their parents go to work. All these efforts, small or big, the solidarity ones or the ones for charity, are a proof that Cypriots are capable of feeling empathy for another human being. 

Yet there is something saddening and incredibly worrying surfacing from these stories of charity and solidarity for our fellow Cypriots. These are the parallel stories of exclusion and hostility that are spreading with great aggression towards the non-Cypriots citizens of the island, such as the domestic workers, the asylum seekers, the refugees, the international students, and the undocumented migrants. 

What is sad is that once again these people are being used as scapegoats for the Cypriot ills, while all of us know they have played no role in bringing Cyprus to where it stands now. What is worrying is that we have allowed our understanding of solidarity to be manipulated and our feelings of empathy to be disturbed in a way that uses the “crisis” to justify the unacceptable discrimination and exclusion of the already marginalised and fragile people in our society. 

We know that we are not alone in believing that to emerge from this crisis, we must reclaim our vision of a community, based on solidarity towards every individual living on this island, irrespective of one’s status, disability, religion, gender, age, or ethnic origin. And this is because as Aurora Levins Morales once said, "Solidarity is not a matter of altruism. Solidarity comes from the inability to tolerate the affront to our own integrity of passive or active collaboration in the oppression of others, and from the deep recognition of our most expansive self-interest. From the recognition that, like it or not, our liberation is bound up with that of every other being on the planet, and that politically, spiritually, in our heart of hearts we know anything else is unaffordable." 


Future Worlds Center
12/04/2013

A step backwards on child detentions

Originally published in the Cyprus Mail on March 22, 2012.

CYPRUS has taken a step backwards when it comes to the detention of children, a prominent NGO said yesterday.

At the launch of a global campaign to end immigration detention of children, which is being launched at UN Human Rights Council, Corina Drousiotou, the Senior Legal Advisor for asylum seekers and refugees at Future Worlds Center said the Cypriot authorities have so far avoided the detention of children.

However an amendment to the law in December 2011 now permits the detention of minors as well.

“We have always been proud of the fact that Cyprus, unlike many other EU states, has not detained children; we consider this an important tribute to the human rights record of the country and evidence of our humanitarian and ethical standards,” said Drousiotou.

“But the recent amendment in the law that permits detention of minors is gravely disappointing and we are observing the possible implementation with great concern; it seems like we are taking steps backwards on a crucial issue that for us permits no discussion, children do not belong in detention under any circumstances.”

After a visit to Cyprus recently, Amnesty International raised its concerns with the Cypriot immigration authorities regarding the legality and the length of detention, and urged the government to fulfil its international obligations and respect the rights of asylum seekers and migrants. Amnesty International delegates visited three different detention facilities on the island and almost every detainee they talked to, spoke of lack of legal aid, poor conditions, and insufficient medical care, a statement from Future Worlds Center said.

“Governments should not detain children just because they are fleeing abuse, war and poverty or do not have any papers. Many of these kids are unaccompanied, have lost their parents, are already traumatized and just want safety” said Jeroen Van Hove, Campaign Coordinator of the International Detention Coalition, “Children should not be locked up. These kids and families do not pose any threat to the community.”

A handful of countries around the world, such as Belgium, Argentina and Japan use community based alternatives to immigration detention for children. Whereas Brazil and South Africa do not detain asylum applicants at all, and operate long-standing and successful alternatives to detention.

FWC ranks second in prestigious Euro-Med Award for the Dialogue between Cultures

Local Cypriot NGO Future World Center (FWC) ranked second place in the final election
round of the prestigious Euro-Med Award for Dialogue between Cultures and was awarded an Honourable Mention for the highly-esteemed work on intercultural dialogue for the promotion of freedom and citizenship in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

The Euro-Med Award for the Dialogue between Cultures is a very prestigious award given by the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures an organization operating in 43 countries having over a 3000 organizational members, founded to honor Anna Lindh for her pioneer work.

The nomination was done by Heiner Benking from PNW, a member of the German Anna-Lindh-Network, and co-founder of the Anna-Lindh-Salon. He based his proposal on the following:

1. The high number of structured democratic dialogues implemented by the organization.
2. Notable projects which promote dialogue, such as Act Beyond Borders, Teach MDGs,
Multicultural Cyprus, Moblang, UCYVROK, Civil Society Dialogue, etc.
3. The world-wide initiatives as well as publications and books by members of its Board Aleco Christakis, Yiannis Laouris, Harry Anastasiou, Kerstin Wittig and Romina Laouri.
4. The (i) Philosophy, (ii) Values, (iii) Good Organization, (iv) Focus on peace, (v) Special focus on vulnerable groups and (vi) The promotion of Cyprus as peripheral center.

Mr. Anthos Shekkeris from the Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs, which acts as the Head of Anna Lindh National Network in Cyprus, stated that it is the first time that a Cypriot NGO enjoys such recognition. The Cyprus network comprises of 45 organizations.

Dr. Yiannis Laouris, Chair of the Board of Future World Center, expressed his gratitude to the thousands of NGOs across the region that trusted their vote to the Cypriot NGO. He asserted that his team will now have to work even harder to meet the expectations. He also expressed hope that more “structured” dialogue engaging people from all walks of life, takes place among all the various societies living in Cyprus.

Dr. Laouris speaks on Deutche Welle about the technology gap between children and parents

On Tuesday, December 2, 2010, the findings of a Europe-wide study on young people and the internet were released in Berlin. The results were released on a conference organized by the State Media Authority of Rhineland-Palatinate in collaboration with several other organizations including the German Safer Internet Center.
More than 23,000 children and young people between the ages of 9 and 16 were interviewed across 25 European countries by trained psychologists in the context of a pan-European project known as EUKIDSONLINE. The Cyprus Neuroscience & Technology Institute participates in this venture since 2007.

Dr. Laouris, Director of the Cyprus Safer Internet Center and Representative of the EUKIDS network in Cyprus, presented preliminary results of a study that is using the data from these 23,000 questionnaires and which showed that kids experimenting with their selves online are at more risk of being bullied and bullying others on the internet. The study has used completed in collaboration with Dr. Lucian Kirwil from the Institute for Social Studies in Poland.

On an interview conducted by Mrs. Cinnamon Nippard, an Australian journalist working for Deutsche Welle, Dr. Laouris suggested that parents should let their children become their teachers when it comes to technology. This approach would not only facilitate the closing of the technological gap that exists between children and parents, but it will also give them the opportunity to spend some quality time with their kids.
The interview is available at:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6310295,00.html (08.12.2010)

The audio part of the interview is available on line (15.12.2010):
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6326194,00.html (Laouris interview at minute 4).
The New Media Lab of the Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute is currently implementing another research project, which supports very similar conclusions. Inetrisks (available at www.inetRisks.net), funded by the Research Promotion Foundation, has demonstrated that the attitudes of parents as to what constitutes a risk on the internet, change dramatically when they participate in a 6 month-long program that engages them in spending time together with their children in various technology platforms.

CyberEthics on NTV's noon news programme

Lawrence Kalogreades of CyberEthics and coordinator of the Safer Internet Helpline was hosted by Dimitris Souglis on NTV's noon news programme. The two discussed the recent events in Cyprus regarding Internet related crimes and how the public has reacted to them, as well as the perceived causes of the increase in such events. Lawrence then explained to the viewers how to keep themselves and their children safe by changing some simple things in the way that they behave online (you can find out more at www.cyberethics.info). The issue received considerable attention as indicated by the fact that the number of people dialing in to address their concerns on the issue was so high that it was not possible to address each caller individually. That being said, CyberEthics and its associates have been invited back and will soon be featured more extensively on NTV.

CyberEthics at Radio Pafos 93.7FM

Lawrence Kalogreades, coordinator of the Cyprus Safer Internet Helpline, was invited to discuss safer Internet issues on the Radio Pafos program 'Προχωράμε Μαζί', hosted by Olga Ioannou. The two discussed the importance of understanding the Internet as a beneficial tool which however can contain hidden hazards for the inexperienced. With this in mind, the program focused on the responsibility of the parents to become educated in ICT in order to be capable of giving proper advice and guidance to their children, as well as avoiding hazards themselves. The discussion attracted the attention of the audience who called in and asked questions and also challenged the position that parents can make a difference when it comes to a child's behaviour on the Internet. As a concluding remark, Lawrence stated that parents should not turn a blind-eye to their children's activities on the Internet, but should not spy on their children either. With that in mind, a spirit of collaboration and mutual understanding should be developed in order for the youngsters to feel comfortable discussing these issues with their parents, not only because they feel that it is acceptable but also because they need to feel that their parents are also knowledgable in the subject.

CyberEthics at “Elefthero Vima” on CyBC Radio 1

Lawrence Kalogreades, coordinator of the Cyprus Safer Internet Helpline, and Yiannis Laouris, director of the CyberEthics Awareness Node, were the guest speakers at the CyBC Radio 1 discussion show “Elefthero Vima”.

Yiannis and Lawrence were given the opportunity to inform the public about the role of CyberEthics in regards to Internet safety in Cyprus and how its role has evolved over the years into including a Helpline, Hotline, and also running relevant research projects on Internet use and video game addiction. The discussion also covered popular issues such as the use of Instant Messenger programs and their dangers, how to protect one’s computer from viruses, to how to use Social Networking Sites safely. The discussion ran from 7:25 until 8:25pm.

Latest Jumpstart training a great success

A three-day training on Campaigning and Public Relations took place during the weekend 5-7 March at L.A. Resort in Lapta/Lapithos, as part of the project
“Jumpstart Youth Peace Campaign”, implemented by Youth Center Union and FWC.
The training brought together 18 youth, aged 18-30 from all across Cyprus aiming at providing them with skills and knowledge on how to organize successful events and activities in the framework of the “Jumpstart Youth Peace Campaign”.

During the training, participants attended sessions dealing with the idea of “space” and had the chance to critically explore propaganda and media manipulation mechanisms. They then focus on Campaigning and investigated Public Relations methods which they could utilize during the organization of their own activities. At a later stage, participants formed groups and set out to come up with concrete action plans for activities in the areas of Environment, Human Rights and Leisure.

Apart from the sessions, participants went out together and took walks to the nearby village. These activities helped young people develop stronger bonds and strengthened the dynamic of the group.

Participants of each action team will meet regularly together so as to organize their activities and monitor their own actions, under the coordination of Youth Center and Future Worlds Center.


Please click here to read an article about the training in Kathimerini newspaper.

FWC presents Cyberethics at Levent College

FWC associates Selen Mesutoglu and Lawrence Kalogreades presented CyberEthics information to students at Levent College in north Cyprus. Click here to read more about the event printed in Kibris Newspaper.

Jumpstart Peace Bus Tour Kick Off Video

A big thank you to Cyprus Community Media Centre for producing this video of the Jumpstart Peace Bus Tour Kick Off Event! Please click here to go the Future Worlds Center YouTube channel to view the video.

Jumpstart workshop featured in Cyprus Mail

Jumpstart Youth Peace Campaign was once again featured in the Cyprus media. This time the focus of article pertained to the upcoming bi-communal conflict resolution workshop from September 11-13. Please click the image to read the article. You can also contact Nicolina Markidou for more information.

Cyprus Safer Internet Helpline coordinator on Round and About

Lawrence Kalogreades, coordinator of the Safer Internet Helpline, was invited to talk with Rosie Charalambous on her radio-show, Round and About. During their conversation, they touched upon the topics of the recent operation of the Helpline and its goals, the various hazards that are inherent to the internet, and how parents can safe-guard their children from these dangers. An overview of the Helpline, Hotline, and Cyberethics websites was also provided, along with an explanation of the various online resources available.

FWC's URVT on Pagkosmia Mera Vasanistirion

Future Worlds Center Unit for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture psychotherapist Constantina Christou appears in support of the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on Cyprus'"Pagkosmia Mera Vasanistirion". To view the interview please visit The FWC YouTube Channel or click below

Jumpstart hosted at CyBC

Jumpstart coordinators along with two Greek Cypriot participants who took part in the project’s latest training in Famagusta, were hosted last Saturday (11 July) at CyBC’s radio show “Culture and Peaceful living”(Πολιτισμός και Ειρηνική Συνύπαρξη) to talk about their experience of the project so far.
Jumpstart coordinators elaborated on the main objectives of the project and emphasized the importance of breaking the barrier of communication between the two communities and facilitating the exchange of opinion and life experience between the youth.
The Greek Cypriot participants said that they were really pleased to have taken part in the three-day event in Famagusta mainly because of the innovative methods used which encouraged co-operation and team-building skills between the participants from the very beginning. They both seemed keen to go on with with further activities.
Marcia Kammitsi, who acted as the Greek Cypriot co-ordinator so far, announced the actions to follow, as part of the project, giving emphasis on the conflict -resolution training expected to take part in September. She then encouraged youth who want to problematise bi-communal relations to join in, stressing the “openness” and participatory character of the activities.
Hussein Kursat, the Turkish Cypriot co-ordinator, also invited more people to join in, especially from the Greek Cypriot community, saying that it is really important to the development of a new culture of bi-communal relations.
Fore more information about the Jumpstart project, please contact the new Greek Cypriot co-ordinator Nicolina Markidou.

Please listent to the interview by clicking here

Jumpstart Interview Track 01 - Jumpstart

Jumpstart Interview Track 02 - Jumpstart

Jumpstart Interview Track 03 - Jumpstart

Jumpstart Interview Track 04 - Jumpstart

Jumpstart Interview Track 05 - Jumpstart

Jumpstart Interview Track 06 - Jumpstart

Jumpstart Interview Track 07 - Jumpstart

Jumpstart Interview Track 08 - Jumpstart

Jumpstart Interview Track 09 - Jumpstart