ObamaVision Webscope

Our international team of practioners of the science of Structured Dialogic Design (SDD), who wish to work together towards discovering the roadblocks facing President Barack Obama in realizing his vision of a bottom-up democracy for the people and with the people of the United States of America is engaging in the ObamaVision Webscope.

The group work of the team of stakeholders focuses on diagnosing the inhibitors to the actualization of a bottom-up democracy as visualized by the President-elect:

The "disciplined dialogue" of the team will be conducted asynchronously (different places at different times from December 1 to 12), and synchronously (different places at the same time on December 13) employing this Websope wiki. The group will be engaged for approximately six hours during the period of December 1 to December 13, 2008.

We are hosting an observers's party at the FWC offices on 13 December so that any of our associates can witness this event.

Please see http://obamavision.wikispaces.com for more info or feel free to contact Larry for questions / comments


See you on the wiki,

Global Connections – Interactive workshop on Development Education for Teachers from across Europe

25 teachers and teacher trainers from Cyprus, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Scotland and Ireland participated in a workshop on Development Education in Kaunas/ Lithuania from the 19 until the 23 of October, 2008. The workshop was part of the EuropeAid funded project ‘Accessing Development Education’, coordinated by Future Worlds Center (Cyprus) in partnership with Youth Career and Advising Centre (Lithuania), ScotDec (Scotland), KADE (Ireland) and C.E.G.A. (Bulgaria). The project’s main aim is to engage educators and schools in Development Education activities and equip them with relevant training and materials, thus making them promoters and multipliers of national campaigns that aim to create awareness about Development and about global interdependencies.
A Teachers Advisory Group (TAG) has been established in each partner country. The TAG members act as experts on the ground; they are actively involved in assessing, reviewing and modifying existing Development Education material, ensuring that it relates to the local teaching context.
The Global Connections workshop in Kaunas brought teachers and teacher trainers of all five national TAGs together. Throughout the four days, the participants explored a wide range of Global/ Development Education topics, such as Human Rights, Fair Trade, Refugees, Sustainable Development, and the Millennium Development Goals. The workshop sessions were led by the partner NGOs, as well as by teachers and teacher trainers themselves, sharing successful resources and approaches. A diversity of methodologies, teaching material, games and group activities ensured not only the active participation of all participants, but also offered the teachers a pool of good practices to utilise for their own classroom.
The project is currently developing an online depository of best practices of DE teaching material. The website with the depository will be launched in December and will be accessible at www.developmenteducation.info. Additionally, a wiki-portal has been set up as a tool to connect teachers across Europe at http://globalconnections.wetpaint.com. Any teacher or educator can register and participate in discussions or share interesting and successful teaching material, links and other success stories.
For more information, please contact the project coordinator.

Global Education Week

Future Worlds Center announces its participation in the Europe-wide Global Education Week. The Global Education Week takes place every third week of November in all member states of the Council of Europe. The Global Education Week offers a common frame for actions on Global Citizenship, Human Rights and Intercultural Dialogue.

The Future Worlds Center has facilitated an interactive structured dialogue workshop with teachers of the 3rd Elementary School of Deryneia and is organising a 2-day workshop about Global Education for teachers from across Cyprus.
For more information on the Global Education Week and the actions organised by FWC, please contact the Development Education Unit.

Serving the Citizen: Promoting NGO-Public Sector Partnership

“Serving the Citizen: Promoting NGO-Public Sector Partnership”

Organised in the framework of the Legal and Regulatory Framework Reform of Civil Society in Cyprus on 27-28 November 2008 at the Holiday Inn, in Nicosia.

The conference aims:

¨ To share international / European best practice experiences between new EU member states and the Western Balkans with local stakeholders.

¨ To promote learning from best practice in such areas as NGO registration, public benefit status, public financing of NGOs, government-NGO relations, and forms of supporting NGOs.

¨ To increase the capacity of all stakeholders involved – government, NGOs, lawyers, and other decision-makers – to support the reform of the institutional framework in which civil society functions in Cyprus.

¨ To showcase case studies from Cyprus for a regional audience.

¨ To increase dialogue and enhance relations between civil society and the Cyprus government services through a knowledge-sharing experience.

Participants will have the opportunity to participate in plenary sessions, roundtable discussions and workshops with prominent experts: Mr. Jeremy McBride, Expert Council on NGO Law, Council of Europe, Professionals on the NGO legal reform from Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Croatia, Mr. Ninos Savvides, Planning Bureau, Mr. Jaco Cilliers, UNDP-ACT, Members from the NGO Working Group.

For further information contact: Isabelle Ioannides, PhD

European Conference on Youth Inclusion and Youth Participation

On Saturday, 8 November 2008 youth from Cyprus will meet with other youth from 11 European Union countries at the “European Conference on Youth Inclusion and Youth Participation”. They will hear from distinguished leaders across Europe, present results of an International Youth Survey, discuss outputs of regional youth Structured Dialogues held in Cyprus, Italy and Romania and present a joint declaration on citizenship and youth participation across Europe. This conference is part of the European Union Youth in Action Programme project called “UCYVROK” which is short for Uniting for Citizenship and participation: Youth promoting Vulnerable groups' Rights, Opportunities and Knowledge. The event will be held from 10.00 until 16.00 at the Golden Bay Beach Hotel in Larnaca, Cyprus.

The UCYVROK project is coordinated by Cypriot non-governmental organisation, Future Worlds Center and is implemented in partnership with eleven youth non-governmental organisations from across Europe. The project receives funding from the European Commission’s Youth in Action Programme and is a direct response to the European Parliament’s inquiry about the lack of youth participation in European activities.
Project activities have included structured dialogue workshops in Cyprus, Italy and Romania, the creation of an online platform (http://ucyvrok.wetpaint.com) linking youth across Europe, a comprehensive survey examining the current youth environment in eleven EU countries, and exploring ways to promote youth participation in European activities and intercultural events, with a particular focus on less privileged youth.
Confirmed speakers at the “European Conference on Youth Inclusion and Youth Participation” include the Honourable Panayiotis Demetriou, Member of the European Parliament from Cyprus, and Jaco Cilliers, Programme Manager from the United Nations Development Programme - Action for Cooperation and Trust (UNDP-ACT). Other special guest speakers will be presenting as well.

UCYVROK European Union partners:
1. ANTIGONE - Information Centre on Racism, Ecology, Peace and Non Violence (Greece)
2. CVC - Centrum Voľného Času (Slovakia)
3. ANEEI - Agency for Non-formal Education and European Information (Bulgaria)
4. ADICE - Association pour le Développement des Initiatives Citoyennes et Européennes (France)
5. Università del Terzo Settore (Italy)
6. Intercultural Institute of Timisoara (Romania)
7. Salesian Missionary Voluntary Service – Youth for the World (Poland)
8. Association Youth for Society (Latvia)
9. Multikultúra Egyesület (Hungary)
10. Jugend bewegt Europa (Germany)
11. Human Rights Education Youth Network (European Network/ Spain)

For more information please contact Project Coordinator Larry Fergeson at Future Worlds Center.
Tel: +357 22873820 or email: larry.fergeson.cyprus@gmail.com


European Union funded Youth in Action Programme Project No.: 2007-3756/010-001

New MDG Training Dates

The Dates of the Training Sessions on International Development and the Millennium Development Goals have changed. The new dates for the upcoming trainings are:

11 NOV - MDG Radio - Radio Structures and Techniques
13 NOV - Introduction to Fair Trade
25 NOV - Immigration Flows: Causes and Consequences
02 DEC - Global Citizenship - A Basic Concept for Civic Education
16 DEC - Basic Health Education and International Campaigns

For more information on the trainings or the project, please contact Yves.

Global Education Week - Cyprus NGO Platform 'The Development' at the Ministry of Education

Kerstin Wittig, Cyprus representative to the European Development Education Forum participated in a presentation at the Ministry of Education directed to Civil Society Organisations in Cyprus and government Ministries. The event was organised by Ministry of Education, CYPRUSAID and the Cyprus NGO Platform 'The Development'. Participants learned about Development Education and Global Education, European strategies and actions, Global Education Week, and the contribution of CYPRUSAID towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

New Island-wide Cyprus Development Platform

FWC as a founding member of Cyprus NGO Platform "The Development" has agreed to join the newly established Island-wide Cyprus Development Platform. This meta-platform brings together development NGOs from all over Cyprus to promote development issues in a broader EU context. For more information contact Kerstin Wittig, head of the Development Education Unit at FWC.

Everybody’s Song

Everybody’s Song was an international youth project in Bulgaria, Cyprus, FYR Macedonia, Greece and Serbia which lasted from December 2006 until August 2008. It was conceived and coordinated by the Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute alias Future Worlds Center. The project’s general aim was to reflect on the role of music in intercultural understanding and to identify ways to utilise it in youth work.


The new version of our website (http://www.everybodys-song.net) including picture galleries, videos, audio material and a download section is finally online! It is available in seven languages (English, Albanian, Bulgarian, Greek, (Slavic) Macedonian, Serbian and Turkish). A few minor corrections still need to be done and the Greek section will be added during the following days. Four of our videos are on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/user/EverybodysSongprojec).

"Strengthening Asylum in Cyprus” UNHCR funded project

Target Population:
Asylum Seekers and Refugees residing in Cyprus

Main Goal:
To offer free of charge legal aid and social support to the target population.

Our Duties include:

• Monitoring/Evaluation of the Refugee Status Determination procedures (e.g. Application for Asylum, Interviews, Appeals, police related issues)
• Monitoring/Evaluation of the present financial, vocational, educational and health needs of the clients
• Sharing of information with clients on their lawful rights,/provision of advocacy services.

In order to address and resolve problems on the above mentioned sectors:

Individual approach, not campaign-orientated work.

Liaison with competent governmental authorities.

Collaboration with UNHCR, other NGO’s, educational/training bodies etc. for the benefit of clients.

Monitoring of asylum procedures and law implementation and provision of recommendations on policy issues

For more information contact Manos Mathioudakis here

FWC Welcomes International Interns

As part of the Future Worlds Center International Internship program two new interns have started their apprenticeships. FWC welcomes Brooke Galloway, a Conflict Resolution graduate student from Portland State University in Portland, Oregon and Lucia Fetzer from University of Hannover (in Germany) and now an Erasmus student at the University of Nicosia.


Please contact Larry Fergeson for information on Internships at FWC.

FWC SDDP Team in Romania

As part of the UCYVROK project (Uniting for Citizenship and participation: Youth promoting Vulnerable groups’ Rights, Opportunities and Knowledge) Future Worlds Center staff members Larry Fergeson, Yiannis Laouris and Kerstin Wittig facilitated a Structured Design Dialogue Process (SDDP) in Romania. Participants from Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Latvia and Poland engaged in Structured Dialogue about what an ideal society that is culturally diverse and inclusive looks like. The process was a huge success and produced a very detailed map of descriptors. The full report will be presented at the UCYVROK International Conference in Cyprus on 8 November in Larnaca, Cyprus at The Golden Bay Hotel.

For more information about Structured Design Dialogue Process (SDDP) please read the book: How People Harness their Collective Wisdom and Power - Alexander N. Christakis with Kenneth C. Bausch, (Information Age Publishing, Greenwich, CT, March 2006)

FWC is shortlisted for IPE grant

Changing Attitudes of Adults (parents) on Internet-Related Risks for Young Adolescents

The project will address Internet safety issues with the aim to achieve an in-depth understanding regarding safety breaches and protective measures and actions, primarily within the family environment. For this purpose, a limited section of the Online Virtual Environment, Second Life, will be customized to host study teams who will be playing on the Internet and will be “exposed” to real risks in a controlled way. Project participants are expected to develop skills in recognising safety pitfalls and dealing with them as well as appreciate Internet Risks in their true dimension.
The very difference between real Internet-related risks and Internet-related risks as perceived by adults (parents) could constitute a new type of risk in itself. There is a similar difference between the means to deal with these risks and the means to deal with these risks as perceived by adults (parents). The conception adults (parents) have on what (their) children do when they “play” (spend time) on the Internet is largely based on ignorance; certainly experiential ignorance in that they have not “played” (spent time) on such activities themselves and often ‘literate ignorance’ in that they have not studied the matter. Media and church hype add insult to injury. Furthermore, there is a difference between the real attitude of adults (parents) towards their children (in general, and with respect to their children’s activities on the Internet) and their self-perceived attitude. There is a further difference between their real attitudes and the results of their behavior.
The project will study the attitude of such adults towards the fact that their children immerse themselves into video games (Second Life in particular). Specifically, the project team will study the change in attitudes of the adults regarding the activities of their children and the risks related before and after they had an opportunity to “play” along with their children for several months.
Target groups addressed will be parents (of 12-15 year old girls and 13-16 year old boys) who are teachers (preferably at high schools where they have pupils of the same age as their children) who will fall into specific, predefined clusters, along with their children. Each study team will consist of one or two parents-teachers with their one or more children / nephew and / or their friends.
Project outputs, products and results will include, among others, i) a customized area in the Virtual, Online Environment “Second Life”, ii) a portal supporting project work, dissemination activities and project participants, iii) recorded research on internet safety risks as perceived by adults and teenagers of the study teams and most importantly the possible change in attitudes before and after game playing. This research aims at concluding to a suggested methodology on an original approach in developing an Internet Safety Culture which could be used as a bases for learning material at various levels and in particular for teacher training.

Portland State University Students visit Cyprus

We are pleased to welcome Professor Dr. Harry Anastasiou from the conflict resolution department at Portland State University to Cyprus. Each year Dr. Anastasiou brings a group of top graduate students from the USA to Cyprus to broaden their horizons and give them an in-depth look at the realities on the ground in Cyprus.

This year Future Worlds Center will give a presentation to the students at the Russian Cultural Centre located at 16 Alasias Street, Nicosia on 16 September at 14.00. The Russian Cultural Centre contains a library with Russian books, periodicals, music, film, and other media. For Russian natives, this is a good place to make contacts and arrange for Greek and/or English lessons. The center also hosts cultural events and exhibitions, particularly those pertaining to the arts.

Russian Cultural Centre:Corner of Alasias & Zenonos St.Tel.: +357 22 761607

Центр Русского Науки и Культуры - Здесь хорошое место найти информацию о языковых курсах в никосии. Библиотека. Художественные выставки.

New Talk of the Island Web Site

Future Worlds Center announces the new and improved website for Talk of the Island radio programme. It now has a live listening link and you can listen to any of the past shows since 2005. Please go to:

http://talkoftheisland.wetpaint.com/

Have a look around and give a listen to your favorite radio programme coming to you from Cyprus.

Save the Date

Save the Date

for the european union funded youth in action programme project

organised by lead partner

future worlds center

Uniting for Citizenship and Participation: Youth promoting Vulnerable Groups' Rights, Opportunities and Knowledge (UCYVROK)

Project No.: 2007-3756/010-001

European Conference on Youth Inclusion and Youth Participation

Saturday, 08 November 9.00 until 16.00

Golden Bay Hotel

Larnaca Cyprus

Envisioning a culturally diverse and inclusive society: Structured Dialogue Workshop in Romania

In the context of its European Project 'UCYVROK', Future Worlds Center staff will facilitate a structured dialogue workshop in Timisoara/ Romania on the 21 and 22 September. This is the second regional workshop within the UCYVROK project.
The workshop will be attended by project partners and youth from Poland, Slovakia, Latvia, Hungary and Romania. The participants will engage in a democratic and structured dialogue to develop a joint vision for a culturally diverse and inclusive society.
For further information about the project go to the UCYVROK website or email the project coordinator.
For further information about Structured Dialogue click here.

FWC shortlisted for new EU Project

The European Commission today shortlisted the application for a new project to be coordinated by Future Worlds Center and the Youth Centre Union. The project is called "Jumpstart - Youth Peace Campaign in Cyprus" and if approved will run for 18 months and aims to increase the number of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot youth actively participating in the Cyprus reconciliation process. It will hopefully be funded by the The European Commission as part of its Reconciliation, Confidence Building Measures and Support to Civil Society under the CYPRIOT CIVIL SOCIETY IN ACTION Programme. The Overall Objectives are to:

• Increase confidence building between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot youth (18-30)
• Create opportunities for youth to actively engage in reconciliation activities
• Promote inter-cultural dialogue and its methods and language as a concept and as the means for envisioning a future Cyprus
• Enable Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot youth to challenge their own stereotypes and perceptions as well as to develop the capacity to challenge those of the community at large

FWC, as the European leader in Structured Dialogic Design Processes or SDDP, will conduct a deeper analysis of issues concerning youth, participation, reconciliation processes in Cyprus if the project is approved. FWC will enable the youth activist group to develop an action strategy for the campaign and to identify possible risks along with alternative solutions and contingency plans. Based on an effective methodology, the SDDP sessions will ensure that all key issues are taken into account, all members of the youth activist group have voiced both their plans and concerns, and that the group democratically agrees on the action plan to be implemented.

FWC 2007 Annual Report

Please click here to view and or download our 2007 Annual Report.

FWC 2006 Annual Report

Please click here to view and or download our 2006 Annual Report.