User:Futuristas/Cyprus Peace Bazaar
The Cyprus Peace Bazaar, was an event which took place in June 1995 at the premises Ledra Palace Hotel abandoned in the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus, under the auspices of Cyprus Fulbright and UNFICYP. Fifteen projects, selected through a year-long application of the science of structured dialogic design process by the Cyprus Conflict Resolution Trainers Group were presented to the public and requested support for their implementation.
Historical Context
[edit]According to Benjamin Broome, between fall of 1994 and summer of 1995, a core group of thirty-two Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot conflict resolution trainers and project leaders participated in problem-solving and design sessions focused on peace-building efforts in Cyprus. Groups met on a weekly basis, and occasionally on weekends, both in separate community meetings and in bi-communal settings. A group design process called Interactive Management was used to guide the groups through three phases of problem solving: definition of the situation, vision of the future, and development of a strategic set of projects for promoting peace-building activities in Cyprus. In the first phase of group work, each community worked separately to identify the obstacles to their work and to structure these into a Problématique, or system of problems, surrounding the peace-building process. In the second phase, participants again worked in separate community groups to construct vision statements for their peace-building efforts, and they came together in a bi-communal setting to construct a collective vision statement. In the third phase, during which all sessions were bi-communal, participants proposed a total of 241 possible projects designed to work toward their vision, and they eventually selected 15 of these projects for implementation during the following year. They held an Agora/bazaar to which they invited others who had expressed interest in joining them in peace building efforts.
Selected projects
[edit]| # | PROJECT |
| 1 | Form study groups on Cyprus Federation/EU |
| 2 | Establish regular columns in G/C and T/C newspapers by members of opposite community |
| 3 | Schedule series of lectures by Orthodox and Muslim priests |
| 4 | Establish bi-communal meetings for T/Cs and G/Cs who studied together in integrated schools before 1974 (English School and American Academy) |
| 5 | Find sponsors for publishing books on poetry, short stories, art, folk dances in both languages |
| 6 | Establish a bi-communal womens research center and support group |
| 7 | Form a bi-communal research center on history, social structure, traditions, culture, oral history of the two communities |
| 8 | Conduct bi-communal workshops for young political leaders |
| 9 | Establish bi-communal center to teach internet and Greek and Turkish languages |
| 10 | Organize bi-communal workshops on problem solving techniques for educationalists |
| 11 | Set up bi-communal training/research center on conflict resolution and problem solving |
| 12 | Create bi-communal dialogue groups to focus on critical issues (property concerns, identity, security, etc.) |
| 13 | Organize poetry evenings for bi-communal audience |
| 14 | Organize concert with theme Peace on the Green line |
| 15 | Study the living conditions of T/Cs who live in the south and G/Cs who live in the north and make joint public report |
Implementation
[edit]The Cyprus Conflict Resolution Trainers Group requested the financial support of the UN with a historical letter sent to UN General Secretary. In 1999, the UN established the UNOPS program, which provided funding for the above 15 and more than a hundred additional peace projects on the island.
Publications
[edit]Designing the Future of Peace-Building Efforts in Cyprus. Report of Design Workshops held during Fall 1994 and Spring of 1995 with Conflict Resolution Trainers and Project Leaders. Workshops Sponsored by Cyprus Fulbright Commission Nicosia, Cyprus. Prepared 12 January 1996 by Professor Benjamin J. Broome
Broome B.J. (1997). Designing a Collective Approach to Peace: Interactive Design and Problem-Solving Workshops with Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot Communities in Cyprus. International Negotiation, 2(3):381-407.
Broome, B.J. (2002). Particpatory planning and design in a protracted conflict situation: applications with citizen peace-building groups in Cyprus. Systems Research and Behavioral Science. 19(4):313-321