FOYA CYPRUS

BI – ANNUAL

NEWSLETTER

Leaders meet UN Secretary General

Cypriot President Demetris

Christofias & Turkish Cypriot

leader Derviş Eroğlu have

returned from New York after

an invitation from U.N.

Secretary General Ban Ki-

moon. The three leaders have

pledged to work towards

achieving the unification of

Cyprus.

Child’s Rights Violated

In a video posted on

Facebook, a young child is

seen wielding a toy gun and

shouting to ‘kill Turks and

Communists” at the

instructions of his grandfather.

Commissioner for Children’s

Rights, Leda Kouroumba

called the event a flagrant

violation of the four year-old’s

rights.

IN THIS ISSUE

Update Pg. 1

Planned Projects Pg. 2-3

New Website Pg .3

Association Update Pg .3

Final Remarks Pg .4

FOYACyprus

BI-ANNUAL UPDATEWebsite

After many months of planning, designing

and testing, the new FOYA Cyprus website

was officially launched on March 14, 2010. If

you haven’t yet seen the new site, please

click on the link below and take a look. More

information on the contents and structure of

the new site is available on page 3.

Networking

FOYA Cyprus President, Demetrios

Nicolaides, has been accepted as an

international contributing member with the

Consortium for Peace Studies at the

University of Calgary.

http://www.ucalgary.ca/peacestudies/Nicolaides

Association

After working diligently on finalizing its

constitution, FOYA Cyprus held its inaugural

meeting in late 2009. Eager members came

together to sign and endorse the constitution

and goals of FOYA Cyprus. An interim

council and other decision-making bodies and

structure have been created. Pending the

final approval of registration from the Ministry

of Interior, FOYA Cyprus plans to hold in

early 2011, its first elections.

More information on the structure of the

organization, including our constitution and

the interim council, can be found on our

website.

Sincerely,

Demetrios NicolaidesPresident

www.foyacyprus.com

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To continue to receive updates

about FOYA Cyprus, progress

towards becoming a registered

NGO and other programs

thereafter, subscribe to receive

this newsletter twice a year.

We understand people do not

want to be barraged with

information, thus FOYA Cyprus

will put together and forward to

you a newsletter such as this,

only twice a year.

Visit our homepage and

subscribe.

DONATE NOW!CLICK HERE

Peace Scholarship

FOYA Cyprus holds as a key belief

that lasting peace in Cyprus can only

be achieved through education.

Thus, FOYA Cyprus is committed to

enhance the cause of Peace

Education.

Of the various universities and

colleges in Cyprus, not one yet offers

any programs or degrees affiliated

with peace studies and/or peace &

conflict studies. To work in

overcoming this barrier, FOYA

Cyprus plans to systematically fund

a Peace Scholarship to assist

Cypriot students who plan to

travel abroad and study about peace,

non-violence and reconciliation.

FOYA Cyprus plans to secure long-

term funding for this project in order

to continuously fund this project.

Specific details about the peace

scholarship program will be available

once significant funding has been

secured. At this stage however, it is

known that the scholarship will be in

the form of a one-time payment to a

selected student's institution to cover

their tuition fees.

We hope to be able to offer up to

€1,000 for one student per year.

In the future we plan to expand on

the peace scholarship program to

include funding for peace research.

Please subscribe to our newsletter or

follow us on twitter to stay up-to-date

on develops of the peace scholarship

program.

We would also like to take this time

to encourage you to make a donation

and help us create Cyprus’ 1st peace

scholarship. Your donation will help

send Cypriot students abroad to

learn about peace, conflict,

nonviolence and reconciliation.,

Planned Projects

FOYA Cyprus is currently

considering various projects and

fundraising events. In particular,

FOYA Cyprus is currently

considering the development and

maintenance of two particular

projects. The Peace Scholarship and

an online course in peace studies.

Planned Projects

FOYA Cyprus is currently

considering various projects and

fundraising events. In particular,

FOYA Cyprus is currently

considering the development and

maintenance of two particular

projects. The Peace Scholarship and

an online course in peace studies.

History in Brief

Cyprus has been the host to

violent conflict over thirty years,

when in 1974 a Greek back coup

on the island prompted a Turkish

military invasion on the island.

Turkish forces captured and still

retain 37% of the northern areas

of the island, as a diplomatic

settlement has eluded diplomats

and politicians for over thirty

years.

In 2003 a revolutionary

development occurred in Cyprus

as Turkish authorities in the

occupied areas declared the

opening of the ceasefire line,

which had been permanently

shut for over thirty years. This

development allowed, for the first

time in thirty years, the free

movement of people across

Cyprus. In April 2004, Greek and

Turkish Cypriots came the

closest to a political settlement

as both communities held

simultaneous referenda on a UN

sponsored peace plan, however

it was ultimately rejected by the

Greek Cypriot community,

Cyprus entered the European

Union on May 1, 2004 as a

divided state and thus has

proved a difficult issue for EU

officials in determining the

application of EU laws in Cyprus,

the status of the Turkish Cypriots

and the application of Turkey

itself for the European Union.

P la n n e d P ro je c ts

C o n ’ t Online Peace Studies Course

Apart from our Peace Scholarship, FOYA

Cyprus is also exploring the possibility of

creating a free online introduction to peace

studies course. The project is still very

early in the design phase and thus you

may not find additional information about

this on our website at the moment.

However, the project is designed to offer

Cypriot students an introduction into some

of the topics that a peace and conflict

studies program might explore.

By offering such an online course, FOYA

Cyprus aspires to engage Cypriot youth to

this new dynamic field of study and create

a desire amongst them to continue to

explore such topics.

The new website hosts secure links

to PayPal to allow for safe and

secure donations, it include a

comprehensive section on news,

displaying both local and

organization news. News videos are

update daily and available in

English, Greek and Turkish.

Additional information about FOYA

Cyprus itself, its organizational

structure, constitution and decision-

making bodies is also clearly

outlined on the new website.

The new site is also fully integrated

with RSS feeds, allowing the

subscriber to receive immediate

FOYA Cyprus updates and

announcements. Furthermore, it is

also integrated with all other relevant

social networking sites including

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,

MySpace and LinkedIn. Please feel

free to find us on your favorite social

networking site and stay connected.

For more information click here

New WebsiteHaving been launched almost one year

ago, the new website is designed to

ensure up-to-date information is

accessible and to ensure accountability

and transparency.

FOYA Cyprus is finally pending the

final notification from the Ministry of

the Interior on the final registration of

the organization. At the inaugural

meeting in late 2009, an interim

council was establish with Demetrios

Nicolaides as President, Aristotle

Glykis as Vice-President, Barbara

Kliri as Treasurer and welcomed the

following members to the FOYA

Cyprus Legislative Council; Michelle

Aresti, Costandinos Christofi, Sarah

Henry and Andreas Edris.

These seven individuals form the

main decision-making apparatus of

FOYA Cyprus, while every active

member maintains the right to vote,

be elected to one of these positions

and attend and participate in all

general meetings. For more

information, or to download or

constitution, please click here.

Association

Update

Final Remarks

In closing I would like to include a personal message to all readers. To all friends old and new, far and close, colleagues, classmates and acquaintances.

We can make a difference! FOYA Cyprus is committed to achieving all that is possible to make Cyprus a peaceful nation for all future generations. Your donation, even for as little as €10, will help make a difference. In one of the most militarized areas on the planet, we must ensure that the youth do not become victims of this militarization. Through FOYA Cyprus I plan to organize various, projects and events that will bring both Greek and Turkish Cypriot youth together, including the funding of a Peace Scholarship and an online peace studies course.

Again, I ask you to take a minute and make a donation to FOYA Cyprus through our website, www.foyacyprus.com

I hope you will take the time to make a donation to FOYA Cyprus and help us be a positive force within Cyprus.

If you want to help us and make a donation but do not have PayPal, please do not hesitate to contact me to organize other arrangements.

Your help is needed

Get involved and help FOYA

Cyprus become a reality.

Show your dedication and

determination to creating a

peaceful and prosperous

Cyprus.

You can make a difference

By making a donation you

can help FOYA Cyprus

make a difference.

You can help make a

change from a divided

society, to a united society.

FOYACyprus

Demetrios Nicolaides

PresidentAlexandrou Papadiamanti 22Apt. C, Lemesos, 3085Phone: +357 99950063www.foyacyprus.cominfo@foyacyprus.com

NEXT ISSUE: MAY 2011Issue 03 NOVEMBER 2010