Elders returning to Cyprus next week

THE ELDERS will make a return visit to Cyprus next Wednesday to open the new Cyprus Community Media Centre (CCMC), supported by the United Nations Development Programme – Action for Co-operation and Trust (UNDP-ACT).
According to the UNDP, the Elders, Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter and Lakhdar Brahimi, will be in Cyprus to offer their support to individuals and organisations who seek to build greater trust and dialogue between the communities of the island.
The aim of the CCMC is to create a more diverse, vibrant and community-led media landscape through its work with civil society, said the UNDP announcement. The centre is equipped with training materials, audiovisual equipment and resources to build capacity in communications and media, with which the CCMC hopes to increase the ability of civil society organisations to speak for themselves, to enhance their public communications and encourage dialogue about reconciliation.
According to the UNDP, the evening will include words from the Elders themselves, as well as video projections, multimedia installations, photographs and stories collected from across Cyprus.
During their visit the Elders will also meet the two leaders as well as hosting a discussion on trust-building with members of civil society, business, unions, media, youth and women’s groups.
This will be the third visit to Cyprus by members of The Elders. In October 2008 Tutu, Brahimi and Carter made their first visit to the island. On that occasion they met the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, political party leaders, members of civil society and young people.
In September 2009 Brahimi and his fellow Elder, former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Brundtland, visited Ankara, Athens and Cyprus in order to better understand the regional issues affecting the Cyprus problem. They also met groups working on reconciliation issues, media representatives and leading women from both communities.
“I am delighted to be returning to Cyprus,” said Archbishop Tutu, who was unable to join Brahimi and Brundtland in September due to a back injury. “I look forward to seeing old friends again, and making new ones.”
“We don’t want to interfere in the negotiations in any way,” said Brahimi, “but we hope that by demonstrating our support for a solution and by once again meeting a wide range of people, that we can be of help.”
“The current situation is deceptive,” said President Carter. “Life on the island looks good. But this situation is not sustainable. I hope that our visit will help to keep the leaders and the people focused on the benefits of reaching an agreement.”

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.