“CIVIL SOCIETY is indispensable to the health of the democratic culture of Cyprus, which encourages young people across the island to take a more active interest in and be part of the debate about what is, after all, their future.”
That was the verdict of Michael Moeller, UNFICYP Chief of Mission and Special Representative for the UN Secretary-general, who was speaking about this week’s International Civil Society Fair on both sides of the Green Line.
The three-day Fair, titled ‘Open Voices – Active Citizens’, featured a series of discussions and workshops on all aspects of civil society on the island, which has recently come under fire for a perceived lack of understanding for its value. There have even been complaints from the EU that Cypriot NGOs are not very much involved.
The workshops focused on a series of issues covering the whole spectrum of the issue, so we decided to go down for ourselves in order to get a feel for the event.
First up was ‘Effective Communication and PR for NGOs’ at the Ledra Palace. Pete Cranston, a Development Practitioner for INTRAC, the International NGO Training and Research Centre, told us that there has been a lot of interest from both the NGOs and the public.
“I really feel that NGOs need to improve their profile,” he explained. “In particular, the smaller organisations struggle to find people who really understand what they are all about.
“I advise all of them, both large and small, that they should use simple, straightforward techniques. It is of utmost importance that they are clear about their message, audience and channels.”
The workshop outlined in further detail ‘Strategic Communications’ for Cypriot civil society, defining effective communication skills and exploring the role of new technology.
“In this day and age, the internet is an invaluable tool for NGOs, who can achieve a lot by correctly using it,” said Cranston.
“We also urge NGOs to think clearly about what their key ideas are to form a unique selling proposition. They must ask themselves what differentiates them from the rest and why a donor should show interest in and support them.”
During the workshop, an exercise took place where strangers were asked to sum up their respective organisations to one other in an effort to show their communication and public relations skills.
The second workshop we attended was titled, ‘Constituency Building for NGOs’ which was led by INTRAC’s John Beauclerk, who has 21 years of NGO management experience at community, provincial, national and regional levels in Latin America, Central Africa, Asia and Europe.
His current interests are in peace building and accession processes, the equal integration of Roma populations in Europe and indigenous peoples’ land rights in Peru.
Present were several UNDP representatives, as well as numerous NGOs, including one representing a cross-community project for peace in Northern Ireland.
There was also a member of Turkish-Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat’s office in the audience.
“Constituency building is about constructing a support base in the community,” Beauclerk explained. “Are organisations linking to form common codes of conduct? Do they limit themselves to service provision or do they attempt to overcome difficult issues, such as the Cyprus problem? They must ask themselves whether they want to take a risk or whether they are simply content to sit back and be cosy.”
Jaco Cilliers, Programme Manager UNDP-ACT said that the Civil Society Fair, was an opportunity to showcase the hard work of countless people and groups who are morally committed to work towards positive social change in Cyprus.
“By providing the opportunity for civil society groups from across Cyprus to experiment, share experiences, communicate and network together with groups from across the world, we hope this event has highlighted the important contribution of civil society organisations in Cyprus.”
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