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THE SPIRIT OF VOLUNTEERISM IN CYPRUS

Aiming to advance efforts to strengthen civil society in Cyprus, ACT organised a brainstorming session for volunteers and organisations that rely on volunteer support on June 28, 2006. Around 80 representatives from different organisations both from the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities participated, along with an expert from the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Headquarters, Alissar Chaker. The workshop aimed to introduce the UN’s approach to volunteerism worldwide, to give an opportunity to volunteer organisations to come together to share in a discussion of their efforts and of how to promote volunteerism in Cyprus, and to create a roadmap for further action.

The topics discussed in smaller working groups included the themes of youth and volunteerism, emerging trends, whether an island-wide strategy is possible, and setting some main priorities for the near future. A number of recommendations came through from these working groups, for example the need to work on raising awareness about volunteer activities through the media so that people learn about which organisations are on the island, the work they do and highlighting the achievements of volunteer involvement. Participants noted that it is important to promote civil education among young people, in particular through the education system, and to emphasise that they can learn and gain a great deal from taking part in different forms of community work, all in an effort to also overcome the negative prejudices often held about volunteerism.

Recently changing trends were also observed, for example in the change from philanthropy to activism, and the collection of most organisations being in urban areas. Even though more women are taking leadership roles in the NGO sector, the numbers are still relatively low. It is also interesting to note how the changes in local culture have impacted the spirit of community involvement, for example families are more spread out than in earlier generations in Cyprus and neighbours don’t tend to be as close. However, as with every challenge, this also creates new opportunities such as on-line networking and activism, where information is shared and petitions signed electronically, with new technologies supporting our changing lifestyles. This is an aspect that ACT can support with it’s own on-line networking platform to be presented later in the year. Participants also agreed that while a number of challenges exist to creating an island-wide volunteer base in Cyprus, they remain optimistic in continuing to form partnerships among the island’s communities based on topics of common interest and concern. Moreover, such a growing network could form part of ongoing efforts for inter-communal dialogue across the island.

With the momentum generated from this first meeting, it is clear that the spirit of volunteerism is very much alive in Cyprus. With a little initiative and creativity among these and other individuals, it is hoped that more Cypriots will engage in worthy causes and make a difference in their communities.

Click here to view the United Nations Volunteers Annual Report 2005 / 2006.