Cyprus, a small island in the Mediterranean Sea, is famous for multiple things, like its natural beauty or its diverse culture. However, what many people are not aware of is the multi communal nature of the island, where Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, along with Armenians, Maronites and more, live together on the island. However, there have been multiple conflicts in the past and there has grown a stigma between Turkish and Greek Cypriots for many years. Some observe that Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot youth have become tired of the constant and unexplainable continuous discomfort between the two sides. Therefore, many youth initiatives have sprung up, with the aim to challenge the views that have been held for half a century, to act as the catalyst of reunification of the island. Among them, BiCommuniCY is one of them and it recently held its first ever event.

By Marian Spasov

What is BiCommuniCY

BiCommuniCY was initially founded by four members: Şifa Deniz Baysen, Tuğra Vurana, Aysen Kalkaner and Yasmin Belloum. Joining them are the members Marian Spasov (from our school), Kostantinos Ioannou and Ece Ilgın Oygucu. These seven members formed the core of BiCommuniCY (BiCY ) and, merely a few weeks after the formation, held their first event, open to anyone and everyone interested in their journey.

The event was held on the 9th of November, spanning from 19:30 until 22:30. It was held at the Home For Cooperation, located inside of the UN buffer zone, next to Ledra. Although the event was predicted to begin at 7:30pm, many of the participants were eager to be on time, so had arrived earlier and had been willing to wait until the event's start. The workshop began with all of the core members, as well as the very valuable co-facilitators of the event (Berkan Akbulut and Michalis Zinoviou) introducing themselves, followed by a presentation which intended to draw parallels between nations who suffered similar fates to Cyprus, but ultimately were able to reunite. Following that, the participants had the chance to play the "Yes/No" game, which was kindly given to BiCY for the event by the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR). The game featured controversial questions which require a yes/no answer. It was clear that, although some questions had mostly one answer, participants were not afraid to voice and also justify their opinions. As soon as the game was over, participants were served pizza, juices, soft drinks, and, most importantly, homemade dishes prepared beforehand by the core team. The night ended with many more fun activities to bond and network.

It was evident that the participants were very keen to keep in touch, which is why an Instagram group chat was created shortly after the event took place. This group chat contains members from multiple nationalities, ages, beliefs and more, yet is very peaceful and members constantly engage in friendly banter. In fact, there even is a running joke among BiCY ambassadors (as they are now called) where there is a love-hate relationship with one of the core team members. They show that, despite the points-of-view that the different communities are made to believe, it is still possible for them to find the truth behind the long-lasting split of the island and to truly connect as fellow human beings, united by their passion for companionship and not separated by common societal norms.

Although this first endeavour by BiCY was not funded by anyone, it proved to be a successful first attempt at mending the relationship between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. BiCY plans to host similar events in the future, with increased funding to facilitate a better experience, as well as provide a more meaningful and prolonged education about peacebuilding and peacekeeping.

Would you like to learn more about BiCommuniCY?

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bicommunicy/

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