The Bi-communal Technical Committee on Education announces the successful completion of the ‘Imagine’ Programme for the school year 2019-2020.
The ‘Imagine’, programme, taking place under the auspices of the Bi-Communal Technical Committee of Education and implemented by the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR) and the Home for Cooperation (H4C) with the support of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany and the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus has just been successfully completed on May 28, 2020.
The Bi-communal Technical Committee on Education said in total ‘Imagine’ has managed to bring together, since June 2017, 5091 students accompanied by 582 teachers, while 287 teachers and 92 head teachers were trained in peace education. A total of 589 students (out of the 5091) also participated in sustainability activities thus paving the way for long-lasting relationships and an enriched understanding of peace.
Efforts of the Bi-communal Technical Committee on Education and particularly the ‘Imagine’ peace education program has received special praise by the United Nations Secretary-General in his latest Reports on the United Nations operations in Cyprus.
The Bi-communal Technical Committee on Education, which was established after the agreement between the two leaders, President Nicos Anastasides and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı in December 2015, continues its efforts to implement confidence-building measures in schools of the two educational systems and promote contact and co-operation between students and educators from the two communities.
The Educational programme ‘Imagine’ addressed primary, lower and upper secondary and vocational schools managed to bring together 1285 students and 162 teachers from Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot schools from all areas of Cyprus during the school year 2019-2020.
Due to the ongoing situation with the COVID-19 virus, the program ended with an online webinar for teachers in collaboration with German NGO Gesicht Zeigen!. The final event titled “COVID-19 changes our world – what’s our response as educators?” took place with the participation of 34 Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot teachers from all levels of education.
The co-chairs of the Bi-communal Technical Committee on Education, Dr. Meltem Onurkan Samani and Dr. Michalinos Zembylas, were also present. The remaining activities falling under the scope of ‘Imagine’ (including teacher training and study visits) will continue with the beginning of the new school year.
