AHDR Ready to Resume ‘Imagine’ Programme

The Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR) has welcomed the agreement reached by President Tufan Erhürman and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides to relaunch the “Imagine” peace education programme under the auspices of the Technical Committee on Education, saying it is ready to resume the programme as soon as possible.

In a statement, AHDR expressed its satisfaction with the agreement reached by the two community leaders today and thanked both leaders, the United Nations and members of the Technical Committee on Education for their efforts.

The statement recalled that the “Imagine” programme was initiated and developed by AHDR in 2016 before being placed under the auspices of the Technical Committee on Education in October 2017, with the support of both community leaders.

The programme, implemented by AHDR in cooperation with the Home for Cooperation (H4C), is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and has also received support from the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) and the Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus.

“BICOMMUNAL CHARACTER IS AT THE HEART OF THE PROGRAMME”

Emphasising that the association’s bicommunal character lies at the heart of the “Imagine” programme, AHDR said it was established in 2003 by educators and historians from both communities as an independent, non-profit, bicommunal civil society organisation.

The association is governed by an elected board comprising Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot members and operates under the joint leadership of two co-presidents, one Greek Cypriot and one Turkish Cypriot.

The statement said the “Imagine” programme reflected the same partnership, having been designed and delivered by a bicommunal team of educators and trainers working in Greek, Turkish and English.

MORE THAN 9,500 STUDENTS AND 4,500 TEACHERS HAVE PARTICIPATED

AHDR said that more than 9,500 students and 4,500 teachers from Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot schools across Cyprus had participated in the programme to date.

The programme, which received the 2020–2021 Global Education Award, has also been regularly recognised in UN Secretary-General’s reports as an important confidence-building measure.

During the suspension of the programme’s school-hours component, AHDR said it had maintained its expertise and capacity by continuing teacher training and educational activities with children.

“WE ARE READY TO RESUME IMPLEMENTATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE”

AHDR announced that it was ready to resume implementation of the “Imagine” programme as soon as possible.

The association said its trainers, educational resources and Home for Cooperation facilities were ready to support the resumption of the programme’s full bicommunal implementation, including activities during school hours.

Stating that the programme had previously been implemented successfully and that the framework agreed upon in 2017 would serve as the basis for its return, AHDR said it aimed to continue its long-standing cooperation with the Technical Committee on Education.

The association also said it looked forward to working with the education authorities of both communities on implementation arrangements that would enable schools to participate in the programme without delay.

AHDR said the relaunch of “Imagine” reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the programme as an established peace education initiative in Cyprus.

The association added that it looked forward to bringing students and teachers from both communities together again during school hours, in the spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation that had guided the programme since its inception.