Τεύχος 2, Ιούλιος 2007

Opening Channels of Communication
By Anna Hassapi

The first International Civil Society Fair, which took place 3-5 May was a groundbreaking event for Cypriot civil society. It provided an unprecedented forum for direct communication between the public and NGOs, as well as a great and much-needed opportunity for networking between NGOs from both communities.

Terra Cypria and the Cyprus Environmental Studies Centre participated with a stall at the Fair. As it was the first event of its kind, we did not really have clear expectations of what we would gain from this event. Personally, I was pleasantly surprised, as I watched an area that I have come to associate with "dead zone" come to life and burst with energy and optimism for the three days of the Fair's duration.

The Fair was an excellent opportunity for us to talk to people about what Terra Cypria does- what our aims are and how we try to achieve them. This is significant as NGOs are relatively recent entities and a large part of the public is oblivious to our existence. When we do talk to people about our work, the response is usually positive and people often tell us they always wanted to help protect the environment, but didn't know where to start.

In this sense the Fair was quite "productive" for us. It is not everyday that an NGO gets the chance to talk to people who are willing to listen. By the end of the Fair, a significant number of people had signed up to become Friends of Terra Cypria. The Fair was also a unique opportunity to promote the Summer Courses at the Cyprus Environmental Studies Centre at Kritou Terra, which attracted a lot of interest.

Terra Cypria also played an active role in the workshops organized by UNDP. Our NGO was the facilitator at the Networking Cafe on the Environment which took place on May 3. As indicated by its title, this workshop was an excellent opportunity to network with other environmental NGOs. Costas Orountiotis, Terra Cypria's Deputy Director, presented some insight on the LIFE+ program, gained from his recent attendance of a Eurosite conference. All NGOs agreed on the need to cooperate more closely in the future.

As an individual I am really glad I attended the Fair; I actually had fun and met a lot of great people whom I would probably not get the chance to meet otherwise. I do hope that this vibrant gathering of Cypriot civil society becomes established as an annual event!

 

  

 

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