PEACEPLAYERS INTERNATIONAL – CYPRUS
International – Cyprus (PPI – CY) is a locally led, independently registered charity in Cyprus that uses the game of basketball to allow 11-15 year-old Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot boys and girls to play together, learn together and build positive relationships that overcome generations of mistrust and formidable physical barriers to interaction.
PPI – CY is currently the only year-round bicommunal youth sports organization on the island. By facilitating regular, frequent, and structured interaction, it helps reverse prejudices built steadily over years in segregated communities and fosters the long-term trust necessary for true friendship.
In its most recent programmatic year, PPI – CY worked with roughly 120 children.
Core Programs
CY’s programs include the following:
- Twinned Basketball Clubs – This island-wide network of basketball teams provides boys and girls ages 11-15 in Greek-Cypriot communities, Turkish-Cypriot communities, and a small number of “mixed” communities basketball and life skills education sessions three times each week, culminating in monthly integrated “twinnings” with teams from the island’s “other” communities.
- Professional Development Program – The Professional Development Program offers professional training to the Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot young adults who serve as coaches and mentors for PPI – CY’s Twinned Basketball Clubs. Three integrated trainings take place each year, providing coaches with advanced basketball instruction and comprehensive training in PPI’s peace-building curriculum.
- Leadership Development Program – Founded in 2006, PPI – CY is beginning to develop the core group of veteran participants necessary to start its own Leadership Development Program, a framework for the cultivation of socially aware young leaders already implemented successfully by PPI in South Africa, Northern Ireland and Israel and the West Bank. Pending available funding, PPI – CY will launch its own Leadership Development Program in Fall 2010.
