Past Events

Rainbow Human Library - 18 May 2012

TONIGHT: Rainbow Human Library event at the Peace Room on Ledra Street, Nicosia from 7pm. The Human Library is an event where the books that are available to read are … humans! These books are not actors or authors of books. They are human beings open to talk about themselves, their ideas and their identities, and thus to allow a discussion for diversity to start. They are open books for achieving a culture of understanding and respecting of diversity. The procedure is simple. You come and “borrow” a book for a maximum time of twenty minutes. The reading session takes the form of a personal meeting between you and the book and you may ask whatever you would like, as long as you return the book to us intact! Then you can read a different book if you wish. This is a great way for people to get in touch with issues, topics, identities and ideas, that others may face with ignorance, suspicion or prejudice. The Rainbow Human Library consists of books (people), where each one is labeled as a specific “colour”, thus the “Rainbow" title. In the Rainbow Human Library, all colour-books talk about LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans) issues and their relationship to them. The Rainbow Human Library is organised by the Representation of the European Commission in Cyprus in collaboration with the NGO Support Centre, Cyprus Community Media Centre, and the Pool of Trainers of the Cyprus Youth Council. Download your poster here.

One Day on Earth: Global screenings

On Sunday 22 April, 2012, International Earth Day, the Cyprus Community Media Centre (CCMC) and Youth Power proudly present the international screening of One Day On Earth, a collaborative film documenting the human experience on 10 October 2010, as captured by volunteer filmmakers all across the globe. The screening takes place simultaneously in Nicosia (CCMC premises, with Greek subtitles) and Lefke (The Environmental Society of Lefke, with Turkish subtitles) at 8 pm, in parallel with screening events happening around the world. One Day On Earth is hailed as “the world’s largest media collaboration” according to www.oneddayonearth.org. More than 3,000 hours of film footage was shot, sharing their unique perspective of human experience on Earth, on a single day, and compiling a picture of interconnected humanity never before possible. Please join us in either Nicosia and Lefke - entrance is free. Get your invitations here in English, Greek and Turkish, and help us spread the word with a poster (Eng, Grk, Trk).

CCMC Online Mixer: Members event 07 March 2012

CCMC has decided to arrange more regular events for our members. The first of these is the Online Mixer, on Wednesday 07 March from 6-8pm where you can come and enjoy food and drink, have the chance to join new CCMC working groups, and best of all, get the latest on how to improve your digital footprint and connect with others in a relaxed atmosphere. We’ll be giving everybody a set of top tips for improving your social media presence and ways to campaign online. Later on we'll also be hosting a TV Mixer, an Audio Mixer and a Print Mixer. We'd love to see you all there because we've missed you! RSVP to info@cypruscommunitymedia.org and download the invitation here.

Cyprus National Media Encounter 25-28 January 2012

On behalf of the Cyprus Community Media Centre (CCMC), the Council of Europe, and the Community Media Forum in Europe (CMFE), we invite you to join us for the Cyprus National Media Encounter - Cross Production for Inclusive Media Coverage, from 25-28 January 2012, at the Cyprus Community Media Centre in Nicosia's Buffer Zone. This Encounter, organised by CCMC and CMFE in collaboration with the Council of Europe, is held within the framework of the activities of the European Union/Council of Europe MARS programme. The MARS - Media against Racism in Sport joint programme aims at the inclusion of non-discrimination and the expression of diversity as an ongoing angle of media coverage.

Through this approach applied to coverage of sports-related issues, MARS aims to encourage innovative and inclusive media production across the Council of Europe area. Within the context of the MARS activities, the programme offers media professionals (journalists, media managers, journalism trainers, media and communications students, civil society activists, bloggers) the opportunity to participate in various activities (http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/mars/default_en.asp).

CCMC amplifies voice of civil society at its ‘Speak for Peace’ festival

The Cyprus Community Media Centre’s (CCMC) ‘Speak for Peace’ festival brought the buffer zone to life on 24 September 2011. The festival united the public, civil society organisations and youth in a celebratory atmosphere marking the International Day of Peace. People of all ages and all walks of life were given the chance to come together and express themselves for peace. CCMC recorded audio messages from participants which will be collated and sent to the Leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.

Some of the audio messages included:

“I am 13 years old and I don’t want to live in a divided country. I want Cyprus to be united.”

“I want to say to the Leaders that we can’t have peace without justice. I urge you to be the kind of leaders who are transcendent and who tap into the great moral energy that is peace.”

The event also featured a vibrant basketball tournament from PeacePlayers-Cyprus, in which over a hundred teenagers were organised into bicommunal teams. There were also stalls where civil society organisations were able to get their messages out and inform people about their work as well as a communal barbecue, music, entertainment, stalls, competitions, sports and film screenings.

One of the organisations taking part was Language Transfer, which aims to bridge the language barrier between the two main communities in Cyprus through free online language lessons. “It was good for once to be celebrating peace, rather than only talking about it,’ said Michailis Eleftheriou founder of Language Transfer, “Now let’s talk about reunification.”