AHDR Newsletter - March 2012

AHDR Newsletter – March 2012 2010

LEARNING HISTORY TOGETHER The Association for Historical Dialogue & Research (AHDR) cordially invites you to the launch of its groundbreaking supplementary educational materials produced in the context of the AHDR’s Multiperspectivity and Intercultural Dialogue in Education (MIDE) project, funded by the UNDP- ACT. Monday 12th March at 16:00 – 19.30 @Home for Cooperation Key topic areas include: Thinking Historically about Missing Persons, Learning to Investigate the History of Cyprus through Artefacts, The Ottoman Period in Cyprus, Our Children Our Games, Introducing Oral History and Home for Cooperation.

Please join us in celebrating the AHDR’s significant contribution to the advancement of history education in Cyprus, where you will have the chance to pick up copies of the materials and enjoy food and drink with us!

AHDR WORK AROUND THE WORLD! AHDR strives to be active not only on a local and regional level, but also on an international level. That is why we are thrilled to announce that honorary board member and AHDR's previous president, Dr. Chara Makriyianni, has been asked by EUROCLIO (European Association of History Educators) to act as their Ambassador! Chara will be representing EUROCLIO at international meetings and events, waving the EUROCLIO flag and at the same time promoting the great work of the AHDR around the world.

AHDR Newsletter – March 2012 AHDR Professional Development Program under MIDE II has began on 3 March 2012 2010 with the Training of Trainers!

Core initial training sessions were delivered to 20 teacher trainers from all over the island, over a period of 3 days, by our local expert teacher trainers. Activities focused on AHDR’s educational materials on the history of Cyprus and innovative pedagogical approaches in history teaching. After completing their training sessions, AHDR teacher trainers will be ready to roll out to different regions of the island, training history teachers islandwide.

TRIBUTE TO WOMEN’S DAY It’s not only about (his)story!

On the occasion of International Women’s day, the AHDR would like to take a moment to reflect on the advancement of women’s rights across the divide, across Europe and across the globe, as well as considering the efforts that still need to be made in eradicating gender bias.

Although gender inequality in various aspects of society has significantly reduced, differences and imbalances still remain. Within education, the closing of the gender gap has never been so apparent; however differences are still prominent across the world. In many countries, girls are still not permitted to attend school, and even when they do, circumstances often force them to leave prematurely or leave school with fewer qualifications than that of their male counterparts.

Moreover, the education systems, even in the most advanced countries, are still riddled with gender bias in both the curricula and the educational materials used, and the subject of history is no exception.

Historical rhetoric often plays down the important role of women through time, even though women have often changed the course of history, influencing significant spheres of life; many of which are still apparent today.

AHDR ISLAND-WIDE TEACHER TRAINING STARTS IN NICOSIA Upcoming teacher training sessions for Nicosia teachers will take place on: 4 April 2012 – AHDR Regional Teacher Training Nicosia First Round @H4C – BICOMMUNAL 11 April 2012 – Parallel Regional Teacher Trainings – Nicosia @H4C and KTOEOS Building (TBC) – MONOCOMMUNAL. Parallel sessions will be delivered on the same day, at the same time in different venues.

CALL US TO BOOK YOUR PLACE! Tel.: 0035722445740 / 00905428506681 email: ahdr.mide@ahdr.info Upon request the AHDR can also provide specific training sessions in schools for each of its publications!!

To set up a training session at YOUR school contact us: ahdr.mide@ahdr.info Tel: 0035722445749 / 00905428506681

The AHDR believe that until now, emphasis is placed exclusively on the history of wars and politics. It is a history about ʽ(his)story, which simply narrates from the point of view of the male warrior. We, at the AHDR, work towards the inclusion of more histories, i.e. social history, the history of a neighbourhood, the history of everyday life, the history of children’s toys, the history of women, the history of weddings, or even the history of architecture.

Have a look at the materials of the AHDR! They are not only about (his)story! www.ahdr.info AHDR contributes to the activities of the Women’s Bureau of DEV-İŞ and PEO to celebrate International Women’s Day AHDR Education Director Alev Tugberk and Board member Costa Constanti visited the children’s ward of Makarios Hospital in Nicosia on the 6th of March 2012 with representatives of the women bureaus of PEO and DEV-İŞ.

Alev and Costa donated sets of the AHDR’s educational booklets in Turkish and Greek to the children’s ward, in an event organised to celebrate International Women’s day on 8th March.

Makarios Hospital’s Children’s Ward cares for Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot children receiving medical treatment.

“Happy reading children. Get well soon.”

AHDR Newsletter – March 2012 2010

Launch of the new thought-provoking CCHA video titled ‘Capturing History’!

H4C WEBSITE LAUNCH!

‘An interesting and thought provoking look into the making of a critical history archive for Cyprus.

This short film shows the enormity of the task and the methods employed to digitally preserve past newspaper articles and editorial perceptions from both sides of the divided island of Cyprus.

The legacy of this project will be to allow future researchers to see both points of view of specific events to better understand the reasons for the conflicts of the past.’

We are extremely pleased to announce the launch of the H4C website! It contains amongst others, information on all events taking place at the Home, information on our resident NGOs, as well as vibrant short videos produced by CCMC which document both the official opening of the H4C and NGO activities. Moreover, it contains information on how to book a space for YOUR event at the H4C!!

CHECK IT OUT: www.home4cooperation.info

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1GFWpEOms s&feature=plcp&context=C4573a80VDvjVQa1PpcF N8NIWXPw0jfW0d2ybLR17ykKrzsPBN39s%3D

THALIA DRAGONA & ANNA FRAGOUDAKI AT THE H4C

Cyprus Critical History Archive is a joint initiative between AHDR and PRIO that allows people to enquire into historical issues by rendering available hitherto unavailable primary sources.

This first stage of the projects aims to digitise, catalogue, and summarise Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot newspaper articles pertinent to inter-communal relations and conflict-related violence during the 1955-1964 period. Eventually, it is hoped that the project will broaden its temporal scope and extend up to 1974, while the typology of sources will include private and public archival documentation, photographic archives, audio-visual material and oral accounts from Cyprus and abroad.

These sources will be uploaded to an online database that will be open to historians, social scientists, researchers, journalists and any interested member of the public who want to learn more on this troubled period of the history of Cyprus.

On 29 February, the H4C had the honour of hosting a discussion with distinguished academics Thalia Dragona and Anna Fragoudaki from the University of Athens. The discussion centered on the issue of "Democratic Pluralism in Action: An example of coexistence of the majority and the minority in Western Thrace in the education area." Despite the snowy weather the room was filled with people who contributed to an animated and constructive discussion!

CYINDEP JOINS THE H4C FAMILY!

The purpose of the archive is to promote the asking of questions rather than the provision of ready-made answers that favour one or another interpretation of Cypriot history.

LANGUAGE CLASSES FOR GREEK & TURKISH AT THE H4C! Greek and Turkish language classes begun in February, and have had a great response, with the current number of students now totalling 25. A number of classes are running which address beginner, intermediate as well as advanced language levels, so feel free to contact us if you would like to join any of our groups! Classes are taught by our lovely and multilingual expert teachers, Alev Tugberk, Daphne Lappa and Maria Siakalli.

The H4C is delighted to announce its new resident NGO! The Cyprus Island wide NGO Development Platform (CYINDEP) will be sharing the H4C along with its 5 other resident NGO`s (ETEK, Cyprus 2015, PRIO, KTMMOB, PeacePlayers).

Hosting CYINDEP, which represents 2 Development Platforms in Cyprus, comprising of a number of Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot NGOs, reinforces the H4C’s aim of facilitating interaction and cooperation across the divide, as well as transforming the ‘dead zone’ from a symbol of separation to a symbol of cooperation.

Welcome to the Home for Cooperation family CYINDEP!

AHDR Newsletter – March 2012 OTHER EVENTS @ H4C

2010

The Stelios Award for Business Cooperation in Cyprus 2012 Launches at the H4C This Networking Event, held on 28 February, was attended by over 50 individuals representing various companies and organizations from across Cyprus.

Since its inception in 2009, the Stelios’ award has been received by a variety of diverse teams and businesses: all, however, dedicated to fostering cultural and economic ties between the Cypriot communities across the Green Line buffer zone.

The Award is funded personally by Sir Stelios HajiIoannou, founder of Easy Jet and serial entrepreneur, through the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, which is dedicated to the three E's Education, Entrepreneurship and the Environment.

For more information, visit: www.stelios.com/cyprus-business-cooperation.

Civil Engagement for Reconciliation The H4C conference room was packed with participants as ENGAGE launched phase II of its Small Grants programme on 21 March 2012.

The event provided information on the aims of the Small grants programme and what it offers and how the programme aims to facilitate the ENGAGEment of civil society in Cyprus.

Phase 2 of the Small Grants programme will focus on grants related to 4 main themes:    

Gender & diversity Peace & reconciliation Civil Society profile and Enabling Environment Sustainable development

ENGAGE II is implemented by the NGO Support center and The Management Centre For further information, please visit: www.engage4peace.org

PARTNER NEWS CCMC NEWS Find out about all the great work that CCMC and their partners are doing for all communities in Cyprus, by visiting the CCMC website: www.cypruscommunitymedia.org COUNCIL OF EUROPE Find out more about the extensive work of the Council of Europe: http://www.coe.int EEA & NORWAY GRANTS Find out everything about EEA and Norway Grants funding in Central and Southern Europe: www.eeagrants.org EUROCLIO Search projects, find out about educational material and all the latest news from the EUROCLIO Board and Secretariat, Members and Partner Organizations from: http://www.euroclio.eu UNDP - ACT LATEST PROGRAMME UPDATE Read all the latest news on the progress of UNDP - Action for Cooperation and Trust (ACT) and it’s various initiatives at: www.undp-act.org THANK YOU The AHDR would like to thank all those individuals who responded to the recent announcement for Research Assistants as part of their Cyprus Critical History Archive (CCHA) project. The AHDR received many applications from highly skilled and experienced individuals. We kindly ask all those who applied for their patience and understanding whilst we carefully review all applicants credentials.

Support the AHDR by registering as a member and/or renewing your yearly membership Your membership is fundamental to the growth of AHDR and we would like to extend a personal thank you to everyone that renewed their AHDR membership and sent his or her updated contact details.

Should you wish to become a member or renew your membership, simply visit our website at www.ahdr.info Or email us at ahdr.mide@gmail.com / ahdr.mide@ahdr.info If you have changed your contact details, please, remember to send us your updated details.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO AHDR WEBSITE & ARCHIVE We welcome your old books, ideas, thoughts, lesson plans, photographs, drawings, research findings, articles, news, links and suggestions at: ahdr.mide@gmail.com