Cyprus' two leaders, President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Dervis Eroglu, inaugurated the Home for Cooperation on Friday, May 6, with Ambassador Urbancic, USAID Representative Alan Davis, and the UN Secretary General's Special Representative Lisa Buttenheim.

The Home for Cooperation – Education and Research Center was purchased and restored by the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR) with funding from Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and USAID, through the UNDP Action for Cooperation and Trust. It is located in the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the capital of Nicosia and will house eight civil society organizations dedicated to peace and reconciliation in Cyprus. It is the first center of its kind on the divided island and will work to promote collective efforts on the part of civil society to engage in historical inquiry and dialogue.

In the words of AHDR President Chara Makriyianni, “the Home for Cooperation will provide a common meeting place, where youth, parents, teachers, academics, researchers and activists can come together to discuss history, its teaching and learning, and gain knowledge of and from each other.” The launch was followed by a weekend of festivities at the Home that included musical performances, walks, sports events, art installations, performances and a symposium with distinguished academics. USAID provided AHDR with its first funding in 2004, shortly after it was founded by a group of dedicated teachers from both sides. AHDR is currently working among other things on an advocacy campaign to encourage critical thinking and multiperspectivity.

The Home will facilitate this work and provide a multi-functional venue in the buffer zone for conferences and exhibitions; a library and archives; education activities; as well as a workplace for researchers and organizations with a shared vision of cooperation. For more information on AHDR and the Home for Cooperation, visit http://www.ahdr.info