Since 1974, Cyprus has remained divided between the Greek-Cypriot community in the south and the Turkish-Cypriot community in the north. Interpeace has been working in Cyprus since 2009 with the aim of fostering greater linkages between the high-level peace negotiations and the local population’s needs and aspirations in the two Cypriot communities – in line with Interpeace’s track 6 approach. Today Interpeace works in partnership with two local organizations to support the Peace Process in Cyprus: the Centre for Sustainable Peace and Democratic Development (SeeD) and the Cyprus Dialogue Forum (CDF).
With the support from Interpeace and UNDP-ACT, SeeD was established as the first bi-communal think tank in Cyprus in 2012. In 2017/18, SeeD implemented the Security Dialogue Initiative, focused on the development of alternative options for the security dossier in the peace talks. SeeD has also evolved into a peacebuilding think tank, which is making the innovative tools it has developed in Cyprus over the years available to other contexts. These tools include evidence-based instruments, such as participatory polling and the Social Cohesion and Reconciliation (SCORE) Index through which participatory research is conducted and brought to bear on policy decisions and enables more effective engagement between decision-makers and the wider public.
Since the beginning of its engagement in 2009, Interpeace has focused on connecting Track 1 level negotiations with civil society and the wider population. This has been done through Interpeace's partner the Centre for Sustainable Peace and Democratic Development (SeeD) and other partners. The programme has seen cycles of heightened activities followed by scaling back to a mere monitoring of the context in line with developments in the context and the availability of funding.
