Technology for Peace: Difference between revisions

As the political situation stood at the time, the TFP project provided the only form of communication in a bicommunally structured system between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. The ban on direct bicommunal contacts and events had consequently raised the TFP project to a new level of significance. For the first time, citizens engaged in peace building had in fact been able to sustain communication through periods of paralysis of the rapprochement efforts resulting from political reasons and impasse. Through e-mails and chatting they could keep the citizen peace process alive, sustaining motivation through difficult times, while anticipating possible progress on the political level. In fact, a number of bicommunal groups which have been active through regular meetings were then requesting training and participation in the TFP project as the only means of sustaining communication and continuity for their work.

Using technology to promote communication and peace activities in a conflict area like Cyprus, in which physical access is restricted, is a top priority on the agendas of those who wish to support rapprochment.  The need for communication between the two sides is obvious.  The fact that now hundreds of people who were involved in bicommunal activities communicate through emails is to a large degree due to the fact that dozens of people received direct training by TFP and dozens of others regularly call and request help, contact information or technical support by TFP.  TFP Volunteers have invested hundreds of hours supporting all those who wished to stay in contact with the other side.

It is needless to underline the fact that peace builders from both sides, view the TFP initiative as their virtual "office" which provides them support at all levels and they expect this office to become more efficient and more active.

Moreover, a new Coordinating Group has been formed in each respective community which is making full use of the group e-mailing system that we have set up in the context of the TFP project (currently, the members of the Coordinating Group are working with their respective groups to introduce them in TFP and encourage them to use and benefit from the infrastructure that TFP is creating).  In this context sustaining and further developing of the TFP project has far reaching repercussions for the cause of peace in Cyprus, particularly by way of sustaining citizen involvement, in spite of the periodic political odds.

 

The facilities made available by TFP do not entail only a means of communication but also a hi-tech type of infrastructure which can now be used for a vast range of projects and activities. In this sense, the need and also the opportunity of the TFP project is to optimize its utilization by adding informational content to the system and to invite citizens to utilize it efficiently and effectively.  The first TFP facilities have now been set up and await for their utilization in purposeful bicommunal ways. The amount of informational content relevant to peace building that TFP can host is unlimited.  And the same is true that the number of currently participating citizens and groups is relatively small.  Now is therefore the time to reap the benefits from the TFP project that has been set up to host content and users optimally.  Without the suggested project, as the next step in place, the TFP project will in effect remain far underused in relation to its present potential.