Youth are more future oriented, open-to-change, idealistic, innovative, courageous, and knowledgeable about their peers’ realities than adults, making them key players in building peace in a multicultural society. This theme was underscored at the ACT-funded international conference, “The Potential of Youth to Build Peace in a Multicultural Society,” organized by the International Child Development Initiatives.

Day one of the two-day conference featured international speakers who shared success stories and personal accounts of their work in youth peace building activities around the globe, including the Netherlands, South America and Northern Ireland. Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot youth from local peace building initiatives participated in a plenary discussion about youth’s role in building peace in Cyprus. The second day opened with international keynote speakers and the afternoon provided participants with the opportunity to participate in workshops on various topics, including “the role of education in shaping images and attitudes of young people,” “youth using the media to contribute to building peace,” “challenges of multiculturalism and ways to cope,” and “the role of youth in creating peace.” With more than 150 international attendees, the conference successfully accomplished its goal—to share ideas and strategies for bringing youth to the forefront of peace building activities.

The Action for Cooperation and Trust (ACT) program aims to create opportunities for both communities to work together on concrete projects which will benefit all people on the island, while at the same time promoting tolerance and mutual understanding. Funded by USAID and implemented by UNDP, ACT supports principles of multiculturalism and European values and provides Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots the resources and opportunities to jointly build the foundations for a sustainable solution to the Cyprus Problem.