On June 24th, more than than 200 people from all communities of Cyprus attended an evening of networking and conversations with businesses and entrepreneurship organisations from across the island where they had an opportunity to visit business stalls and build new relationships and collaborations, and participate in panel discussions on: how to bring communities together using innovation, technology and social entrepreneurship; trade and business collaboration between communities; and how to establish intercommunal businesses and organisations.
“It was a fantastic event. I hope it’s the beginning of a series of similar activities. It was an opportunity to discuss practical business matters with members of the other community and not just in abstract. Let’s keep it up and continue the discussion. Trade can lead to peace.” Nicolas Kyriakides, Vice-president of the Board of Oxygono
Following the event, UN top official in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, met with Meltem Onurakan Samani from the Cyprus Peace & Dialogue Centre, a bi-communal organisation supported by International Communities Organisation, working collaboratively to devise actionable cross-community solutions to cultivate long-lasting peace in Cyprus.
International Communities Organisation Secretary General, James Holmes commented: “after providing funding for the event, I am very pleased to see it come to fruition with such gusto from all involved. These are small but incremental steps to building understanding and cooperation”.
Visit our website for the full Business and Networking Fair video.
https://internationalcommunities.org/business-and-networking-fair-inside-un-buffer-zone-brings-communities-together/
