International Conference

Venue Area

We introduce you to our venue area with a distinct cultural, historical and political importance, consisting of the Chateau Status, the Ledra Palace Hotel, the United Nations Buffer Zone, Goethe Institut and the Home for Cooperation.

Tuesday 25 April 2023 | 10:00 – 15:30 EET

Organisers

Info

Chateau Status

Our conference main venue. A family residence just across the Ledra Palace Hotel, within what once was the no man’s land, has been converted into an entertainment venue. With a distinct architecture of a classic preserved mansion of the Nicosia Old Town, and a magnificent garden that travels the visitor to the times of its thrive, it offers a unique experience through history, culture and architecture.

Get Direction Here

Info

United Nations Buffer Zone (Green Line, ‘no man’s land’)

The United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus is a demilitarised zone, patrolled by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), that was established in 1964 and extended in 1974 after the ceasefire of 16 August 1974, following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and the de facto partition of the island into the area controlled by the Republic of Cyprus (excluding the British Sovereign Base Areas) and the largely unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the north. The zone, also known as the Green Line, stretches for 180 kilometres from the East to the West. Part of this line is our venue area. The Turkish army has built a barrier on the zone's northern side, consisting mainly of barbed-wire fencing, concrete wall segments, watchtowers, anti-tank ditches, and minefields. The zone cuts through the centre of Nicosia, separating the city into southern and northern sections. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Nicosia remains the last divided capital in Europe.

Get Direction Here

Info

Ledra Palace

The Ledra Palace Hotel is located in central Nicosia, opposite Chateau Status, and until 1974 was one of the largest and most glamorous hotels of the capital. The hotel was designed by the German Jewish architect Benjamin Günsberg and was built between 1947 and 1949, on what was then called King Edward VII Street, and since 1962 Markos Drakos Avenue. Following the announcement of truce, it fell within the boundaries of the UN Buffer Zone and from 1974 to 2019 served as the headquarters for United Nations Roulement Regiment (URR) part of UNFICYP. The Ledra Palace Hotel has played host to many high-level meetings between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, as well as hundreds of structured conflict resolution workshops between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot peace builders supported and facilitated both by international organisations and local pioneers. It is also used as the venue for cultural events aiming at bringing the two communities closer together. Since 2004 it has been the site of a designated crossing point of the Green Line separating the Republic of Cyprus controlled areas from the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Get Direction Here

Info

Home for Cooperation

The Home for Cooperation, established by the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research and officially opened in 2011, is a unique community centre opposite Ledra Palace, that became a landmark building in Nicosia, acting as a bridge-builder between separated communities, memories and visions through its physical presence and its peacebuilding programs benefiting from the transformative power of arts and culture. As a unique venue, The Home, hosts an extensive variety of cultural, artistic, and educational programs and activities with the aim to foster creativity and intercultural trust in Cyprus and internationally. The Home for Cooperation project has been supported by the European Economic Area Grants and Norway Grants. In 2020, the Home for Cooperation received the Active Citizens Fund (financed by Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) for the period 2020-2024 for the implementation of educational, cultural community projects.

Get Direction Here

Info

Goethe-Institut Cyprus

The Goethe-Institut is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and relations. In Cyprus, it is located in a beautiful colonial building, right within the UN Buffer Zone area, next to Ledra palace, and it has been operating there for the last 60 years. The Institute has been a great supporter of the local efforts to build bridges between separated communities, memories and visions and has contributed greatly to bolster social change through arts and culture in Nicosia, Cyprus and the region.

Get Direction Here

Transnational Ecosystem Mapping and Research Report