On this page

1. Intercultural awareness

2. Young people's rights

3. Key initiatives to safeguard democracy and prevent radicalisation leading to violent extremism

Intercultural awareness

The Youth Board of Cyprus which runs under the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth encourages young people and organised youth groups to take action enhancing intercultural awareness and respect through its main funding programme, the Youth Initiatives Project. The Programme gives incentives to young people to develop an active role in cultural, sport, political and social activities in Cyprus. It aims at encouraging non-formal learning and active citizenship through volunteerism. One of the fields it covers under Social Intervention Action is Social Discriminations. The objective of the field is to promote social cohesion, acceptance, tolerance, diversity, respect for human rights, as well as in fighting discrimination in general.

In addition, the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth, being the main top-level institution that aims to develop intercultural awareness and promote intercultural dialogue, in recent years promoted a series of actions in the context of Intercultural Education and Training (Διαπολιτισμική Αγωγή και Εκπαίδευση) with the aim of mutual acceptance, confidence building and the elimination of negative stereotypes and prejudices among children and adolescents. The existing educational policy seeks to smoothly integrate pupils with migrant biography into the Cypriot Educational System and to provide effective communication by providing education through the provision of enhanced and diversified Greek language learning programmes.

Thus, the Ministry of Education, Sport, and Youth offers a website and publicly open resources dedicated solely to Intercultural Education and Training. The website targets school-teachers and offers educational material in order to enable them to respond more effectively to migrant students’ needs studying in public schools. The provided material includes books in other languages, guideline books, and activity books for students, which can foster intercultural awareness. Also, professionals are encouraged to share good practices with other stakeholders, aiming at creating a wider school community. The website remains constantly available to teachers and its core aim is a democratic school which promotes intercultural awareness in the school environment and minimizes social exclusion. By providing resources and guidance, it helps ensure equal opportunities for access, participation, success, respecting the diversity and multiculturalism of the student population and their individual needs. The overall vision is a school system that fully recognizes and accepts diversity, pluralism (cultural, linguistic, religious) and multiple intelligence.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth encourages the development of intercultural activities and programmes within the frame of extra curriculum school activities, like participating in projects and initiatives coming from external factors, like NGOs, University Institutions- with formal approval from the Ministry and guardians, to present and share results and resources developed through EU-funded projects and focus on intercultural awareness and inclusion.

Young people's rights

The key high level initiatives taken in Cyprus to promote young people’s rights are the following ones:

The activities of the Office of the Commissioner for Children’s Rights (Επίτροπος Προστασίας των Δικαιωμάτων του Παιδιού): The Commissioner has competence and responsibility, among others, to organise seminars and educational programmes relevant to children’s rights as well as to promote public awareness so that the society will be mobilized and safeguard in practice children’s rights in the family, the school, the wider community  and the society in general. In order to achieve the above aims, the Commissioner visits and discusses with children in schools, child-care institutions, youth centres, etc. Also, additional information regarding children’s rights are provided through the Commissioner’s webpage, official publications, focused seminars, etc. The main target groups addressed are children (until the age of 18 years old), as well as the wider society.

No hate speech movement: This is an online youth campaign of the Council of Europe for human rights aiming at reducing the levels of acceptance of hate speech and developing online youth participation and citizenship, taking into account available resources offered by e-governance. Youth Board of Cyprus is the official representative of the Republic of Cyprus in this campaign. The main target group is young people.

The National Human Rights Institution of the Office of the Commissioner of Administration and Human Rights (Ombudsman) (Επίτροπος Διοικήσεως & Προστασίας Ανθρωπίνων Δικαιωμάτων). Τhe National Human Rights Institution takes action when violation or inadequate protection of human rights occurs or when it is deemed necessary to promote a culture of respect for the rights of vulnerable groups of population to the wider society. Within the framework of its competencies, the National Human Rights Institution can take the following actions:

• Investigate – either on its own initiative or following a complaint – any case that violate, restrict or adversely affect the human rights of individuals; each case concludes to a report and recommendations.
• Meet and deliberate regularly with non-Governmental Organizations, human rights advocates and other concerned groups.
• Participate and play an active role in meetings and other events organized by European, National and International human rights groups.
• Take any other action to promote and reinforce the care and respect for human rights.

A recent case of their intervention concerned individuals, including young people, with disabilities who rely on guide dogs and  often face the risk of being excluded from spaces that are open to the public, which constitutes prohibited discrimination based on disability. The Ombudsman’s investigated this issue and submitted their report to the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare by recommending legislative recognition of the right for individuals with disabilities to be accompanied by guide dogs in all public and private spaces and on public transport. The report also called for the establishment of clear procedures for the training, certification, and financial support of guide dogs. This case highlights how institutional advocacy can effectively promote inclusion and ensure that the rights and independency of young people and people with disabilities or special needs are respected in practice.

The  ‘Code of conduct against racism and guide for management and recording of racist incidents’ in schools consists of two parts: (a) the Code, which outlines its purpose, objectives, and responsibilities within the school environment, and (b) the Guide, which provides steps for handling racist incidents, including a Table of Sanctions and reporting documents. Developed by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth, the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute, and other authorities, it aims to identify and address discrimination, prevent racist incidents, and promote an anti-racist culture. The primary focus is on school students, fostering inclusivity and equality in education.

Key initiatives to safeguard democracy and prevent radicalisation leading to violent extremism

In 2014, the Council of Ministers adopted the National Strategy for dealing with Terrorism (Εθνική Στρατηγική για την Αντιμετώπιση της Τρομοκρατίας), where all necessary measures are taken to protect critical infrastructures and vulnerable targets, to implement effective border controls and to continuously upgrade technological equipment to enhance the exchange of information. The Strategy also promotes cross-sectoral cooperation, including initiatives aimed at raising public awareness of radicalization and terrorism through the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth and the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare. However, there is no publicly available data or official evaluation report assessing the implementation or measurable outcomes of the Strategy.

In addition, the Cyprus Police (Αστυνομία Κύπρου), operates the Counter Office Terrorism under Crime Combating Department, which remains the focal point for coordination and policy execution against terrorism. One of the basic responsibilities of the Office is to contribute to the Radicalisation Awareness Network. The Cyprus Police released the “Radicalization and Terrorism – a manual for police officers”, in 2011 which provided early guidance to officers on signs of radicalisation and basic intervention concepts. Since then, this foundational tool has been supplemented by more recent training and capacity-building efforts. The Cyprus Police Academy runs regular professional training for police personnel on a range of security issues, including terrorism prevention and community policing, as part of broader initiatives supported under the Internal Security Fund Projects 2021-2027.