In line with our aim of promoting diversity and multiculturalism through cultural activities, we organized a cultural project titled “Gathering for Understanding” that focused on exploring several topics such as privilege, women’s voices, and discrimination through artistic activities.
We invited different artists and audiences from different subcommunities living in Cyprus to come together and interact with each other through arts and ultimately build the foundations of establishing relationships across cultures and communities.
Speak UP
Speak UP was a night dedicated to creating a dialogue about issues of inequality and injustice. Audiences and artists from different communities joined us for a night of screenings, spoken word poetry, short stories, and discussion and help us amplify minority experiences in Cyprus.
The audience had the opportunity to step up to the mic and share their own personal story or express themselves through various art forms (poetry, song, painting etc.)
Speak UP event: Amplify Female Voices:
Amplify Female Voices was a night dedicated to creating awareness of the experiences, inequality, and injustice women from different backgrounds face in Cyprus while celebrating their accomplishments.
Women (and not only) from different walks of life joined us for an exciting programme of events on 26th November 2020. The first part of the evening began with a debut screening of our short documentary on women in Cyprus, followed by a panel discussion on the experiences, challenges, and resources, faced by and available to women in Cyprus.
Next, we had a beautiful line-up of artists, activists, and kick-ass women taking over the floor! Participants shared with us a series of performances, from poetry readings to personal stories, painting, and more! Throughout the evening, the participants had the chance to get their hands on Melissa Hekkers new book ‘Amir’s Blue Elephant’, some gorgeous clothing from Aphrogee, homemade Nigerian baked goods, and more!
Gathering of Understanding: Privilege:
Privilege can enable one’s security and advancement in multiple aspects of their life while its power remains invisible to them. At the same time, the absence of privilege may lead to an everyday reality associated with barriers required to overcome and a lack of meaningful opportunities.
We organized an evening dedicated to exploring the multifaceted aspects of privilege in Cyprus. How race, gender, class, legal status, and sexual orientation manifest in the lives of those who are privileged by one or more of these identities, and how it is affecting those living without privileges. We aimed to encourage participants to identify their everyday advantages by examining their own beliefs, practices, and social standing – and look into how we can redress and shift the balance of power!
The evening will began with a short film screening and feature an array of readings, spoken word poetry, and sharing of personal stories. Following this, we had a group discussion with a diverse panel of speakers sharing their experiences:
– Marianna Pafite, founder of Neophitos (disability culture organization), writer, Cyprus
– Bartholomew Okwudiri, Economist, Asylum seeker, LGBTQI+, Nigeria
– Christos Hadjioannou, Academic philosopher, Cyprus
– Maribel Gonzaga, Social worker, Artist, Philippines
– Panayiota Zintili, Student of social anthropology, Social activist, Cyprus
– Christos Krasidis, Artist, Sexual health activist, LGBTQI+, Cyprus
Also, the evening’s discussion was based on the selected reading of the month of our library: (Add Library for Change link here)
Privilege: A Reader, by Michael S Kimmel & Abby L. Ferber
Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women By Kate Manne
Finally, participants who wished, had the opportunity to step up to the mic and share their own story and express themselves through various art form (poetry, song, painting, etc.)
