Tag Archives: Akis Christofides

by | August 10, 2012 · 5:07 pm

PPI-CY’s Annual Summer Camp: Development On and Off the Court

Today’s blog post was written by Ashley Johnson, PPI-Cyprus‘s newest fellow.

Camp, the best week of the year! That’s how I remember my experience as a kid growing up attending basketball camps.  I made new friends and played a game that I loved.  I left camp feeling inspired every year. This was our hope for the 32 Greek-Cypriot and 32 Turkish-Cypriot youth attending our annual summer camp.  We set out to inspire the youth as basketball players, while also inspiring them as individuals, to become proactive leaders in their own lives and within their respective communities.  While the youth worked hard throughout the week on the basketball court, they were also challenged in the classroom.

PPI-CY campers talk about personal leadership with Akis.

Our Peace and Leadership Curriculum, developed in partnership with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and the Arbinger Institute, is central to our goals of uniting, educating, and inspiring the youth in our program.  Sessions on the court and in the classroom allow us to create a holistic approach to youth development, encouraging our kids to reach their full potential as basketball players and as individuals.  Fellow Ashley Johnson and Board member Akis Christofides began the classroom sessions for the week with two leadership sessions.  Ashley’s sessions began with the kids looking internally, talking about what leadership means, and determining how to cultivate the qualities of a positive leader within themselves.  Akis’s session built off of their understanding of role models and leadership, and stressed the importance of seeking to create a life full of passion and purpose. He inspired the kids with video clips of superstars like Michael Jordan and Lance Armstrong.

Ashley uses her experience as a volunteer in the Peace Corps to start a discussion about the importance of serving others.

We then transitioned to another classroom session on service and volunteering.  The participants saw photos and listened to stories about Ashley Johnson’s experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon. learning that serving others, whether across the world or in one’s own community, not only positively impacts those whom you serve, but also greatly develops one’s own character.

With the kids beginning to think about and see themselves as integral members of a greater community, PPI-CY Managing Director, Marina Vasilera and Board member Tarik Tekman took the lead in the next two sessions.  The focus was on PPI’s signature peace-building curriculum, “The Anatomy of Peace.”  Through the Anatomy of Peace sessions, the kids began to examine the way they view others, evaluate whether they see others as individuals or as objects, and realize the importance of seeing the humanity within all individuals.

Campers share their work in a classroom session.

With such rich experiences throughout the week on and off the court, there is no doubt the campers returned to their homes inspired and empowered.  With their continued growth and development as PeacePlayers participants and leaders, it is our hope that youth will be able to positively shape the future of the island of Cyprus.

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by | July 20, 2012 · 2:47 pm

Direction for PeacePlayers-Cyprus in the Year to Come

What will PPI-CY’s new direction hold for its participants?

This week PeacePlayers-Cyprus sat down with board member Akis Christofides and discussed the direction that the program will take in the near future.  The following is what was discussed.

PeacePlayers-Cyprus has a retreat planned this upcoming fall that will involve all of the board members and local staff.  Specific ideas and programs will be discussed with the common goal of refining the PPI-CY mission even further.  PPI-CY hopes to harvest a bigger degree of cooperation between the international sites, the Middle East, South Africa, and Northern Ireland; this includes collaboration between fellows, board members, and local staff.  Akis recalled the PeacePlayers “Anatomy of Peace” training in Hawaii by Professor Chad Ford and how it gave a sense of unity and communalism to the organization.  The chance to further collaborate with other PPI sites is a goal that PPI-CY is working to achieve; for example the proximity of Cyprus to the Middle East site makes it so that travel between the two programs is only a short plane ride away.  Imagine the collaboration that could happen over just one weekend!

The idea of using the “Anatomy of Peace” in more settings as a reconciliatory tool is another item on the agenda.  To be able to use the curriculum to further the PPI message in schools, for sports teams, and even with corporations and businesses in Cyprus is something that Akis and the rest of the PPI-CY family feel is important.  While PeacePlayers is an organization that uses sport as a tool for social change  the “Anatomy of Peace” is something that can permeate all layers of a local society and thereby have a positive impact on our kids in both direct and indirect ways.

Of course, at the core of the PeacePlayers-Cyprus agenda are the kids.  An item on the agenda moving forward will be how to ensure that when kids become too old to be in the PeacePlayers program we are still able to help them and engage in a relationship where there are mutual social benefits.  PPI-CY will work in the near future to look at ideas such as community projects and continue to expand our Leadership Development Program so that our strongest advocates, the participants, can continue to associate with PPI. Our kids can also become our coaches; just look at PPI-ME coaches David and Khaled.  The transition between a participant’s graduation from being a PeacePlayer participant to becoming a full-fledged coach is a key period of growth that programs and initiatives, such as the LDP, can take advantage.  In other words PPI CY can help its children at all stages of their life and will strive to do so in the upcoming year.

Finally, another important item on the agenda is the relationship that PeacePlayer-Cyprus has with the parents of its participants.  PPI-CY will work to strengthen the relationship between the parents, children, and organization.   To be able to bring parents further into the PPI equation would not only give them a glimpse into the PeacePlayers way and its benefits but also add what Akis refers to as “the spice to the soup” of helping our kids.

While most actions and immediate thoughts are being poured into preparation for PPI CY’s big summer camp, the retreat is an important issue that sits on the horizon with promise and intrigue.

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by | June 29, 2012 · 1:35 pm

PeacePlayers Cyprus Visits Potenzia del Arte

Potenzia kids drawing their flags with Thanasis’ help

This week PeacePlayers-Cyprus was invited to spend time with campers from the premier performing arts academy in Cyprus: Potenzia del Arte.  Potenzia is the creation of Katerina Christofidou, the wife of PPI-Cyprus’ board of directors’ president Akis Christofidou.  The academy is a professional training institute in dance, music and theater for individuals of all ages.   Throughout the summertime they host week long youth camps, providing kids a taste of the arts offered at the academy.

Over 25 young Cypriots between the ages of 7-12 are participating in this week’s camp.   The camp provides the youth an outlet to express themselves creatively and to explore their artistic side.  Just as PeacePlayers seeks to promote the transformation of our kids into dynamic well-rounded citizens so does Potenzia.  So when the kids are not spending their time dancing, acting or singing, the school is playing host to different youth development organizations.  PeacePlayers was honored to be one of these organizations.

Our focus for the session was to create dialogue between the kids regarding other societies and our individual perceptions of different cultures.  Of course in a fun and creative fashion!  After spending a short time introducing ourselves and PeacePlayers we divided the kids into small groups and handed out markers and poster paper.  The assignment was to draw images that to them depicted a particular country.  The assigned countries included: Cyprus, Greece, America, France and England.  The kids quickly began brainstorming images that came to mind regarding the people and the culture of these countries… “Princesses” shouted one girl whose group had been assigned England… “Hot Dogs” shouted a kid in the American group.

Presenting the Queen of England

After some intense brainstorming and coloring the kids stood with their groups in the spotlight of the stage and presented to the rest of the room their posters.  From the images the kids had to decide which country the group was representing.  This proved to be quite an easy task for the kids as the images they chose were quickly identified by the others.  The Hot Dog stands and mentioning of Miley Cyrus was undoubtedly American in every sense.  Olympic rings and Princesses, yes you guessed it, England.   Each group had to sum up what it was that their images depicted and how those images tell a story about that society.  It proved to be a game perfectly adapted for such a group, an art project and a chance to take the stage.  More importantly though, it also provided a moment for the young kids to begin thinking about how certain images and perceptions of one society don’t fully tell the story of the people from that community.  When asked if Henry and Ashley could be described by images of Miley Cyrus and Hot Dogs the kids laughed and began to see the connection.

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by | December 2, 2011 · 2:47 pm

The PPI-CY Coaches Retreat

PPI-CY Coaches get ready for their bike ride in the Pendaktolos Mountains

On Saturday and Sunday November 19 and 20, PPI-CY held a coaches retreat for all of our coaches. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we enjoyed the opportunity to bring all of our coaches together for a weekend to bond and give thanks to our dedicated local coaching staff. The weekend started with a full day Anatomy of Peace seminar. The seminar, which was led by PPI-CY Board Member Tarik Tekman, and myself taught our coaches about conflict resolution techniques and how they can be applied to the basketball court. The seminar was also open to people from the NGO sector who came to learn more about PPI-CY’s work.

Coaches with Board Members, Akis and Tarik, in front of the PPI-CY Office in the buffer zone

Following the seminar, the coaches went to cheer for PPI-CY Coordinator, Athanasios, play in a match between his team Omonia and AEK, which Omonia lost. Even after a tough defeat, we were all in good spirits as we ate Japanese style noodles together. That night everyone bunked up in a local hotel to try and get some sleep to prepare for the next day. In the morning everyone ate a delicious local breakfast together and walked to Ledra Palace in the buffer zone.

In a new agreement between PPI-CY and the United Nations, PPI-CY has been given permission to use the basketball courts in the back of Ledra Palace for our future bicommunal events, giving us a great opportunity to bring our children together without dealing with the hassles of border crossings and ID checks.

PPI-CY coaches Antonia (left) and Costas (right) getting goofy before their bike ride

Later the coaches met with PPI-CY Board President Akis for a meeting where everyone gave an update for their teams, what their individual goals are, and what our expectations are as we gear up for our twinning program which will go from January to May. Then all the coaches crossed into the Turkish-Cypriot community where we took a bus to the Pendaktolos Mountains for some mountain biking. For recently hired coach, Antonia, it was her first time crossing to the north in her whole life. Even after nearly 2 years of watching kids cross for the first time, it is still amazing to see a 25-year-old woman take the first step for her family and community by crossing the boundary between her community and the other.

PPI-CY coaches pose in front of an amazing view during the bike ride

The bike ride took us through wooded mountains on the northern coast of Cyprus. Along the road we kept stopping for some breathtaking views of mountain peaks surrounded by the bright blue of the Mediterranean down below. We ended up at Buffavento, an old log cabin style restaurant nestled in the hills. When we arrived Antonia was so excited she tried calling her mom to tell her about her experience, but was disappointed when she realized that her phone didn’t work. “Of course,” I told her, “Your Greek-Cypriot phone doesn’t work on this side.”

After another delicious and well-deserved meal, we all gathered back onto the bus and headed back to Ledra Palace to say goodbye. Everyone at PPI-CY is excited to be going into a new year with a great group of coaches ready to bring their kids together in order to foster peace in Cyprus.

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by | July 1, 2011 · 1:57 pm

PeacePlayers-Cyprus Movie Night Fundraiser

On June 30, PPI-CY held its first Movie Night Fundraiser at the Artos Foundation in Nicosia.

Last night PeacePlayers-Cyprus held its first ever Movie Night Fundraiser in Nicosia. The goal of the event was to organize a special night for friends and supporters, increase awareness within the community, and raise some funds for PPI-CY. With over 60 people in attendance (both Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots), including some people who had never heard of PeacePlayers before, the event was considered a success.

This flyer promoted the event.

The idea for a movie night fundraiser originated after meeting with Martin Weiss, the Ambassador of the Austrian Embassy in Cyprus, who had the rights to show the movie Mount St. Elias, a dramatic feature documentary following three of the world’s greatest ski mountaineers to Mount St. Elias in their attempt at the longest ski descent in the world. After some discussions, Mr. Weiss decided to let PPI-CY use the film for a small fundraiser.

PPI-CY then partnered with the Artos Cultural and Research Foundation, a contemporary arts and science center dedicated to research and creativity. Every summer they organize a film festival entitled Mid Summer Nights. This year they decided that the opening night of the festival would showcase Mount St. Elias in partnership with PeacePlayers-Cyprus.

The Artos Foundation is located in restored buildings which once housed the bakeries of Nicosia’s Agii Omologites parish, hence the inspiration for its name: “artos” or “bread”. The building is over 100 years old, and has recently been renovated into a great meeting place with an outdoor movie theater, a bar and a spacious courtyard.

PPI-CY Board President, Akis, speaks before the film.

People began arriving at 8:30 pm and were greeted with music, food and drinks. At around 9:30 pm they began climbing the steps to the rooftop theater where the screening would be shown under the stars. The event began with a short introduction by President of the PPI-CY Board of Directors, Akis Christofides, who spoke about the history of his involvement with PeacePlayers and the importance of donating to non-profits like PPI-CY. After thanking everyone for coming, we showed a short video about PPI-CY before the feature film.

Friend of PPI-CY, Stallo, and her 6 month old son make a donation.

Finally the movie began and everyone settled in for 140 minutes of awe-inspiring footage of the world’s largest and most majestic mountains. Afterwards there was more music and people gathered in the courtyard to drink wine and schmooze. At the end of the night PPI-CY raised a small amount of money, which we hope will continue to grow over the next week as many people who were not able to attend the fundraiser still plan on making donations. Any donation, no matter how small, is extremely appreciated and will make a great impact on the lives of the children that PeacePlayers works with.

If you are interested in making a donation to PPI-CY, please visit the PeacePlayers International website or click here, and under comments write “Cyprus.” Thanks to everyone who came and supported PPI-CY!!

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