The house seen from the outside.Supported by the Norwegian government through the EEA Grants, a house for cooperation is being reconstructed in Nicosia. When the house has been fully renovated, it will serve as a meeting space for civil society organisations and an educational centre for youths and teachers from both Cypriot communities.
- The house will host a museum and an exhibition centre, archives, offices, a research centre and a nice cafe, explains Sverre Stub, Norway’s ambassador to Cyprus and Greece.
The ambassador visited the house in Nicosia recently.
Opening ceremony in May 2011
From the roof top you have a view to both north and south.The opening ceremony will take place in May 2011.
- We are looking forward to the opening ceremony. It will include a street festival, live music, photo exhibitions, theater performances and speeches, promises EEA and Norway Grants coordinator from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ingrid Schulerud.
Schulerud was a part of the delegation that visited the house recently.
- The centre will encourage use of the buffer zone, allowing it to become a symbol of cooperation, not separation, Schulerud says.
The house is situated across the old Ledra Palac Hotel, the UN Head Quarter in the Buffer Zone.
Support from local leaderships
Norway is the main contributer in this groundbreaking project. Thanks to support from local leaderships in both communities, the project is rooted at local level. The project is also supported by Iceland, Lichenstein, Cypriot authorities, the UN, some European Embassies and the Council of Europe.
The house is also of historical and architectonical value, but years of neglect and decay have taken a heavy toll on many of them. Now the house is about to rise from its past and become an important part of a bi-communal dialogue and cooperation in Nicosia.
- The aim is that the centre will be used by the Cypriot population from both communities, as well as by visitors to the island, says ambassador Stub.
You can see a movie about the history of the house below: