Overview
About the Cyprus Transformative Scenarios Process
The Cyprus Transformative Scenarios Process (TSP) is an initiative of Reos Partners, The Result Mediation Foundation, and the PRIO Cyprus Centre. The process is convening 36 diverse Cypriot stakeholders to form a “Scenario Team”. This group will meet three times during May-September 2022 to jointly develop a set of 3-4 relevant, challenging, plausible, and clear scenarios for the future of Cyprus.
The project applies the “Transformative Scenarios” approach, coined and developed by Reos Partners. This approach was born out of South Africa during the transition from apartheid, when in 1991-92, a diverse group of South Africans from across the political spectrum came together to develop the “Mont Fleur Scenarios”, with the impartial facilitation of Adam Kahane, Director of Reos Partners and author of the book “Transformative Scenario Planning”. Since then, this method has been applied by Reos Partners at national, regional and global levels on topics including democracy, drug policy, climate change, peace, justice, education, land reform, food security and more. It has also been applied to national and regional futures including in South Africa, Haiti, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Thailand, the North Netherlands, and elsewhere.
The participants in the Cyprus TSP are not a group of “usual suspects”. They include a wide diversity of perspectives across sectors, professions, and generations. Furthermore the group is 50-50 balanced in terms of gender as well as between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. While they are broadly representative of Cypriot society, each participant joins this process as an individual rather than as a representative of a specific institution or constituency, and will bring their full knowledge, perspective, and experience to the process.
The focus of the process is the future of Cyprus overall. While the “Cyprus Problem” will be an important dimension of the scenarios, it is not the sole focus. The scenarios will also consider other concerns of Cypriots today likely including social and economic development, energy, trade, security, climate, and education. The Scenario Team will collectively be the authors and owners of the scenarios. They will determine the time frame, the focus, and the content of the scenarios. An impartial scenario writer will support the development of a shared text and accompanying communication outputs.
These scenarios will be stories about what could happen, not about what should happen (proposals) nor about what will happen (predictions). They will offer a map of the future landscape of Cyprus to lift the gaze towards a longer time horizon and a broader context within which the future of Cyprus will unfold.
The intention of this process is not to promote agreement, nor to propose a solution. It is rather to build relationships, to promote dialogue, to generate insight, and to broaden perspectives.
The scenarios are expected to be launched in the end of September 2022.
About the Implementing Partners
Reos Partners
Reos Partners is an international social enterprise specialised in multi-stakeholder dialogue and collaboration in situations of complexity, uncertainty, and conflict. Reos Partners applies a systemic, collaborative, and creative approach to design, facilitate, and guide processes that enable teams of stakeholders to make progress on their toughest challenges. Reos engages with governments, business, and civil society organizations on challenges such as justice, peace, health, education, conservation, food, and climate. The Reos Partners team operates both globally and locally, with offices in Cambridge (Massachusetts), Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Melbourne, Montréal, and São Paulo. The name Reos means “flow” reflecting an aim to create movement in situations of stuckness.
Result Mediation Foundation
Result Mediation Foundation (RMF) designs and manages conflict resolution processes and ensures the integrity thereof. RMF aligns with all key stakeholders in the process and sees to it that they are are well informed, trained and sufficiently up to speed for each to play their (critical) role. Building on the expertise developed by Result Mediation, the Netherlands leading mediation company, RMF brings together the rigor of private-sector mediation techniques with tested expertise in international conflict resolution. We are a non-profit organization that supports conflict resolution around the world by providing excellence in mediation services to state actors, (inter)national NGO’s and other stakeholders involved in international cooperation, active in fragile states and conflict affected settings.
PRIO Cyprus Centre
Since its inception in 2005, the PRIO Cyprus Centre (PCC) has functioned as an independent, bi-communal research centre. The Centre is committed to research and dialogue. Its aim is to contribute to an informed public debate on key issues relevant to an eventual settlement of the Cyprus problem. Its ambition is to achieve this through the establishment and dissemination of information and by offering new analysis, and through facilitating dialogue. The researchers attached to the Centre are both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots as well as individuals of other nationalities. The inter-linkage between research, informing public debate, and political decision-making is at the core of the Centre’s activities; its research should always be of public interest and be disseminated in understandable language, alongside academic publications. Most of the research output is presented in the English, Greek and Turkish languages. Through its network, projects and dialogue forums, the PRIO Cyprus Centre aims to foster cooperation between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, and strengthen regional cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean at large. The PRIO Cyprus Centre offers an important meeting place for people from both sides of the divided island.
To express your interest in this process please fill out this form.