The overall objective of the Aid Programme of which this EU Infopoint is part is to facilitate efforts regarding a settlement of the Cyprus problem leading to the reunification of the island and to bring the Turkish Cypriot community closer to the European Union.
The EU Infopoint’s purpose was to improve the public knowledge, awareness and understanding of the European Union, its values, policies and programmes within the Turkish Cypriot community. This was achieved through organizing EU-related activities, interactions with the community and through giving information, advice, assistance and answers to questions about the EU.
In particular, the aim of the EU Infopoint was to inform about the values of the EU and promotion of both active citizenship and the EU Aid Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community. Regular outreach activities, cultural events and visits to remote rural communities and specific target groups in the northern part of Cyprus were organized so to reach a high number a people: youth, university students, teachers, academia, opinion leaders, the Turkish Cypriot leadership, CSOs and NGOs, local media, potential beneficiaries of EU assistance.
The EU InfoPoint public space has had a total of 6,689 visitors, including walk-in visitors, participants at mobile public space events and participants at workshops or events, well exceeding the set target of 4,750.
The InfoPoint’s website was launched and updated regularly with the latest news, calendar of events, past event news, press releases, latest publications, monthly newsletters and EU-related articles.
A total of 233 events were organized during the project, including a large-scale Europe Day with over 2000 participants.
To address the information gaps, the EU Infopoint produced and translated a number of EU publications and distributed nearly 25,000 information products during the implementation period.
The media relations activity of the EU Infopoint was successful, receiving very positive and extensive coverage in the Turkish Cypriot media, including 2,276 media articles and 244 TV spots which have significantly contributed to the amount and quality of information about the EU and its image among the Turkish Cypriot community.