Island Talks

In this first Nicosia Uncut episode of 2025, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli host Dr.Nasia Hadjigeorgiou and Fezile Osum to discuss the bicommunal technical committees that have been established within the framework of Cyprus problem. Both Fezile and Nasia are running the EU funded InPeace Project (Inclusive Peacebuilding: The Technical Committees in Cyprus ) that studies the technical committees.

In 2008, six bicommunal Technical Committees were established by the Greek Cypriot (GC) and Turkish Cypriot (TC) community leaders to ‘address issues that affect the day-to-day life of people, through encouraging and facilitating greater interaction and understanding between the two communities’;  since then, six more Technical Committees have been added to the list.  There are currently 12 bicommunal Technical Committees, which are unique mechanisms run under UN auspices, operated by Greek and Turkish Cypriots, to address the shared challenges and aims for Cyprus.   

For more information on the project: https://insanhaklariplatformu.eu/detail/inpeace-project/190

Teoman'dan Billie Eilish'e, hayal kırıklıklarından, sevinçlere, seyahat, müzik, kitap, film ve aşk dolu bir yıl böyle geçti! Eric Clapton, Carla Bruni, Haruki Murakami, George Orwell, Derviş Zaim, Marquez, Yüzyıllık Yalnızlık, Anora, The Room Next Door, Trump, Milei, yapay zeka, fotoğraf, podcastlar, Arjantin, Danimarka, Japonya, Kore, Rüstem Kitabevi, Blackbird Social, Walls Inn ve daha niceleri. Garip Zamanlar'ın bu bölümünde Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan farklı kategoriler altında 2024 yılını değerlendirdiler. Kitap, film, dizi, müzik, sürprizler, hayal kırıklıkları, yenilikler, mekanlar, seyahatler derken 2024'ün fotoğrafını çektiler. Bu arada bu bölümle birlikte bir yılda 12 bölüm hedefini de tutturdular!

2024'ün sonuna yaklaşırken Garip Zamanlar yapımcıları Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan, zamanın ruhunu sosyal medyada, teknolojik gelişmelerde ve yapay zekada aradılar. Amerikan seçimleri, kurumların dejenerasyonu, Elon Musk ve Trump, üstenci bakış, Nobel ve teknolojik gelişmeler derken bölüm bitti.

Following Guterres' dinner with the Cypriot leaders in New York, an agreement has been reached to continue informal meetings with the participation of the Guarantor powers. The participation of the UK might not be at the same level as the other two, as the official position of the Turkish/Turkish Cypriot side has been for the four-party meeting rather than five. The sides have also committed to work on opening new crossing points. So the upcoming multi-party meeting is being regarded differently by the sides. While the Greek/Greek Cypriot side declares that they are interested in resuming talks on bi-communal, bi-zonal federation; the Turkish/Turkish Cypriot side insists that the old model is dead and they will only discuss resuming talks on the so called "two-state model". Apart from the multiparty meeting, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli, producers of Nicosia Uncut, discuss the US elections and possible developments in the region with a Cypus solution perspective.

Garip Zamanlar'ın bu bölümünde Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan, evrene mesaj gönderiyorlar. Din nedir, spiritüellik yeni bir din arayışı mı, bir enerji var mı, modern yaşamda bilimin tahtı sallantıda mı, merkür retrosu çıktı mı gibi konuları masaya yatıran Garip Zamanlar yapımcıları, başa baş giden Amerikan başanlık seçimlerini ve sinemadaki filmleri de konuşuyorlar.

In this episode Sapienta Economics Director Fiona Mullen talks to process facilitator and peacebuilding practitioner Michelle Parlevliet of REOS Partners about the transforming effects of asking a broad cross-section of Cypriots with differing views to take the time to imagine four plausible but very different scenarios for the future of Cyprus. The Cyprus Futures project was the subject of a panel discussion led my Ms Parlevliet at the Cyprus Forum on 4 October.

Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Garip Zamanlar podcast bu bölümde Nobel alan Kıbrıslı bilim insanlarını, The Beatles grubunun ünlü Hey Jude şarkısını, Kore'nin kültür sanattaki öncü rolünü, bitcoin'i bulan kişiyi, İngilizce'de "nerd"in anlamını, Kıbrıs'ta bu aralar devam eden konserleri, Teoman'ı, sinemada The Substance filmini, Joker'in devam filmini konuştular. Kemal, Orta Avrupa'da Budapeşte ve Viyana izlenimlerini anlattı.

Cyprus is more innovative than you think. In this episode Sapienta Economics Director Fiona Mullen talks to Cyprus Seeds Managing Director Maria Georgiadou, and Innovation Programme Manager Margarita Kyprianou about the wide sectoral range of innovators in universities, research institutions, and Centres of Excellence in the Republic of Cyprus who have been supported by Cyprus Seeds in bringing their research to market. Support includes small grants, mentoring, hands-on training, and networking opportunities to help academic teams commercialize their research by creating startups or licensing their technology. The most prominent success to date involves a gene therapy innovation that is awaiting much sought-after approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The latest call for applications ends on 31 October. Apply here: https://cyprusseeds.com/program/apply-now/

The two Cypriot leaders have agreed to meet for a "social dinner" at the presence of the UN Secretary General. The expectations are low as sides have shown no signs of departure from their respective positions. While the Turkish Cypriot side is adamant on their so called "two states" position, which is vocally and openly supported by the Turkish government, the Greek Cypriot side has been consistent expressing their commirment to a bicommunal, bizonal federation as stipulated by the numerous UN resoutions.

The negative developments in the Middle East is regarded as a distracting factor for the attempts to put the talks back on trace in Cyprus, not only because the international community is focused on the developments there, but also because in a everchanging political context, the regional and international players shift towards reassessing their positions in the region. The elephant in the room is Turkey and how it regards itself vis-a-vis other players with the new developments. Greece is pushing for some progress in the Cyprus problem within the framework of improving its relations with Turkey. However, on the other hand, we see no positive steps by Nicos Christodoulides towards the Turkish Cypriots as he had previously promised. Indeed, this is a dinner that will finally bring the Cypriot sides together with the UN Secretary General but we hardly see any spark for a love affair at this stage.

Apart from the developments in the Cyprus problem, in this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykallı dicuss domestic politics, electricity interconnector and next year's elections in the north.

Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Garip Zamanlar podcastın bu bölümünde Almanya'dan Leipzig, Bonn, Dusseldorf ve Berlin manzaraları, Almanya'nın doğusu ile batısının sosyolojik analizleri; Amsterdam. Brüksel, Riga, Kopenhag ve Tokyo izlenimleri masaya yatırıldı. Adeta seyahat programı gibi bir bölüm oldu. Bölüm başlığı "Almanya'nın doğusu batısı"olacaktı ki Sertaç izlenimlerini bir cümlede özetledi: Batı Avrupa bitmiş yeaa. Bu arada ekonomi de konuştuk - dikkat yatırım tavsiyesi değildir!