This report, “Solving the Cyprus Problem: Hopes and Fears,” is an integral part of an Interpeace affiliated project entitled ‘Cyprus 2015’. Through the Cyprus 2015 project, the research team engages Track 1 level actors and connects with grassroots level actors, both through polling, and engagement of stakeholders through a participatory methodology.

Where zero-sum mentalities persist, the report provides a forum through which respective views on sensitive topics can be dealt with honestly and respectfully, consistent with the communicative and inclusive strategy.

“Solving the Cyprus Problem: Hopes and Fears”, reflects the views of participants in various panels that addressed the hopes and concerns people harbor with respect to a potential settlement in Cyprus. The report and related research module are geared towards helping the two communities prepare for the societal conditions that will prevail if the two leaders reach an agreement, by working to remedy the deficit of contact and trust between different groups within and across the two communities.

The report concludes with a series of policy recommendations based on stakeholder inputs. Policy recommendations entail the identification of inter-communal convergences or consensus, either in procedural or substantive matters. That said, the proposals are not the product of the stakeholders, but reflect the analysis of the authors responsible for the report.

Thus, recommendations are intended to serve as the basis of further dialogue, both among participants in this project and more broadly in public discussions. Beyond this, potential policies are also explored where inter-communal divisions are evident.