About Us

Civic Space Project

The Civic Space is a Technical Assistance Project funded by the European Union (EU). It aims at contributing to build in the Turkish Cypriot community (TCc), a stronger civil society, which supports democratic changes and confidence-building measures. 

Civic Space’s four expected outcomes are:

  1. The public engages more in civic actions.
  2. Civil Society Organisations’ (CSOs) civic engagement and role in decision-making are reinforced.
  3. A more enabling environment for CSOs actions is promoted in the TCc.
  4. Greater links with CSOs in the Greek Cypriot community (GCc) are encouraged.

The project started in December 2020 and will continue to work until December 2025.

Our Aims

The European Commission believes that an empowered civil society is a crucial component of any democratic system. It represents and fosters pluralism and can contribute to more effective policies, equitable and sustainable development, and inclusive growth. It is an important player in fostering peace and in conflict resolution. By articulating citizens' concerns, civil society organizations (CSOs) are active in the public arena, engaging in initiatives to further participatory democracy and governance. Within this context, Civic Space aims at ensuring that:

  • The public and the Turkish Cypriot community are better informed about CSOs' actions and are more involved in CSOs' actions and management. 
  • CSOs improve their capacities in general and adopt a rights-based approach to advocate for democratic changes, confidence-building measures, and a more enabling environment for civil society. 
  • Local bodies are better informed about CSOs' roles and activities and are supported in promoting a fully enabling environment for civil society. 
  • Exchanges and joint actions between Greek and Turkish Cypriot CSOs are mainstreamed throughout the project's activities.

Our Team

Cemil Bayhanlı

Communication and Events Officer

Cemil joined the Civic Space team in May 2023 as a Communication and Event Officer. He is working on assisting with communication, event management, and...

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Evrim Peker

Team Leader

Uluslararası kalkınma işbirliği alanında 20 yıldan fazla deneyime sahip olan Evrim Peker, Filistin, Fas, Benin, Gabon, Mali ve Kongo Demokratik Cumhuriyeti gibi ülkelerde çalışmıştır. Belçika vatandaşı olan ve Fransızca, Türkçe…

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Selen Lermioğlu Yılmaz

Capacity Building Expert

Selen has more than 20 years’ experience in the fields of democracy and governance with specific concentration on civil society, gender equality, peace and reconciliation, human rights, legal reforms,...

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