Creating Friendships for Peace

Creating Friendships for Peace (CFP) provides a two-year program for Cypriot high-school students. In Year One, selected teens attend peace camps in Cyprus, learning about each other's history and culture. In Year Two, the same teens are eligible to attend a month-long living experience in the U.S. with an American host family. During this month, the teens share a room with a member of the other community of the same gender and develop a deeper understanding of each other. They discover what they share in common and learn the lesson of reconciliation. Our program in Cyprus is referred to as the Cyprus Friendship Program and includes our independent volunteer Cypriot Coordinators who manage our Year One workshops, projects and week long summer peace camps, all funded with Cypriot resources. Almost all of CFP's expenses for the Cyprus Friendship Program are related to the travel and insurance costs for the teen pairs who come to the U.S. As of the end of 2023, over 1,300 Cypriot teens have graduated from our program.

In 2023, CFP hosted teens from Israel/Palestine with teens from Cyprus in the US hosting areas, working in coordination with a bi-communal team of Coordinators in Israel.

Exploratory alumni development event in Belfast to reach out to CFP's 2,000 alumni.