Are UK Cypriot organisations truly representative?
“Over the coming months and years, the Federation needs to take vitally important and imaginative steps to renew and strengthen its structure and organisation and to become more representative of the British Cypriot communities it serves”.
In our opinion, that was the most important statement made by Peter Droussiotis in his final speech as President of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK (NFCUK), before he stood down at the end of his term in June 2015.
On the same occasion Mr Droussiotis had also stressed that such renewal “has to be driven, not by personal or party political agendas, but by principles and values and has to be based on a vision to create an outward-looking organisation that reflects the broad talent and diversity of our community and the organised groups and associations which represent it today”.
He went further to add that “we must be receptive to new ideas and new community institutions which may need to be developed in order to meet the needs and aspirations of the broader British Cypriot diaspora, not least in relation to a more effective engagement in the political life of this country”.
That speech was in fact laying down some very important principles for the future development of our community which is no longer a community of immigrants but a community of British citizens.
That was Mr Droussiotis’ testament to his successor, Christos Karaolis, and all those involved in the NFCUK and its constituent organisations and that’s the point of reference for our approach to the UK Cypriot organisations.
Are they truly and democratically representative of the UK Cypriot community? Do they represent all UK Cypriots or just some of them? Do they represent the poor working people of our community or just some special groups?
We must also make one thing clear: UK Cypriot community for us means ALL UK Cypriots – Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots and all – and that reflects our firm vision for the future of Cyprus itself.
In future months and years, we’ll try to find answers to the above questions and constructively help in the development of our community organisations.
Response from Peter Droussiotis
Responding to our article, Mr Droussiotis wrote to us: “Of course, I remain passionately attached to the statements I made then which I believe are as pertinent to-day as they were then”.
“More than that, I have acted on those ideas in practice, though the creation of the UK-Cyprus Enterprise Council, for example, which has sought to appeal to, attract and nurture new generations of British Cypriots as part of a strategy to enhance our presence and voice in this country where we are, of course, full citizens with the ability to exercise influence across British society and institutions”.
“As you know, I am also a staunch proponent and supporter of bi-communal or All-Cypriot co-operation and action”.
Our feature photo: The current President of the NFCUK Christos Karaolis during the Brexit referendum campaign when the organisation supported remaining in the EU.
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