1. In 1997, some student members of TC community took part in "Introducing Cyprus" in La Trobe University multicultural activities. The first was done by just the TC and the second one together with GC students. Cypriot photographs, food and music were introduced in these activities.

2. January 1998, Aydin Mehmet Ali, a Turkish Cypriot woman peace activist from UK, had meetings with progressive elements of GC in NSW while holidaying. Subsequently Aydin attended FCCA conference.

3. CGAA (Cypriot Graduates Association of Australia Inc. - a TC based organization) launched in January 1998.

4. Aydin Mehmet Ali was interviewed by Maria Zijlstra at ABC "The Europeans" program.

5. Maria Zijlstra produced a 5 part program series on Cyprus. CGAA participated in WEB discussions together with other GC/TC individuals and associations. In these discussions it became apparent that there were Cypriot communities living harmoniously in rural Australia.

The ABC WEB pages on Cypriot discussions were subsequently handed over to CGAA and still are part of the CGAA WEB pages.

6. Members of CGAA conducts a fact-finding mission at Riverland in rural SA. Both Turkish and Greek speaking Cypriot origin local community embraced CGAA members. They came back with carloads of fruits and presents.

7. October 1998, CGAA gets invited to Riverland multi-cultural festival and asked to help set up a Cypriot Arts display. A photography and handcraft display tent was set up together with local TC and GC. This display had no flags and nationalist symbols but a mere CYPRUS written on the side of the tent. It was rated by many as the most successful display and attracted wide interest from public and local media. ABC Radio and local newspapers did interviews.

Also at this festival, "Anatolia Band", an Adelaide based mixed band played songs from Turkey and Greece. Adelaide based GC folk dancing group performed Cypriot dances common to both communities.

8. February 1999, FCCA (Federation of Cypriot Communities of Australia - a GC organization) requested from CGAA ideas on improving the relations between the two Cypriot Communities in Australia. After thorough consideration, CGAA responded with a document based on modern and multicultural principles adopted in its constitution. In this document CGAA outlined initial steps for improving relations.

FCCA responded positively by appointing coordinators based in SA, NSW and Victoria.

9. May 1999, CGAA invited by RMIT University to participate in a 2-day seminar on "Cypriot Migration and Settlement in Australia" CGAA contributed with 4 presentations. In this event, the first TC man, woman and child to migrate to Australia were present and were acknowledged appropriately.

In this seminar, all TC presentations were in English for the benefit of all attendants however, it was noted with frustration that most GC presentations were in Greek!

10. June 1999, CGAA accepted an invitation to join in with the GC to visit the Foreign and Immigration Ministers of Australia in Canberra to discuss Cypriot Community issues. A three-person delegation from NSW and Victoria attended these meetings amidst controversy within the GC side. The "Cyprus High Commissioner" vigorously and loudly opposed the idea of TC participation in such representations and subsequently, the FCCA shifted its position towards CGAA. The FCCA coordination committee had changed and all communication with CGAA stopped.

To date, communications between the organizations have not resumed.

11. Dec 1999, CGAA sends a letter to both leaders of Cyprus representing their respective communities in New York proximity talks and asks them to take a positive, constructive, creative and tolerant attitude in finding a just solution to the Cyprus Problem.

12. March 2000, CGAA takes leadership in organizing a "Bone Marow Donation Campaign" to help save a TC and a GC boys suffering from leukaemia, desparetly in need for transplant. This becomes an Australia-wide bicommunal joint activity. The campaign soon becomes a Global campaign where Australian initiative is widely recognised as a good example of bicommunal co-operation on humaniterian grounds.

13. April 2000, a two day Cyprus Conflict Resolution Workshop (The "La Trobe Project") is organised at La Trobe University Political Science Dept.. In this event academics from La Trobe University, RMIT University and Melbourne University joined with GC/TC academics and activists from both communities. Approx. 10 members of each community attented. In addition to a sponsoring Federal Senator, memebers of GC and TC print media and Australian Multicultural Foundation also took part in this workshop.

14. The "La Trobe Project" coordinators participated over the Internet, in the reprochement conference organised by Voice of America Greek and Turkish programs. This conference was also suported by Turkish and Greek FMs Ismail Cem and George Papandreou. It was also broadcast worldwide across the VOA WEB service with Australia being the only non-US based participation...

15. August 2000, The "La Trobe Project" - Stage 2, as an open public form, is organized at RMIT University to discuss with public the findings of the Conflict Resolution Workshop which took place at La Trobe University in April 2000.

16. OCT 2000, The "La Trobe Project" organizes a meeting with community leaders and project supporters and participants to meet visiting elected representatives of Turkish Cypriots from Cyprus in Melbourne. The guests were visiting australia after the IPU meeting at Jakarta. CTP (RTP) general secretary Ferdi Soyer and UBP (NUP) party representative Ilker Nevzat discussed the views of their respective parties on the issue of Cyprus. The meeting was rated very informative and positive by the participants despite opposition from some sections of the communities.

It has been reported in Melbourne that according to Turkish-Cypriot Internet Press, the Filelefteros newspaper (Cyprus) had reported a very distorted and incorrect report on the event in Melbourne. In the editorial, The Turkish Report Editor wrote how he thought Greeks were different to Turks until he read how the Greek Counsulate had advised the Greek Cypriot organiser of the "La Trobe Project" the wrongs and dangers of such events…

17. 1st May 2001, The "La Trobe Project" organized a Pilot concert at RMIT University Radio Theater. Turkish, Greek and Cypriot music was presented to an inviteed group of people, community leaders, academics and politicians. Australian Special Envoy for Cyprus Jim Short also attended and made an speech. Prof Des Cahill of RMIT University hosted the event. Muscianas Turkish, Greek and Cypriot musicians were joined by musicians in Australia from other parts of the world fro this hugely successful concert. The concert was not attended by the Turkish, Greek and Cypriot Gov officials, neuther by the "organisations" in line with their policies.

Since the concert, a group of musicians began performing at Assos Tavern in Collingwood music from Cyprus, Greece and Turkey regularly on Friday evenings. These are well attended by both communities and some special nights are also organised on some Saturday nights. On Sat 26th May, Turkish and Greek Language radio programmers at SBS Melbourne, filled up Assos with other Languaeg presenters and entertained themselves in the best atmosphere for peace and multicultural life.

See CGAA web pages for more details on some of the activities.

http://www.adcom.com.au/cgaa