Ethno Cyprus 2010

Hosted by an EU member very close to the Middle East countries, Ethno Cyprus started in 2005 and carries a strong peace and reconciliation dimension to the music camps. The participants quickly realise that traditional sounds from different ethnic styles are not so exclusive and attached to one ethnic identity, but rather that traditional music is a product of different influences that have been present within certain ethnical groups throughout history. Furthermore, participants have an opportunity to challenge the concept of what they feel is a personal understanding of what traditional music means to them as an exclusively cultural product. By identifying and performing songs that exist in different countries with similar musical elements but different lyrics, the participants of Ethno Cyprus gradually explored the overlapping dimensions of their traditions with the traditions of the others.

2010 was limited to participants from Greece, Turkey and both Cypriot communities as a part of the Cyprus in Action program which also added several new
dimensions to the experience. As typical to the program, Ethno Cyprus is based on peer-to-peer learning with educational content.