Future Worlds Center

Last updated
Future Worlds Center
TypeCivil Society Organization
Location
Founder
Yiannis Laouris
Main organ
Board of Directors
Affiliations Institute for 21st Century Agoras
Budget
1,000,000 Euro annually
Staff
20
Volunteers
>50
Website http://www.futureWorldsCenter.org
https://www.FutureWorlds.eu/wiki

Future Worlds Center (FWC) is a non-profit, non-Governmental independent organization active in programs with future orientation in areas related to positive social change, social entrepreneurship and transformation.

Contents

Founding history

Future Worlds Center was founded in 1991 as Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute. In the late 1990s, it expanded its operations pioneering in a number of humanitarian, multicultural and peace related projects,. [1] [2] At the end of 2005, with a new Constitution, it evolved into a larger organization with a pure international orientation integrating all humanitarian, peace, and multicultural activities under one umbrella.

Notable Operations

According to its new Constitution, Future Worlds Center is an incubator of ideas, projects, social entrepreneurs and organizations committed to socio-technical reforms. [3] Since its inception it has envisioned, designed and implemented more than 100 projects, employed more than 200 young scientists, and founded several organizations, including CYBER KIDS, Technology for peace, the Cyprus Safer Internet Center along with the Cyprus Safer Internet Hotline and Helpline, the Cyprus Community Media Centre [4] funded by the United Nations, Youth Power, [5] Cyprus NGO Platform "Development", the Cyprus Refugee Council. [6]

Innovations in Education

The organization has developed the curriculum for CYBER KIDS, a chain of computer learning centers, that started in Cyprus and expanded in 7 countries in the early 90s. CYBER KIDS was a mass-scale experiment to achieve massive social change in a whole country.

Future Worlds Center also implements many EC-funded projects that conduct research and inform societies about the safer use of the Internet; Cyberethics, [7] Cyprus’ Safer Internet Center, which includes a Hotline [8] and a Helpline. [9]

Promoting regional peace

Future Worlds Center pioneers in envisioning, designing and implementing projects that promote the culture of peace and reconciliation in Cyprus, the region and the globe. The Technology for peace, [10] [11] initiative in 1997, founded by Yiannis Laouris and Harry Anastasiou members of the Cyprus Conflict Resolution Trainers Group aimed to capitalize on the proliferation of the Internet as a means to break the communication barriers between the northern and the southern parts of divided Cyprus. Other notable peace projects include the Youth promoting Peace, [12] Civil Society Dialogue, the Act Beyond Borders, Everybody's song, [13] and many projects funded by HasNa Inc.

Active promoter of the MDGs

Future Worlds Center is leading a number of pan-European efforts, which aim to promote the Millennium Development Goals within Europe and in Sub-Saharan countries. It was a founding member of the Cyprus Islandwide Development NGO Platform [14] and the Cyprus Community Media Centre. [15] The Accessing Development Education project [16] has collected teaching materials or guidance books on topics like Development Education, [17] Global citizenship, Human Rights, Millennium Development Goals and many others from across Europe into one central depository. The Teach MDGs project [18] focuses on increasing awareness and public support for the Millennium Development Goals by actively engaging teacher training institutes, teachers and pupils in developing local oriented teaching resources promoting the MDGs with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa and integrate these into the educational systems of countries across Europe.

Supporting vulnerable groups

Future Worlds Center is the implementing organization of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representation in Cyprus. Its Humanitarian Affairs Unit implements projects that aim strengthening asylum for refugees and asylum seekers on the island. This Unit has founded the Unit of Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture. As of January 2018, a spin-off was created and the Cyprus Refugee Council was created.

Notable Awards

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Christakis</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyberethics</span>

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The Civil Society Dialogue Project followed the negative outcome of the referendum in Cyprus for the re-unification of the island, which took place on the 24 April 2004. A number of Cypriot peace pioneers launched the Civil Society Dialogue Project aiming to provide opportunities for disengaged peace builders to assume new initiatives. They have used the Structured Dialogic Design process as described by one of the fathers of the science, Dr. Aleco Christakis in his book. The project engaged more than 300 Cypriots from both sides of the Green line in structured dialogues. The first dialogue explored the obstacles which peace builders faced in their work. The participants developed a shared understanding of factors contributing to the perceived widening of the gap between the two divided communities in Cyprus. They came up with 121 ideas, which were structured using the science of dialogic design to highlight the five most influential: Media as puppets of political parties; The personal and financial interests of politicians and ordinary people on both sides; Leaders on each side do not want to share power; Disempowerment of the NGOs in north Cyprus and weak NGOs in the south who are suppressed; Provocative statements made by the leaders on both sides.

The Unit of Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture (URVT) has operated in Cyprus since 2005.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyprus Safer Internet Helpline</span>

The Cyprus Safer Internet Helpline is a service provided by the Cyprus Safer Internet Center project, coordinated by the Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute (CNTI). The Helpline ensures that not only children and adolescents but also adults have the opportunity to converse with experts in case they experience something negative on the Internet. Educated psychologists provide support and essential advice so that the crisis is overcome and the situation is confronted. Members of the public can reach the helpline at the number 7000 0 116. The communication is completely confidential and anonymous.

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Childnet International is a registered UK charity that aims to make the internet a safe place for children and young people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute</span>

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The Cyprus Conflict Resolution Trainers Group was founded in 1994 by about 30 Cypriot peace pioneers. Because this group has introduced conflict resolution and structured dialogue concepts to a few thousand Cypriots, it is credited for the formation of an embryonic peace movement.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Womankind (charity)</span>

Womankind, formerly known as the New York Asian Women's Centre (NYAWC), was founded in 1982 by a group of volunteers led by Pat Eng. In 2017, the NYAWC changed its name to Womankind. It is a non-profit organization which aims to empower Asian survivors of gender based violence. Womankind was initially a community awareness program designed to educate families about domestic violence in Chinatown, and then developed into a 24-hour multilingual hotline that now includes 18 different Asian languages and dialects. Womankind also provides Asian immigrant women confidential services including an emergency refuge, shelter services, crisis counseling, 24-hour online free multilingual hotline, welfare promotion, support groups, parenting workshops, children's services, volunteer training, community education, and some English courses. Each year, the organization receives over 3,000 hotline calls.

References

  1. Building A Multi-Ethnic and Multi-National Cyprus to Promote European Values and Regional and International Peace
  2. Extending EU Citizenship to the Eastern End of Europe
  3. "Future Worlds Center Vision and Mission - Future Worlds Center Wiki". www.futureworlds.eu.
  4. http://www.cypruscommunitymedia.org Cyprus Community Media Centre Website
  5. "Member Organizations | Youth Power Cyprus". Archived from the original on 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  6. "Cyprus Refugee Council". www.facebook.com.
  7. "CyberEthics". www.cyberethics.info.
  8. "Cyprus' Safer Internet Hotline". Archived from the original on July 31, 2011.
  9. Cyprus’ Safer Internet Helpline Archived 2012-08-03 at archive.today
  10. Laouris, Y. (2004). Information technology in the service of peacebuilding: the case of Cyprus. World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution, 60(1-2), 67-79. Article in World Futures about the project.
  11. Laouris, Y., & Laouri, R. (2008). Can information and mobile technologies serve to close the economic, educational, digital, and social gaps and accelerate development?. World Futures, 64(4), 254-275. Includes a MAP of all groups supported
  12. https://www.futureworlds.eu/wiki/Youth_Promoting_Peace Youth Promoting Peace; has organized >40 events in which thousands of people have participated.
  13. "IPage". Archived from the original on 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2019-12-22.
  14. List of national development platforms
  15. "Cypruscommunitymedia.org". www.cypruscommunitymedia.org.
  16. "Index of /". www.developmenteducation.info.
  17. "Development Education initiative in Europe". Archived from the original on 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
  18. "www.teachmdgs.net". Archived from the original on 2011-08-30. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  19. "Anna Lindh Award to Future Worlds Center - Future Worlds Center Wiki". www.futureworlds.eu.