The education ministry fulfilled its delayed manifesto towards restarting the bicommunal Imagine education programme, with the issuing of circulars to public schools announced on Wednesday.

The circulars, promised since January, were finally sent to public schools outlining procedures for participation in the programme, which brings together Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot students through workshops on peace education, anti-racism and human rights.

Despite the move, no official announcement has been made by Turkish Cypriot officials regarding updates or coordination on the programme’s implementation.

The Imagine programme is implemented under the association for historical dialogue and research (AHDR), under the auspices of the Technical Committee on education and is funded by the German federal foreign office.

Education minister Athena Michaelidou had assured in December that the programme would resume in January following adjustments to its framework.

However, schools did not receive formal guidance until this week, leaving the programme effectively stalled for much of the academic year.

The delays come as the UN high commissioner’s office for human rights sharply criticised the lack of progress on peace education in Cyprus.

In its latest report, the UN office said it “regrets that the Turkish Cypriot authorities have still not resumed their support for the award-winning Imagine project”, describing it as “the only mechanism in Cyprus that has successfully brought together more than 8,200 students and 2,560 teachers from both communities.”

The report commented that, despite political obstacles, the AHDR continued implementing the project by organising bicommunal meetings outside school hours and producing educational material”.

The UN office also confirmed that in February and March 2025 certain Greek Cypriot MPs and political parties used “divisive narratives and misinformation” to attack and politicise student exchanges organised under Imagine.

It said that as a result, “for the first time since 2017, the Republic of Cyprus did not circulate the letter on the organisation of the project’s activities within Greek Cypriot schools for the 2025/26 academic year”, despite what it described as “overwhelming support” from other MPs, teachers and civil society actors.

Supporters of Imagine have repeatedly stressed its symbolic and practical importance.

Nicosia mayor Charalambos Prountzos recently said that “hope is an active endeavour”, adding that it must be translated into “tangible cooperation, starting with children”.

His Turkish Cypriot counterpart, Mehmet Harmanci, echoed the sentiment, saying, “If we are to achieve peace on this island, if we are to achieve reconciliation and solidarity, then we need to actually know each other.”

AHDR director Loizos Loukaidis had previously commented that the organisation would continue its work regardless of political delays.

“Our work cannot be paused while we wait for politics to catch up with reality, nor can it be silenced by stalemates or setbacks,” he said, calling for sustained institutional backing.

The programme has been running in a restructured format since October 2022, when former Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar withdrew from its bicommunal component.