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About
the Bi-communal Development Programme
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The
Bi-communal Development Programme's (BDP) role is to help
foster relations between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots
by helping them to conceive and implement projects of common
interest.
The
BDP fulfils this role by:
- Identifying
issues of common interest for both Greek Cypriots and
Turkish Cypriots.
- Encouraging
Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to work together on
projects designed to address these issues.
- Strengthening
the technical and financial capacities of professional
and non-governmental organisations island-wide, thus enhancing
their ability to play a constructive part in the BDP,
as well as in the strengthening of civil society as a
whole.
- Demonstrating
the benefit of implementing projects and activities that
improve conditions island-wide.
- Fostering
an atmosphere of co-operation which contributes to mutual
understanding, thereby promoting peace and facilitating
a smooth transition to a functioning post-settlement structure.
- Providing
humanitarian assistance, including a wide range of medical
and social assistance, in support to the activities of
UNFICYP, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.
Different
agencies or independent groups such as professional or non-governmental
organisations may submit their proposals for project funding
under the BDP within the context of requests for proposals
within the priority areas of the programme. A programme
steering committee then carefully reviews and evaluates
the proposals.
The
BDP covers an extensive and varied range of activities throughout
the island, and by 2005 was endowed with US$66.9 million,
provided mainly by USAID and complemented by UNDP.
When
the BDP was instituted in 1998, it concentrated initially
on three projects which at that time were considered to
be at the heart of the initiative: the Nicosia Master Plan,
the restoration of the Venetians walls of the old city of
Nicosia, and the rehabilitation of the Nicosia sanitary
sewage system.
Since
the launch of its initial projects, the BDP has evolved
into a fully-fledged, multi-disciplinary, comprehensive
initiative comprising over 180 projects in a variety of
important sectors.
 UNDP,
the UN's global development network with a presence
in 166 countries, is focused on assisting communities
worldwide to build and share solutions to the challenges
of democratic government, poverty reduction, crisis
prevention and recovery, energy and environment, information
and communications technology, and HIV/AIDS. |
 USAID's
history goes back to the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction
of Europe after World War Two. USAID, dedicated to
supporting economic growth, agriculture, trade, health,
democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance,
was created by executive order of President John F.
Kennedy in 1961, and is an independent federal government
agency. |
 UNOPS
is an arm of the United Nations responsible for the
project management of thousands of initiatives worldwide.
It provides a broad range of management services,
from the administration of loans for UN institutions
to the implementation of rehabilitation, reconstruction
and development projects in a variety of fields.
In
Cyprus, UNOPS has established a Programme Management
Unit to implement this programme.
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