Charalambos Solonos

Charalambos Solonos Period at FWC June 2011- present Field of Study Diplomacy, Politics and International Relations,Conflict Resolution, History, Education, Youth policies Local Mentor Corina Drousiotou Involvement at FWC Strengthening Asylum for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Cyprus 3rd International SDDP Facilitators Training School Accessing Development Education From Local to Global Teach Millennium Development Goals

He was born in Nicosia in 1986. He joined Future Worlds Center in June 2011 as an Intern. He stayed there as an intern until the end of September and now he is an associate. He is an ambitious young man, a History-Archaeology graduate & a Diplomacy postgraduate seeking for a challenging role in the dynamic environment of social/political affairs in order to develop and add to these skills.

Work Experience

• Dates: 23/05/2013 –

Organisation: Democratic Rally of Cyprus, House of Representatives ,Position Held: Parliamentary Assistant

• Dates: 01/09/2012 – 31/12/2012

Organisation: Government of Cyprus, Secretariat of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU ,Position Held: Liaison Officer (voluntary – unpaid)

• Dates: 01/03/2012 – 31/07/2012

Organisation: European Union – European Commission (DG COMM) ,Position Held: Trainee Placement at Directorate General for Communication in Nicosia, Cyprus – Permanent Representation of European Commission in Cyprus

• Dates: 01/10/2011 – 30/11/2011 and 05/10/2010 – 11/03/2011

Organisation: Ministry of Finance of Cyprus: Statistical Service, Registration Department ,Position Held: Enumerator of the Statistical Service

Education

University of Nottingham, September 2009 – September 2010

• Degree: M.A. Diplomacy
• Fields of study:Public International Law, Evolution of Diplomacy, Diplomacy: Theory and Practice, Terrorism and Insurgencies, Ethnic conflict and Conflict Resolution: Theories and Cases, Europe and the Developing World
• Dissertation Topic: The EU and the Transformation of Border Conflicts: The case of Cyprus and the EU’s Impact on the Conflict. The dissertation argues that there is no direct causal effect of integration (or association) on border conflict transformation; such an effect, no matter how positive it is, is always mediated by local events and actors.

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece 2005 - 2009

• Degree: B.A. History and Archaeology
• Fields of study:Ancient Greece History, Modern Era and Modern History, History of Education, Greek Literature,Roman Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology,English Literature,Theory and Methodology in History Social Organisation, Folklore and Social Anthropology, Christian and Byzantine Archaeology.

Kykkos A’ Lyceum,(19/20) Nicosia, Cyprus, 2001 - 2004

• Degree:Secondary Education Certificate, Human and Social Sciences
• Fields of study: English Language and Literature, Modern Greek,Ancient Greek,History,Latin

Workshops - Seminars

• Participated in a three-day seminar against drugs usage organised by the Ministry of Education of Cyprus in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, 16th – 18th of March, 2000.
• Participated in workshops and presentations at international institutions such as Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael, NATO, European Parliament, European Commission, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) from 26th – 30th of April, 2010, in the Hague and Brussels.
• Participated in a three-day seminar for the ‘Cyprus Issue’ organised by the ‘Tassos Papadopoulos’ Research Institute (Nicosia, Cyprus, 8th – 10th of April, 2011).
• Participated in ‘RE: ACT! - Youth Leader Training 2011’ in Paphos, Kritou Terra, Cyprus, from 16th – 20th of June, 2011. The training was offered by the NGO Cyprus Network for Youth Development (Future Worlds Center, the Mediation Association and the Cyprus Environmental Studies Centre). The programme was in the framework of the project ‘Youth Activism’ which was funded by UNDP ‘Action for cooperation and Trust’ and explored topics such as teamwork, leadership and decision-making, conflict resolution and compassionate (non-violent) communication, thinking skills and problem-solving, environmental sustainability and event management and planning.
• Participated at the 3rd International Summer School on Structured Dialogic Design which was organised by Future Worlds Center in collaboration with the Institute for 21st Century Agoras, in Nicosia, Cyprus, from 25th - 27th of July, 2011. Learning objectives: i) Reaching a mutual understanding and building consensus on the main challenges related to civil society organizations and local authorities involved in cooperation, ii) Finding ways to improve the effectiveness of civil society organizations and local authorities involved in cooperation, to advance and strengthen partnerships and exploring ways to adapt EC modalities accordingly.
• Participated on Youthcamp 2011 in Ballerup, Denmark, from 11th – 14th of August, 2011: the camp consisted of a series of workshops about democracy, international political cooperation, project development, youth participation in decision making processes and much more.
• Coordinated the conference ‘From Local to Global’ (NGO Future Worlds Center from Cyprus in partnership with NGO Youth Career and Advising Center from Lithuania) from 24th – 26th of September, 2011, at Paphos Gardens Holiday Resort, Cyprus. This educational programme helped local communities on contributing to EU Global Policies and on the eight Millennium Development Goals. 20 students from Cyprus and 20 students from Lithuania engaged in debates and identified common youth problems but also solutions to these problems.
• Participated in the first transnational meeting of the Lifelong Learning Programme Leonardo Da Vinci project called ‘The Project Method as a creative model in VET (Vocational Education Training)’, which took place in Krakόw, Poland, from 17th – 20th of October, 2011.
• Participated in the training course 'Coach Me if You Can' organised by Youth Express Network under the Youth in Action programme of the European Commission, from 20th – 26th of November, 2011, in Vila Da Marmeleira, Portugal. Leaders of associations coming from 15 European countries received and gave training on methods to support the empowerment and inclusion of young people in the labour market and in citizenship.
• Participated at the workshop 'AHDR Professional Development Program for History Educators' organised by the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research - MIDE II, which took place in Nicosia - Cyprus on 6th April 2012.
• Participated at the workshop 'Using democratic dialogue to reinvent democracy' organised by the Future Worlds Center in collaboration with EU Youth in Action Programme in Paphos, Cyprus, 28th June – 4th July 2012. The method of Structured Dialogic Design was used by 12 Cypriots and 12 Greeks in order to reinvent the definition of democracy.
• Participated in the training course 'Take A Risk!' organised by Youth Express Network under the Youth in Action programme of the European Commission, from 17th – 23rd of August, 2012, in Giraiciai, Lithuania. Leaders of associations coming from 15 European countries received and gave training on methods to fight unemployment of young people and to invest on entrepreneurship.
• Participated at the thematic training ‘Policy Coherence for Development (PCD)’ organized by the Cyprus Islandwide Development NGO Platform (CYINDEP) which is member of the European NGO Confederation for relief and development (CONCORD). The training took place on 12th and 13th of September, 2012, at Home for Cooperation, located within the Buffer Zone, Nicosia, Cyprus. The training led the Danish CONCORD delegation.
• Participated at the workshop 'Reinventing Democracy in the Digital Era' organised by the Future Worlds Center in collaboration with the Digital Future Task Force of the DG CONNECT of the European Commission in Nicosia, Cyprus, on 14th and 15th of September, 2012. The method of Structured Dialogic Design was used by 25 participants all over Europe in order to reinvent the definition of democracy in the future within the Digital Era.
• Participated as CYINDEP’s volunteer at the Euro-Mediterranean ‘Souk’: Citizens as Actors of Change, which took place at UN Buffer zone in Cyprus on 12th of October, 2012. Cyprus NGO Platform “the development”, on behalf of the Cyprus Island –wide NGO Development Platform- CYINDEP organised an International Civil Society Conference, bringing together civil society organisations, activists and academics from the EU as well as from the ENPI South countries and aimed to provide an open space, inspired by Mediterranean market places, for participating NGOs to pitch their ideas and initiatives to a live audience, to form discussion groups, offer small workshops, to network and learn from each other.
• Participated as CYINDEP’s volunteer at the seventh edition of the European Development Days (EDD12), organised by the Directorate of Development and Cooperation – Europeaid – European Commission, which took place on 16th and 17th of October 2012 in Brussels, Belgium. Heads of state/government, policy-makers, practitioners from the field, and stakeholders all came together to discuss and brainstorm the current state of EU development policy and perspectives for the future.
• Participated as CYINDEP’s volunteer at the Global Civil Society Symposium entitled ‘The World We Want – Global Civil Society Symposium: Food Security and Nutrition in the Post-2015 Development Framework’, which took place at the Home for Cooperation in Nicosia on 22nd and 23rd of November 2012. The Symposium focused specifically on the issues surrounding food security and nutrition, aimed to bring together civil society members from around the world for a round of discussion featuring a high level panel.
• Appeared in February 2013 at the Cyprus Broadcasting Cooperation (CyBC) TV programme speaking about Euro-scepticism, Cypriot EU Presidency of the Council, volunteering, Cyprus-EU relations, financial recession, youth policies and in general his experience while liaison officer at the Cypriot EU presidency of the Council from July 2012 until December 2012.
• Appeared in February 2013 at the Cyprus Broadcasting Cooperation (CyBC) TV programme speaking about his experience while trainee at the European Commission’s Representation in Cyprus. Furthermore, he explained the procedures to be undertaken in regards to European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) applications, other European job opportunities and traineeships within the European institutions and answered in real time citizen’s inquiries.
• Participated at the workshop 'Youth Ambassadors for Structure Dialogue' organised by the Cyprus Youth Council in collaboration with EU Youth in Action Programme and Youth Board of Cyprus in Agros, Cyprus, 2nd March – 3rd March 2013. The method of Structured Dialogue was thoroughly explained and analysed. The participants were appointed as Youth Ambassadors to spread the knowledge. Outreach material was prepared for the EU Youth Conference in Dublin the same month.
• Participated as a Cypriot youth representative at the EU Youth Conference organised by the Irish EU Presidency of the Council in Dublin, Ireland, 11th -13th March 2013. The EU Youth Conference is an element of the Structured Dialogue process which brings together young people and policy makers across the European Union to jointly discuss and inform the development of youth policy national and European level. Young people and ministry officials from the 27 member states have jointly defined the conclusions; these will inform a Council Resolution on Social Inclusion.
• Participated as a facilitator of discussions at the TeachMDGs concluding project symposium which was organised by EU, Future Worlds Center (Cyprus), Youth Career and Advising Centre (Lithuania), C.E.G.A. Foundation (Bulgaria), NGO Mondo (Estonia) and Scotdec (Scotland) in Limassol, Cyprus, 19th – 20th March 2013. The project brought together partners as well as representatives from one of the twinned school-pairs to present their school’s commitment to the MDGs and to showcase the teaching resources developed during the project. Participants developed a set of recommendations for the inclusion of development education in general, and MDGs in particular into the school curriculum. These recommendations would be submitted to relevant ministries of educations.
• Appeared in March 2013 at the Cyprus Broadcasting Cooperation (CyBC) TV programme speaking about multiculturalism, diversity, social inclusion, prejudice, stereotypes and youth policies as part of Youth for Exchange and Understanding team at the event ‘Human Library’, which took place at the University of Cyprus on 4th of March 2013.