Transparency helps public on thorny issues, says delegate from Cyprus
Cyprus is a tiny island country. A deeply divided country. The ongoing conflict between Turkey and the Republic of Cyrpus has been plaguing it for years. Because of the dispute Cyprus does not have a full UN recognition. All talks between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots have gone nowhere. George Makkoulis, the One Young World delegate from Cyprus, knows why. "Their negotiations are not transparent," he said in his address to the One Young World delegates during a panel on corruption and transparency.
George Makkoulis thinks that "being fully objective and transparent on the thorny issues helps public." And transparency, he believes, could one day bring Cypriots together. George's belief in power of transparency motivated him to establish TheCyprusProblem.com which is an online social platform enabling people to voice their opinion on key government decisions.
"We are focused on the political issue of Cyprus and our goal is to engage young Cypriots and give them the tools to have their voice heard by the decision makers," George said.
In his closing remarks, George urged the delegates to choose a problem, establish goals, decide for themselves how many years they are willing to invest in solving the problem and never give up along the way.