By Maria Andreas Christodoulou ~
AKROTIRI, CYPRUS (SOVEREIGN BASE AREA) — Under the sunny Mediterranean sky, Dhekelia’s community calendar is filled with cross-cultural activity erasing borders—where British army wives, Cypriot villagers, and foreign residents come together in plain and life-changing communal pursuits.
“Sport, music, and storytelling all bring us together to find what we have in common,” one Dhekelia community organizer says, “and every event makes stronger the bond that we build.”
Sporting Camaraderie on the Field
Every spring, British servicemen’s teams stationed in Dhekelia and Greek-Cypriot locals form the Cyprus Forces Football League, which holds games for everyone. The garrison is a unique warm hosting area where cultures are leveled: on purpose and by friendship. The 2024 event attracted more than 500 spectators, evidence of sporting’s power of reconciliation.
Schools as Meeting Grounds
Learning a second. Cypriot neighbours visit King Richard School, Dhekelia’s MOD secondary school, for periodic open days, science fair, and co-mixed school trips. Learning with St John’s School refines learning through collaboration and respect for each other.
And for prize? Physics and geography are acquired—and comprehension, language fundamentals, and cultural tolerance.
Shared Heritage, Shared Space
In March 2024, Dhekelia hosted an open-day of archaeology—courtesy British Forces Cyprus and the Department of Antiquities Republic of Cyprus—when families and children visited newly found ancient tombs and quarries adjacent to Dhekelia Airfield. Accompanied by archaeologists, people were encouraged to give their views on shared space and shared history.
No, not artifacts per se, but with living bridges across generations and cultures.
Stargazing for Peace
Deep and implicit, astronomy has overflowed cultural and political boundaries. Columba–Hypatia astronomy project, designed by GalileoMobile and Association for Historical Dialogue, brings together Greek-Cypriot, Turkish-Cypriot, and British school children under starry evening skies—speechless and silent together.
Wheelchair nights of star-gazing occur annually in Dhekelia—calling out to look beyond horizons and dream together.
A Shared Future in Everyday Events
From multi-racial feste and community clean-up to school parties and archaeological tour excavations, the review of Dhekelia activities is coming together as one: oneness through experience. With a rough tally of 7,000 Cypriots and 7,200 British military and dependents, the district is the best representation of being at peace with one another due to the SBA Administration commonwealth.
Each match game, school activity, archaeology field trip, or star party has space for possibility and simplicity of community formation—and demonstrates multiculturalism isn’t theory, it’s reality.
And as Dhekelia continues to advance into the future with new initiatives like subsidizing new community centers or other cultural services, its people want to maintain intact what is working: individuals uniting on the grounds of commonality of interests, similarities, and shared narratives.
When cultures diverse and rich converge in laughter, in discovery, or a victorious victory on the gridiron, Dhekelia’s populace sparkles—ensure that when there are firsts, there is bonding inevitable.
Sources:
- Akrotiri Primary School Curriculum & STEM approach dcs.schoolteachertoolkit.co.uk
- Early Years Setting at RAF Akrotiri/British Forces Cyprus akrotiri.school+9britishforcescyprus.info+9jpost.com+9
- Cyprus STEM Pilot Programme (Primary & Secondary) en.wikipedia.org+10akrotiri.school+10facebook.com+10
- British Council Cyprus STEM outreach & ESA/NASA Mission X integration en.wikipedia.org
- MRU STEM Education and Scientix school involvement stemschoollabel.eu+1stemschoollabel.eu+1
- EU Code Week & STEM inclusivity initiatives en.wikipedia.org
