The Cyprus Youth Dialogue Project Research Team is made up of the following members:
Dr. Nicos Peristianis (Project Coordinator) is President of the Council of the University of Nicosia and President of the Cyprus Sociological Association. He studied Sociology and Economics at the University of Kent, subsequently qualifying as a Fellow of the Communications, Advertising and Marketing Foundation in the UK. He received his Masters degree (M.Ed.) in Education from Trenton State University. He is a founding member of the Cyprus Academics Forum (a bi-communal NGO which brings together Greek and Turkish Cypriot academics). Dr. Peristianis has taken part and acted as co-ordinator in many research programmes since 1981. Many of these have focused on changing societal factors and problematic issues in Cyprus. For example: “The State of Family in Contemporary Cyprus” (The Department of Welfare, 2003), and “Values, Attitudes, Problems and Motivational Factors Influencing Young Athletes in Cyprus” (Cyprus Sports Federation, 2003). In 1999, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Indianapolis in recognition of his long contribution to international education.
Dr. Muharrem Faiz (Project Coordinator) has a graduate background in psychology and sociology and has been the Director of KADEM since 1998. He has been actively involved in over 250 qualitative and quantitative research projects, both at a local and international level, since 1989. Past areas of research include public opinion of members from both communities and the examination of perceptions and problems of Turkish-Cypriot youth. He is currently working as a coordinator for Eurobarometer Studies in Northern Cyprus. Dr. Faiz is also a member of the Cyprus Sociological Association.
Elisa Bosio (Assistant Project Coordinator) has a Bachelors degree in Business Administration. She successfully completed her postgraduate studies at the Manchester Business School – University of Manchester, attaining an MSc in Marketing. She is currently employed at the University of Nicosia as Marketing Officer and is involved in various international recruitment initiatives and activities.
Katerina Kokkinou (Research Administrator) has a Bachelors degree in Sociology from the University of Cyprus and is currently working towards completing her Masters degree, also in Sociology. Katerina has been working at the University as a researcher since 2002. Among many other research projects, she has been actively involved in two projects related to Cypriot youth sponsored by the Cyprus Youth Organisation. She was a researcher in a social scientific survey entitled “Changing Youth Attitudes in Cyprus” and, more recently, the co-author of another such study entitled “Study for Leisure Time, Employment, Relationships, Perceptions and Problems of Cypriot Youth”.
İsmet Cabacaba (Research Administrator) obtained her degree in Sociology from the University of Ankara. In the past she has worked for Ekart Research and Consultancy and K. Continental Bank. She is currently employed at KADEM.
John C. Mavris (Communications and Events Officer) has a Bachelors degree in Combined Social Sciences. He completed his postgraduate degree at the University of Manchester obtaining a MA in Cultural History. John has served as a research assistant/intern at the Center for the Study of Childhood and Adolescence, assisting in the development of research initiatives geared towards youth. He is currently the Director of Communications at the University of Nicosia. In addition to the duties and responsibilities this position entails,John is also the project coordinator of an EU funded research project relating to borders and identities in the new Europe.
The Research Team is also supported by the following individuals who serve as research experts:
Deniz Kılıç Aksu has a degree in Psychology from Near East University. Her previous experience includes serving as a part-time consultant for KAYAD, a Woman’s Association. She has been working with KADEM since 2003.
Dr. Olga Demetriou completed a Ph.D. (LSE) thesis on the politicisation of Turkish minority identities in Greece in 2002. She carried out research at Wolfson College, Cambridge between 2001 and 2003, St Peter's College, Oxford, between 2003 and 2005, and at the European Studies Centre, St Antony's College, Oxford, between 2005 and 2006. Her current research focuses on the process of political subjectivisation in Cyprus following the opening of the border and accession to the EU. She has organised workshops on political change in South Eastern Europe and has written on gender and migration, space and exclusion, political humour, nationalism and historiography, and minority policies. She has published in journals such as Identities, Cultural Anthropology, Ethnic and Racial Studies, and History and Anthropology. She was also involved in EUBORDERCONF, an FP5-funded project, as an associate of the University of Nicosia, where she explored the impact of the island’s EU accession process on the inter-ethnic conflict.
Dr. Mike Hajimichael is an Assistant Professor at the University of Nicosia in the Communications Department. He studied at Birmingham University – returning to Cyprus in 1995. Currently he is project coordinator of a research project on ‘Policy and Practice – ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ in contemporary Cyprus’ funded by The Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation. This project is headed by Professor John Solomos of City University, London. He has also conducted research with The Runnyemeade Trust in the UK on Equal Opportunities and ‘Race’ (1989). Besides being an academic he is also a reggae poet, recording artist/producer, podcaster and co-manages an independent multicultural non-profit music label, Olive Tree Music.
Dr. Nicos Kartakoullis is the Director of the Centre for Leisure, Tourism, Sports Research and Development and an Associate Professor in the School of Business at the University of Nicosia. As a Fullbright scholar he received his BSc [Hons] Degree form Michigan State University, holds three postgraduate degrees [MA (Ed.), MSc, MBA] and has earned his PhD from the University of Southampton, UK. He previously served as Director General of the Cyprus National Olympic Committee for nine years. He is the National Correspondent of the Youth Board of the Republic of Cyprus to the Council of Europe and has served on the Board of the Cyprus National Olympic Academy and the Board of the Cyprus National Anti-Doping Committee. He is a member of the editorial board of the scientific journal “Sport and Economy” and a member of the Panhellenic Association for Sport Economics and Sport Managers. He has published in the areas of sport management, leisure and tourism management and youth policy. He has represented the Republic of Cyprus and presented in over 55 conferences worldwide.
Dr. Michalis Koutsoulis an Assistant Professor in Education, holds a BSc degree in Physical education from Aristotelian University in Thessaloniki, Greece, an MSc degree in Secondary Education from St. John’s University and an Ed.D degree in Instructional Leadership from the same University. He also holds a Diploma in Sociology from the Center of Human Studies in Thessaloniki. He is currently teaching at the University of Nicosia, Cyprus. His area of teaching is School Administration and Educational Research. In the past, Dr Koutsoulis was an adjunct lecturer at St. John’s University (1994-1995, and summer of 2000 and 2001) teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate programs. He has served as a chair, editor of proceedings and member of scientific committees of Cyprus and Greek Educational Conferences. His research interests include school administration and school effectiveness. His research work has been supported by various research grants and has been published in International Conference Proceedings and Journals.
Dr. Christos Panayiotopoulos is Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of the Social Work Program at Intercollege since September 2005. He obtained his PhD from the School of Psychiatry & Behavioural Sciences in 2002 at the University of Manchester. Since then, he has been involved in research and teaching in academic institutions in Cyprus and the UK. His main research interests and publications in peer reviewed journals focus on inclusive practices (social and educational inclusion) for vulnerable people such as children, young people and families. However, for the last two years his research work has been concentrated in domestic violence. He has done evaluation work for the Prevention and Handling of Family Violence Board and he is currently the scientific coordinator for the development of the National Strategic Plan for Children for 2007-2013.
Dr. Constantinos N Phellas is an Associate Professor in Sociology at the School of Humanities, Social Science & Law, at the University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus. His primary area of research and publications focus upon the intersection of gender, culture, and issues of sexuality among ethnic minority communities, HIV/AIDS, social & psychological aspects of public health domain. He is working on a European Programme (funded by EU) exploring the Quality of Life among Families in Europe and Gender Discrimination. Additionally, he is the Director of the Research Unit in Behaviour & Social Issues (A Non-Profit, Non-Governmental Organisation) whose mission is to improve the understanding of the processes and mechanisms which influence the social & psychological health and well-being of the Cypriot population. Since November 2005 he has been appointed as the President of the Cyprus’ Review Ethics Committee on Clinical Trials on Medicinal Products for Human Use
Dr. Stavros Pouloukas is an Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Nicosia. He has a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and an MSc in Mathematics from Western Michigan University. He began his doctorate at Western Michigan University in 1990 and received his PhD in Statistic in 1994. Over the years he has lectured in Mathematics and Statistics. His research interests lie in Epidemilogy and Survival Analysis in Medical Statistics and in Multivariate Analysis in the Social Sciences. During the last 13 years he has been involved in many funded projects in Medicine and the Social Sciences.
Dr. Stelios Stylianou (PhD, University of Washington-Seattle, 2000) is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Nicosia. His areas of concentration are criminology and research methodology. His research interests include the moral structure of social control, attitudes toward victimless deviance, perceptions of crime seriousness, the etiology of deviant and criminal behavior, and social and criminological measurement (quantitative and qualitative). He has carried out several surveys and in-depth investigations and has directed two nation-wide state funded projects (on juvenile delinquency and drug use). He has published in professional journals on various subjects, including low self-control, perceptions of crime seriousness, control attitudes and perceptions of drug use, and the role of religiosity in the opposition to drug use. He recently published a book on juvenile delinquency in Cyprus through University of Nicosia Press.