With the reopening today (14 June) of the Goethe-Institut Nicosia, the Federal Foreign Office and the Goethe-Institut are sending a clear message about the importance of bringing the civil societies of the divided island closer together. The Goethe-Institut building located in the buffer zone between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities is symbolic also of its special mission on the island. The Government of Cyprus had informed the Federal Foreign Office of its desire to see the Goethe-Institut reopen; in 2010 the Federal Foreign Office agreed the necessary arrangements with the Goethe-Institut.

With her presence at the reopening ceremony, Minister of State Cornelia Pieper will be highlighting the special significance of the Goethe-Institut’s work in Cyprus. She will also hold talks with representatives of civil society in both parts of the island.

There was a Goethe-Institut operating in Nicosia from 1961 to 1999. With the planned reopening, its downgrading for financial reasons to a Goethe-Zentrum (with no staff seconded from Germany) will now be reversed.