By Briahnna Brown
Zinovia Kouvtellari, a 16-year-old Greek Cypriot, joined George Washington University’s Cyprus Youth Entrepreneurship Institute to explore something she didn’t have a chance to do back home, where she studied natural sciences.
After pitching her group’s social venture project, a café called SafeSpace that would offer youth counseling for career advice and mental health issues, Zinovia said she had thought entrepreneurship could not be fun. Throughout her week in the program, she said, she learned that people would really support social ventures with good causes.
“Seeing that there are people that actually care and want to give back, and they don't care about only making profits, it was really interesting,” Zinovia said. “It made me look around the world in a very different way.
The Cyprus Youth Entrepreneurship Institute exposes Greek and Turkish Cypriot high school students to new perspectives on conflict resolution and solutions to social issues through site visits to D.C. social ventures such as Dog Tag Bakery and institutions such as the Newseum.
As one of several summer pre-college offered through GW's Summer & Non-Degree Programs, this highly-selective institute is funded by the U.S. Embassy in Cyprus. In its fifth year at GW, the 14 students were selected from among 260 applicants. The institute also provides the Cypriot students a chance to learn new business perspectives on socially conscious entrepreneurial ventures.
The Cyprus conflict is an ongoing ethnic dispute between the Turkish and Greek islanders. The island is divided into Greek and Turkish communities, which are separated by a United Nations buffer zone that today allows travel between the two parts of the country. With an even mix of Turkish and Greek Cypriot students, the Cyprus Youth Entrepreneurship Institute also aims to help them develop skills needed for peace building.
Dean of Admissions Costas Solomou said that he is proud of GW’s commitment as global citizens to contribute toward Cyprus’ reunification.
“As a Greek Cypriot, I am impressed and encouraged by these students and their willingness to interact with each other in a meaningful way,” Dr. Solomou said. “Where governments have failed, these students are making progress by demonstrating a desire to coexist in a country that both sides call home.”
Zinovia Kouvtellari (C) pitches her group's social venture: SafeSpace, a cafe that would offer career and mental health counseling to Cyprus youth.
The course, which is led by GW Associate Teaching Professor of Management Stuart Levy, takes students through the process of presenting social entrepreneurship ideas and the components of developing, launching and sustaining a social venture. This included lessons on everything from funding the venture to developing a mission statement for an organization that offers value in the marketplace with a social impact, Dr. Levy explained.
“My objective, at the end of the day, is for students to understand the fundamentals of social entrepreneurship but even more so, to feel confident that they can successfully develop and execute a social venture once back home,” Dr. Levy said.
He said that the program is an annual highlight for him, as he sees the students enhance their knowledge base while developing close relationships with each other over the weeklong seminar.
“I see tremendous value in this program,” Dr. Levy continued, “from both the intercultural perspective and from the perspective of students igniting their passion to change, in a positive way, the society in which they live.”
For Defne Kansu, an 18-year-old Turkish Cypriot, the two groups cooperating effectively while brainstorming to improve each other’s entrepreneurial ideas was one of the highlights of the program. She plans to study international management and develop new business ventures, such as ConnecTed, the social venture her group pitched, which would be an app that brings Cypriot entrepreneurs and investors together for more successful ventures.
"This has truly inspired me,” Defne said. “It shows that we can have a business but also help others, and you shouldn't just be profit oriented."
Ozten Kivilcim, a 17-year-old Turkish Cypriot, noted that she has hope for the future from seeing that people do care about social issues that impact people all over the world. Through the course, she found that starting a social venture has some easier aspects, as well as some more difficult parts, which she learned through pitching her group’s social venture: Clean Fest, a monthly beach cleanup festival to promote sustainability in Cyprus.
The most significant thing she gained from this program was a new perspective on her Cypriot counterparts. The borders, she said, mean nothing to her anymore. “I noticed that the physical border between us is not a literal one back in Cyprus,” Ozten said. “We are so similar.”
Christos Metaxar, an 18-year-old Greek Cypriot, said that the knowledge the group gained through working with each other helped them grow a lot. For him, it’s all about making an impact toward positive change, which is showcased through his group’s social venture: Tab 4 Hope, a browser plug-in that would allow users to donate to different causes by simply watching an advertisement.
Christos plans on making an impact in Cyprus by getting involved in the country’s politics, and he said that through the program, he now has an idea of how he can fix some of the problems he sees in Cypriot society.
“We extended our minds beyond what we learned in Cyprus, that our side's the best, the other side is so strange, so different, so bloodthirsty,” Christos said. “We saw that we are all humans, and I think that if all of the Cypriots understood this, a solution would be so easy.”
