Unforgettable Memories, Made in Cyprus

Wow! The UCLan Global Youth Solution’s training for facilitators at Cyprus has been an unbelievable experience in many spheres. 

As a participant, I can boldly say the GYS approach to youth leadership training and community intervention is the best I have been part of.

Completely engaging, fun, reflective, fosters effective team work and team building, there is absolutely no “death by PowerPoint”.

Saving the best for last. Yas, the training lead took us to her favourite “chippy” in Lambros by the very salty sea. 

We had the best fish and chips ever, good enough to instantly rejuvenate us. We went for a walk by the water and a kick-about that left us all soaked to the briefs.

When we returned to the hotel, Vicky, Jo, Jamie and Taahirah thought it will be a bright idea to jump straight into the pool as we were all already wet, actually it was delightful!

Finally, we had to leave and although the training has been a huge success and the adventures epic, we were all ready to take a break from the holiday. We look forward to our next experience.

Lanre Olabode

Deliciously feeshy Cyprus

What a relief! It has been a very intensive last few days of GYS Leadership facilitator's training delivered by the duo of efficient Yasmeen Ali and amazing Wajid Khan.








Get ready world, a new breed of youth peer leadership trainers have been unleached! Bring on conflict resolution and community mediation. Lol!



After catching a breather, we headed for Ayia Napa for a celebratory dinner while visiting tourist attractions along the way led by our fantastic tour guide.






We visited a beautiful St. Angla Church next to the lake, Nissi beach, Greek cave and we had a walk round Ayia Napa after the deliciously "feeshy"meal at Ocean Basket.







The highlight of the day was the opportunity to celebrate with a newly married couple by the lake in Agia Napa, it was an absolutely heartwarming climax to a fabulous day.

Sunset in Cyprus

Day two of UCLan GYS facilitator's training and its hard to imagine that we have only been here for 5 days, it is beginning to feels like home.

At the end of the day's session, we embarked on a visit to two of Cyprus' amazing attractions, Salt Lake and Hala Sultan mosque. We enjoyed walking right in the middle of the lake and it was beautiful, yeah except there is no water in the lake. Lol.

As we approached the Hala Sultan mosque, the burial place of Prophet Mohammed's (SAW) aunt, we were in awe of the beautiful landscape casted by the edifice, an amazing Ottoman architecture.

There is a calming serenity about the place typical of ancient religious places of worship. And there was the cat that (now famous) for enjoying a good petting and a quick nap on Tania 's bag.

It was fantastic watching the sunset on our way back as we all walked "on the Salt Lake" and laughed about Taahirah's 2km run for a toilet.

Lanre Olabode.

GYS Ready, Set, Go! UCLan Cyprus

After two days of getting to know the city,  we made our way to the University of Central Lancashire Campus in Pyla, Cyprus. I must say we were all struck by the wow factor at the breathtaking design of the building and the state of the art facilities on offer.

We couldn't resist the appeal for selfies before getting into the training room for the first day of training.

And as expected, the day had an epic ending with pool volleyball and pizza party at the UCLan student accommodation.

Cyprus, A Good Mix of Old and New

"A good mix of old and new"
This was how Anita described the beautiful city of Lanarca. It was a terrific day round the city which started with a brunch and blackberry slush.

We visited the Castle of Lanarca dated to around 1382 - 1398 during the reign of King James 1 but was upgraded by Ottoman Turks. Epic!

We stopped by the historical mosque right next to the castle which according to one of the guides is 400 years old.  

My thought today is the significance of tourism to this city's economy and the impact wars and crisis have on people and cities all over the world.
The day ended on a high with a pool volleyball back at the hotel.

Lanre Olabode