Ambassador Schlicher spoke at the Award Ceremony about the Nicosia Master Plan project, largely funded by USAID, which was awarded the world’s largest architectural award—the Aga Khan Award for Architecture

Representatives from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the U.S. Government, the European Union, and the international community joined the former and current representatives of Nicosia in the Ledra Palace garden on April 18, 2008 to honor the vision and cooperation that led to the success of the Nicosia Master Plan.

In 2007, the Nicosia Master Plan project, largely funded by USAID, was awarded the world’s largest architectural award—the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Three hundred forty three projects were presented for consideration, 27 were reviewed on site by international experts, and nine Award recipients were selected by an independent Master Jury as having attained the highest standards of architectural excellence while reflecting the values of their specific environments. The rigor of its nomination and selection process has also made it, in the eyes of many observers, the world’s most important architectural prize.

Speakers at the Award Ceremony included current and former representatives of the Greek Cypriot community in Nicosia, Ms. Eleni Mavrou and Mr. Lellos Demetriades (respectively); current and former representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community in Nicosia, Mr. Cemal Bulutoglulari and Mr. Mustafa Akinci (respectively); Special Representative of the Secretary General, Elizabeth Spehar; Director of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Farrokh Derakhshani; UNDP Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Director Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS, Cihan Sultanoglu; UNHCR Representative Christina Planas; European Commission Representative Alessandra Viezzer and U.S. Ambassador Ronald Schlicher. Following the speeches, the audience watched video clips on a large outdoor screen of the international Aga Khan Award Ceremony, which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on September 4th, 2007.

Mrs. Eleni Mavrou and Mr. Cemal Bulutoglulari.

A collaborative and sustained effort to rehabilitate the walled city of Nicosia, the Nicosia Master Plan has helped to reverse the city’s physical and economic decline, using architectural restoration and reuse as the catalyst for improvement to the quality of life on both sides of this divided city. The Nicosia Master Plan received more than 16 million dollars between 1997 and 2004 from USAID through the UNDP Bi-Communal Development Program, the predecessor to Action for Cooperation and Trust (ACT). Today, the ACT program continues to create opportunities for both communities to work together on concrete projects which will benefit all people on the island, while at the same time promoting tolerance and mutual understanding.