American Dreams: The Story of the Cyprus Fulbright Commission, tells the story of the 52-year run of an independent bicommunal educational institution founded in the hopes that it would help keep Cyprus within the circle of liberal democracies post-independence.
Through the lens of the Commission's work, it is also a history of American involvement in the island, where strategic interests, Cold War politics, and the idealistic vision of Senator J. William Fulbright came together to form one of the most unique such Commissions in the world.
It is also, in its own way, a history of the island and its people over the past 60-plus years and their efforts to reconcile their very different visions of how Greek and Turkish Cypriots might move forward together into the future.
The Cyprus Fulbright Commission was unique because of its bicommunal nature, where Greek and Turkish Cypriots worked and benefitted together; because a conversation between a Senator and an Ambassador led to a multi-million-dollar scholarship program that made the Commission - on a per capita basis - one of the largest in the world; and because the Commission poured millions of dollars into the quest for peace through a program of conflict resolution training.
The conflict resolution work did not always find a positive reception. The Commission was accused of "brainwashing" a population of Cypriots or committing treasonous acts in trying to teach Greek and Turkish Cypriots to find common ground.
A trio of Greek Cypriot Executive Directors and a group of committed Greek, Turkish, and American Board members kept the Commission focused on its mission. Their perseverance reflected Senator Fulbright's belief that education is a slow moving but powerful force.
Author Keith Peterson, a former diplomat, and Commission Board Chairman, draws on his extensive experience in Cyprus to capture the enduring legacy of the Fulbright Commission's commitment to educational exchange and diplomacy.
