What?
ΚαληMeraba (KaliMeraba) is a London-based Intercommunal Cypriot Community Interest Company. A community interest company (CIC) is a not-for-profit social enterprise that carries out activities for the benefit of a community. To put it simply, a CIC is halfway between a limited company and a charity.
At ΚαληMeraba, we aim to bring together all Cypriots through celebrating and exploring our culture, encompassing music, poetry, dance, cuisine, fashion, comedy, dialects and identity. This is why we primarily organise Cypriot-focused sociocultural and educational events.
When?
ΚαληMeraba made its presence on social media in March 2023 and held its first event in May 2023, which had sold out!
We officially became a registered CIC in July 2023, with that being said, we’re not entirely sure when our birthday is.
Where?
We are currently a mobile organisation, hosting events at the Hackney Cypriot Association (HCA) in Dalston and the Cypriot Community Centre (CCC) in Wood Green. In the mindset of intercommunalism, we decided to aim at holding our events at buildings with a reputation of where Cypriots from all communities frequented.
Why?
Individuals part of ΚαληMeraba have been active in Cypriot youth circles for several years and noticed that something was missing from the UK Cypriot community – a grassroots organisation that has a love to create a truly intercommunal presence for the Cypriot youth.
We know that many young Cypriots in the diaspora may feel disconnected or confused about Cypriotness or what it is to be of Cypriot heritage, which is why we take pride in being a welcoming group for Cypriots, what ever step of their journey they are at.
Statements
Purpose
As members of the UK Cypriot diaspora, ΚαληMeraba was born to celebrate our intercommunal Cypriot culture through
- Preserving and protecting the existing intercommunal Cypriot heritage to ensure its longevity;
- Expanding, enriching and facilitating the development of intercommunal Cypriot culture;
- Promoting and raising awareness of our general intercommunal Cypriot cultural heritage.
Vision
- Create a community network of ΚαληMeraba supporters (the Cypriot intercommunal diaspora), that can mobilise to create Cypriot-focused cultural, social and educational initiatives.
- Achieve regional/national coverage and awareness in Cypriot and UK media.
- Create awareness of intercommunal Cypriot culture in Global South communities beyond our own, such as Arab, Asian, Black and Latin, and build relationships with each other.
Mission
- Creating events: ΚαληMeraba will create and host intercommunal Cypriot events that have a social, cultural and educational theme.
- Building relationships:
- ΚαληMeraba will act as a mediator to strengthen relationships and networks between different groups in the UK Cypriot community to promote intercommunal Cypriot culture.
- ΚαληMeraba will build and maintain its own relationships with different elements of the wider Cypriot community.
- Providing support: ΚαληMeraba will support intercommunal cultural Cypriot events hosted by other organisations in the UK, through collaboration, advising, networking and promotion.
- Educating: ΚαληMeraba will provide educational material on Cypriot intercommunal culture.
Values
- Cooperation
- Dedication
- Enthusiasm
- Reflection
- Accountability
- Compassion
- Empathy
- Anti-racism
- Anti-nationalism
- Anti-colonialism
ΚαληMeraba 