Across the Green Line in Cyprus: Lessons in Queer Solidarity and Resistance

What can a small, divided island teach LGBTI activists about working across differences to build real resistance, solidarity, and power? Listen to our latest podcast from activists working across the Green Line in Cyprus.


Cyprus is often framed as a polarised place, but its LGBTI movement is rewriting that story. In this episode of The Frontline, activists from both sides of the green line that divides Cyprus, talk about how they’re challenging division, confronting rising hate, and reclaiming their space through protest, dialogue, and community care.


Recorded at ILGA-Europe’s Annual Conference in October, Stephanos Stavros Evangelides from Accept LGBTI Cyprus (https://accept.cy/home/) in the Republic of Cyprus residing in the southern part, and Reşat Şaban from Queer Cyprus Association (https://www.queercyprus.org/en/), across the Green Line in the northern part of Cyprus, speak about how cooperation between the two organisations has a become a driving force for wider social transformation in Cyprus and beyond.


You’ll hear how a movement shaped by occupation, nationalism, and deep social conservatism has grown into a force for unity, equality, and justice. This isn’t just a local struggle, it’s a blueprint for cooperation in the current political context, despite deep differences.


Stephanos and Reşat unpack how they collectively take on far-right rhetoric, anti-rights backlash, and navigate post-colonial traumas, all while building bridges across communities and borders. Through their wins, missteps, and lessons learned, they offer practical strategies that activists across Europe and Central Asia can apply right now.


If you’re navigating political division, institutional neglect, or rising hostility, this episode gives you an honest, inspiring look at how to stay resilient, and how queer liberation can fuel broader movements for peace and justice.


Subscribe to The Frontline for more episodes with LGBTI organisers sharing movement expertise and exploring what effective activism looks like.


This episode is part of a series of podcasts, blogs and resources from ILGA-Europe’s Annual Conference in October 2025, looking at what it takes to work across differences to become a united movement for LGBTI human rights in the current political climate.


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