Twenty years in the making — and only just beginning.
The Gateway Project was born from a football tournament in 2001, and two decades of patient, personal relationship-building. This is how a senior Dublin police officer, a village on a buffer zone, and a group of young people from inner-city Dublin grew into an international youth development initiative.
A gateway, by name and by nature.
The village of Pyla sits in the Larnaca District of Cyprus, inside the UN Buffer Zone. It retains its mixed Greek and Turkish Cypriot population — one of the very few places on the island where the two communities have continued to live side-by-side, continuously, through decades of division. It is also, formally, an EU village.
This geographical and socio-political context is unique in Europe. Pyla represents the possibilities inherent in spaces shared by different communities — and how inter-communal cohesion remains possible against the odds. That makes it a particularly suitable place to bring together young people from divided or disadvantaged communities, and enable them to learn intercultural and transferable skills.
And the name Pyla? It translates directly to gateway.
From a football pitch in 2001.
Brian Woods is a senior police officer in Dublin who previously served in the UN Civilian Police as Community Liaison Officer for Pyla. In 2001, he arranged for 15 participants in the Garda Youth Diversion Projects to travel from Dublin to Pyla for an informal football tournament.
For young people who had scarcely been beyond their inner-city neighbourhoods, it was life-changing.
Twenty years later, during a visit to Belvedere Youth Club in Dublin, Brian discovered that their lead youth worker had been on that 2001 exchange — and attributed the whole course of his career to that formative experience. Brian has maintained his contacts with Pyla ever since, building positive social capital. In discussion with the Municipality, he proposed developing an integrated process for youth development based on sport, non-formal education and intercultural learning.
That is The Gateway Project.
Two decades of trust, two years of building.
The first exchange
Brian Woods arranges for 15 young people from the Garda Youth Diversion Projects to travel from Dublin to Pyla for a football tournament.
Twenty years of relationships
Brian maintains contact with Pyla's community leaders, police colleagues and youth workers — quietly building the social capital the project would later draw on.
The seed of something bigger
At a visit to Belvedere Youth Club in Dublin, a lead youth worker credits his whole career to the 2001 exchange. Brian begins to imagine a scalable, integrated programme.
Gateway to Life Skills — pilot
Preliminary youth exchange organised by Pyla Community Council and Belvedere Youth Club. Young people from Dublin join Greek and Turkish Cypriot participants. Funded by Erasmus+ with support from Google and St Patrick's Cathedral.
Gateway to Community — Dublin exchange
35 young people aged 15+ from across Ireland and Cyprus meet in Dublin for a week of life-skills training, intercultural learning and shared action.
Incorporated in Cyprus
The Gateway Project (Pyla) Ltd. is formed as a not-for-profit, with an executive team, advisory board and youth council — all built on equal Greek and Turkish representation and gender balance.
RTÉ documentary broadcasts
Ireland's national broadcaster airs a documentary on Pyla, with the Gateway exchange at its heart.
Centre of excellence
An annual summer school welcomes 100 young people from across Europe and the world. Pyla becomes a hub for youth-worker training, volunteering, citizenship and democracy projects.
Built on relationships, not press releases.
Brian Woods
Brian served with the UN Civilian Police as Community Liaison Officer for Pyla, and has spent over twenty years building relationships with its Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. He has led the development of the Gateway Project from a single football tournament in 2001 into an international youth development initiative, working in partnership with Pyla Community Council and Belvedere Youth Club.
Four principles that shape every programme.
Equal voice
Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot and international voices carry equal weight — on our board, in our youth council, and in every room.
Youth-led
Young people aren't beneficiaries of this project. They are its authors, its storytellers and, increasingly, its leaders.
Non-formal
Learning happens in kitchens, on football pitches and on long bus rides. We follow best practice in non-formal education.
Rooted locally
International exchange is only useful if it strengthens home communities. Every programme feeds back into Pyla and Dublin.
A not-for-profit with parity built in.
Day-to-day leadership
Running programmes, managing partnerships and embedding the project in Pyla's daily life.
Equal Greek & Turkish voice
Balanced representation from both Cypriot communities, with gender balance across all seats.
Young people decide
A formal youth council shapes the programme, designs activities and holds the organisation to its values.
The Gateway Project (Pyla) Ltd. — a not-for-profit company incorporated in Cyprus in 2025.