Choose how you'd like to support our 2026 campaign:
Help us preserve and promote Cypriot culture in 2026. Our goal is again £500, building on the progress we made last year and keeping the project accessible to everyone.
Support the next stage of Cylingo with new features, audio pronunciations, cultural context, and continued dictionary growth.
Cylingo is a growing archive of Cypriot lexical items, created to document and protect the words used across the island. Our collection includes more than 2,000 words and expressions: some are widely shared, some are specific to Greek Cypriot or Turkish Cypriot speech, and others belong to the island’s different communities.
Cypriot speech is not the same everywhere. Local words and forms vary from Paphos to Rizokarpaso and Dillirga, and from village to village. We want to record that variation with care, rather than flatten it into a single version of Cypriot.
Cylingo is a non-profit, volunteer-led project. We maintain an accessible place to explore and learn these words, grow the dictionary with community knowledge, and organize events that teach and inform the public. We believe Cypriot culture belongs to everyone—from people on the island to the diaspora—and that far more public education is needed to preserve, protect, and study how Cypriot dialects grow.
Our long-term ambition is to grow the dictionary and team into an officially recognized, trusted body for Cypriot words: a resource people can consult with confidence, return to refresh their memories, and use to pass this knowledge on to future generations. Cylingo is non-political and does not represent an official political position.
Cylingo is Cyprus’s sole national nominee in Culture & Heritage for WSA 2026. The WSA Global Office described it as Cyprus’s most innovative digital solution in this field.
A meaningful recognition for the volunteers and communities keeping the island’s languages alive.
Nominated by WSA National Expert Irene Polycarpou for the 24th World Summit Awards.
This is a national nomination, not a global award. An international jury will determine the global winners later.
Founder
Directs the project, coordinates the team, works on software development, manages the word database and finances, organizes events, adds words to the archive, arranges traditional media appearances, and runs side projects for the organization. Passionate about preserving Cypriot linguistic heritage through technology.
Founder (2024.03/2026.07)
His role consisted of coordinating the team, arranging the meetings and finding/checking the words, and taking care of the social media. Lastly, he contributes by developing a better understanding between communities.
Software Lead | Board Member
Leads software development and application architecture. Ensures technical excellence and optimal user experience across all digital platforms.
Creative and Design Director | Board Member
Leads the creative vision and design direction of the project. Brings artistic flair and innovative design solutions to enhance user experience and visual identity.
Greek Cypriot dialect guide
Provides expertise and guidance on Greek Cypriot dialect, helping to ensure accurate representation and preservation of Greek Cypriot linguistic heritage.
Social Media Manager
Manages social media presence and community engagement. Helps spread awareness about Cypriot language and culture across digital platforms.
Linguistic Specialist
Provides social media content. Organises, manages and promotes Cylingo Events.
Greek Linguistics Advisor
Advises on matters of Cypriot Greek linguistics and its orthographic convention for Cylingo. Assists with vocabulary, expressions, and other Cypriot cultural matters.
Translation Specialist
Translates from Turkish or English to Greek and Cypriot Greek, while also contributing to the common words archive and supporting any work that combines Greek and Turkish elements in the Cypriot dialects and culture. She also contributes on Cypriot Greek content such as social media posts and website games. She organises and designs games for Events.
Social Content Specialist
Loves using language as a way to bring people together. At CyLingo, she contributes creative ideas for social media and helps develop Greek Cypriot content and translations. She enjoys encouraging collaboration and a positive team spirit.
Help bring Cyprus’s languages and communities together. Talk to us about:
We plan to hold Shared Tongue every year and welcome conversations with potential sponsors and collaborators.
Discuss a partnershipCylingo events
Cylingo joined Voices Across the Boarder for a youth event attended by 40 people on 5 September 2026. The event was UN-funded.
Our biggest event brought together 130 people at Ledra Palace with UYC. Three experts explored Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot dialects and Sanna (Cypriot Maronite Arabic).
The event was funded by Nicosia Turkish Municipality. The UN provided free access to the UN-controlled venue and technical assistance.
We plan to hold this event every year and welcome sponsors for future editions. Get in touch about sponsoring
At Creating Friendships for Peace’s camp in Troodos, Cyprus, Cylingo led a dialect panel and played educational games with 40 teens from both communities of the island. The event was funded by Creating Friendships for Peace (CFP).
Cylingo and Youth Federation (Gençlik Federasyonu) held a discussion panel titled “Should Cypriot be used more” at Blck Bird Social in the walled city of Nicosia, with 10+ people attending.
Photographs from our January 2026 language meet-up with the Cylingo community.
Hosted by Creating Friendships for Peace (CFP), this webinar invited Cylingo to speak alongside the peace organisation HADE! about language as a tool for peace.
Cylingo was invited by Famagusta Turkish Municipality to the Famagusta Youth Festival in Famagusta, where we taught visitors Cypriot and played games together.
Cylingo was invited to the Söz Gençte festival at Kızılbaş Church and given a table where we played games with attendees. Hundreds of people attended the festival.
Organised by Voices Across the Boarder (VAB) at Ledra Palace and funded by the United Nations, the First Summer Games marked Cylingo’s first collaboration with VAB.
Cylingo’s work has been featured across television, newspapers, digital publications, and community platforms, highlighting our mission to preserve Cypriot dialects, phonetics, and linguistic heritage.
Kıbrıs Postası ·
Kıbrıs Postası reports on Cylingo’s national nomination for WSA 2026 in Culture & Heritage, bringing attention to the project’s work with Cyprus’s linguistic heritage.
Read on Kıbrıs Postası (Turkish)Avrupa · Newspaper clipping (Turkish)
Avrupa reports on Cylingo’s national nomination to represent Cyprus in the Culture & Heritage category of WSA 2026.
Open full-size clipping (Turkish)INK Cyprus featured Cylingo in a report about the shared words that connect Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, and the people working to preserve them before they disappear.
Read Full ArticleVoice Kıbrıs Haber covered the “Adamızın Dili” event organized by United Youth of Cyprus and Cylingo, featuring the Cylingo mobile app and a panel on Cyprus’s multilingual heritage.
Read Full ArticleVoice Cyprus News featured Cylingo team member Eftychios Kaimakkamis in an article discussing Greek Cypriot phonetics, Cypriot dialect, and efforts to preserve Sanna, the Cypriot Arabic language.
Read Full ArticleCyprus Mail features Cylingo and its work recording the languages of Cyprus.
Read Full ArticleYenidüzen reports on Cylingo and the 2,000+ words shared by Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots.
Read Full ArticleIn this personal feature, Cylingo founder Doruk Ekingen shares the story behind the project and its mission to preserve Cyprus’s disappearing words and dialects. Published 14 December 2025.
Read Full Article
Cylingo featured in Argasdi Newspaper by Baraka Kultur.
Published 30 September 2026, Avrupa Newspaper recognized Doruk Ekingen and Uğurcan Karşılı as its “Heroes of the Day” for developing the Cylingo Cypriot Dictionary and protecting more than 2,000 shared words.
Doruk Ekingen and Cylingo featured in Creating Friendship for Peace publication.
“Cylingo is essentially a struggle” - Software Director Selçuk Görsay interviewed by Voice Kıbrıs Haber.
Read Full ArticleCylingo featured in Kıbrıs Postası newspaper article by Halef Kurt.
A Cylingo promotional video made with Ioanna Chrysovitsioti.
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