Maria Hadjipavlou is an associate professor at the Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cyprus. She teaches comparative politics, gender studies, conflict resolution, international peace and security, and the Cyprus conflict from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Maria was educated in Cyprus, the UK and the United States. She has a PhD degree in social and political change, from Boston University (1987), and was a post-doctoral student at Harvard University (1991-1993). Maria was also a visiting scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University (1996-1997), where with Dr Andrea Bartoli she founded the Center of International Conflict Resolution (CICR), and she continues to be a senior research associate and supervisor to graduate students who work on Cyprus. Maria is a founding member and president of Cyprus Peace Center and the Cypriot Women's NGO, Hands Across the Divide. She is a consultant and member of expert teams at the Council for UNFPA and trained women in Afghanistan, Tunisia and Bradislava on gender and conflict resolution, and a trainer for WINPEACE (Women's Initiatives for Peace, Greece and Turkey) for the students' educational peace camps. Her book, "Women and Change in Cyprus: Feminisms and Gender in Conflict", was published in 2010.