It was on April 21, 2003, that a number of educators and researchers, with an active interest in the teaching and learning of history, decided to establish a non-governmental, non-profitable, multi- communal organisation in Cyprus and named it The Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR). Since then, the AHDR has organised and developed a range of projects and activities, such as teacher training workshops and the creation of supplementary materials, in order to work towards its greater aims.

The birth of the Association almost coincided with a historic change that took place on the island when on 23 April 2003 travel restrictions between the two sides of the Green Line in Cyprus were eased and several thousand Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots had their first chance since 1974 to cross the divide. It was evident that, more than ever before, the AHDR had to actively begin to realise its shared mission and vision, and in doing so, recognise the values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the covenants of Human Rights issued by the United Nations, and the UNESCO recommendations relevant to history teaching.