In the Cyprus peace process, the efforts of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) facilitate the practices of co-existence, or intergroup contact between the Turkish Cypriot (TC) and Greek Cypriot (GC) communities. Considering this context, the original contribution of this study is to employ the theoretical framework of social representations (SRs), to understand the internal structure SR of reconciliation in Cyprus. Moreover, this study intends to explore the reconciliation SRs of those taking part in CSOs (n=30) and of the laypeople (n=40). This study analyses power relations in both competing and convergent SRs between different groups of actors. It presents insights drawing upon fieldwork that was carried out in Cyprus using a convenient and purposive sampling method. Methodologically we choose the Central Nucleus Theory (Abric, 1976). This oft-used methodological approach is based on the Hierarchised Evocations tool: a task of word association starting from the inductor "Reconciliation", followed by a justification questionnaire (Galli, Fasanelli & Schember, 2018) as well as a classification of the associated terms (Vergès, 1992). Data were analysed using both prototypical and similitude analyses processed by IRaMuTeQ, an interface of R, and through the perspective of iterative factorial cluster analysis for binary data (iFCB). The results indicate that the structure of the social representations of reconciliation demonstrated by all subsamples reflects their social construct. It appears that, due to their activism, the CSO subsample has a higher degree of quality and quantity of collaboration in both the in-group and the intergroup, compared to the laypeople. The CSO subsample engaging in in-group and intergroup collaborations tends to show trust and a more tolerant attitude for engaging in collaborative work. Their representation of reconciliation reflects the line of activism and positive attitudes towards cooperation for a shared future. Meanwhile, the TCC and GCC laypeople subsamples have a shared hope for peace, looking forward to having a more comfortable life. They highlight the coexistence contributed to by emotional efforts (forgiveness, empathy, and the spread of love to reconnect and come to an agreement). Moreover, all subsamples share the common representation that reconciliation corresponding to peace as a common goal
