Category: ΕΚΔΗΛΩΣΕΙΣ

IT Essentials: The new educational project by SolidarityNow

Posted on Friday April 20th, 2018

Become a Computer and Network Technician Now!

Technology and computers are now a part of our everyday life. Most of jobs today require the handling of computers and other devices. There is an even bigger need for specialized knowledge of computer support.

SolidarityNow, a certified CISCO Networking Academy, gives you the opportunity to study and prepare for Computer Engineering positions with the skills required in the market now!

Whom does the program address?

The Cisco IT Essentials Education Program: PC Hardware and Software is addressed to everyone.

It enables those who follow it to be a step ahead in the labor market and to obtain the necessary skills to work as computer and network technicians in environments such as businesses, public services, educational institutions, or freelancers in the field of technical computer support.

The program includes:

  • Practical training
  • Complete Cisco-approved educational material
  • Access to the Cisco Learning Platform

Why is this a seminar for me? What does it provide?

During the seminar you will learn how to build, repair, format and support a computer, how to build computer networks for small and medium businesses, how to install operating systems such as Windows and Linux, how to deal with a malfunction, but also clean up computers and mobiles from viruses and malware.

At the end of the seminar you will be able to work as: IT support technician, IT Administrator, Computer Technician, Computer Sales Officer, Computer Help Desk, System Administrator, Network Administrator, IT Specialist, IT Engineer. In addition, you will have all the knowledge to advance your career in more specialized networking issues.

Along with the latest equipment and with a series of regular assessment tests and guidance from instructors with 15 years of experience in the field of technology, you will gain competitive knowledge and at the same time you will prepare for the final certification process.

Certification

After the successful completion of the seminar and the related examinations, participants will receive a Cisco Certification Notice.

In the educational context, it is possible to participate and prepare for exams leading to formal certification so that one can work as a computer and network technician.

In addition, those who have attended the Cisco IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software courses can easily continue CCNA courses.

Certified Cisco Information Technology Essential Expert – CCITEE

Duration

The training consists of 70 hours with a duration of approximately 2 months. The specific days and hours of the lessons will be announced to the participants.

Educational program – Syllabus

During the seminar the trainers, under the supervision of an instructor, will learn:

  • Methods to assemble a PC
  • Format and installing windows and linux on PC and all necessary drivers to run other devices
  • Latest hardware
  • Ways of protecting machines, mobiles, laptops and materials
  • To handle professional equipment and tools, such as screwdrivers, pliers, etc, required for computer technicians
  • To deal with real damage scenarios and ways to solve them with professional technical support and they will have:
  • Access to Cisco Networking Academy’s specialized e-learning platform that provides access to multiple-choice content and questions with immediate scoring and flagging of errors to be examined under the guidance of the trainer
  • Cisco Virtual Desktop and Cisco Virtual Laptop tools for familiarization with PC hardware as well as assembly process

The syllabus includes:

First part – Basic

  • Introduction to Personal Computer
  • Secure PC Usage Procedures
  • Assembling, Detecting & Solving Computer Errors
  • Solving computer hardware and software problems and malfunctions
  • Operating Systems
  • Laptops & Portable Devices
  • Printers & Scanners
  • Personal Network and Communication Security
  • Communication Skills

2nd part – Advanced

  • Desktops
  • Installation of Operating Systems and software
  • Multi-user, multi-tasking operating systems such as Linux, Windows 2000, NT and XP
  • Laptops
  • Printers & Scanners
  • Advanced Networking & Networking issues
  • Advanced Computer Security Issues

Entry criteria – prerequisites

  • 20-25 hours / week of studying are required. If you do not have enough time, this is not the program for you.
  • Projects and tasks will be given to you every week. If you don’t do the projects, you cannot attend the lesson. Each subsequent lesson is based on the previous one.
  • Following 8 hours / week of lessons is required.
  • The seminar will last for 2 months. You must be in Athens to follow it.
  • The program is offered to all, regardless of nationality.
  • A genuine interest for Computers and networks is required.
  • Good knowledge of English is required.
  • An initial level of PC knowledge is required.

Cost

Participation in seminars is free of charge for all participants. 

Location

The seminar will take place at the Intercultural Center Diadromes at 26 Boukouvala str. in Ampelokipoi– in collaboration with Almasar and the support of the Development Forum.

 *The project is implemented with the support of the Hellenic American Union (Cisco Academy Support Center and Instructor Training Center), and also the support of the largest networking company, CISCO.

Join the program NOW and submit your participation, by sending the following online form

Deadline: May 27th 

Have questions? Contact us at training@solidaritynow.org

An educational initiative of:

 

With the support of:

The exhibition “The Journey: People on the Move” now in Glasgow

Posted on Wednesday April 4th, 2018
SolidarityNow

The Journey: People on the Move is an exhibition originally held in 2016 at Benaki Museum in Athens, organized by SolidarityNow, a Greek NGO aiming to support those most affected by the economic and humanitarian crisis in Greece.

Population movements constitute a timeless, inevitable reality that surpasses the rigid framework established by national borders.

Currently, threatening conditions in the wider Middle East have led to an exodus towards the European continent. Immigrants, refugees- regular and irregular, are the protagonists of this risky journey, claiming their fundamental right to survival, and ideally, to happiness.

Eight renowned photographers/photojournalists from Greece captured the Journey, the route all these people took in the past year as they had to flee their countries. The images trace their journey from Turkey to Greece, with the borders as their final destination, hoping to reach a safe haven in Europe. The photographers participating in the exhibition are: Yannis Behrakis, Alkis Konstantinidis, Giorgos Moutafis, Angelos Georginis, Enri Canaj, Myrto Papadopoulos, Orestis Seferoglou, Chloe Kritharas- Devienne.

These visual testimonies of international photographers aim to familiarize a larger public with this harsh reality confronted every day by thousands of people seeking to reclaim their right to a life with security for themselves and their families.

The Arrival: Young Syrian Refugees in Britain presents original research findings and the most comprehensive analysis of the realities, opportunities, and challenges forcibly displaced people face as they attempt to rebuild their lives.  The project is run by an interdisciplinary team from the University of Glasgow, in cooperation with SolidarityNow(GR), Educart (LB) and the Scottish Refugee Council (UK).

Its aim is to improve knowledge and understanding of the lived experiences, skills, training needs and labour aspirations of forcibly displaced young Syrians and the corresponding attitudes and belief structures of the host population in three receiving states: a neighbouring host state (Lebanon), the main entry point to Europe (Greece), and a north European destination state (the United Kingdom).

This exhibition reveals, for the first time, the results of a face-to-face survey conducted with 500 young Syrians (18-32 years old) in each of these countries. Visitors will have the chance to engage in an interactive way with the findings, enriching their understanding of refugee politics in Britain, in a comparative context.

The Exhibition is funded by the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (Award Reference: ES/P005189/1). For further details, please see www.RefugeePolitics.net

Watch the making-of video

Joint Press Conference: Two years after the EU-Turkey Deal

Posted on Wednesday March 21st, 2018

To mark the occasion of the second anniversary of the EU-Turkey Joint Statement (Deal, in essence), yesterday we held, along with other NGOs, a joint press conference titled: “Two years after the EU-Turkey Deal: a humanitarian tragedy for refugees and asylum seekers”.

The press conference was hosted at the Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers (ΕΣΗΕΑ). Participants included journalists, as well as representatives of EU embassies, state institutions, and civil society organizations. The conference speakers covered the main aspects of the refugee issue from a humanitarian, legal, and political perspective.

Jenny Cavounidis, Board member of SolidarityNow, underlined the absence of a coherent strategy for a coordinated and holistic refugee response at both national and European level. Ms. Cavounidis conveyed the experience of SolidarityNow about the problems brought upon by the EU-Turkey Deal and its ongoing consequences on the overall management of the refugee response in Greece.

Ms. Cavounidis underlined “the urgent need for a holistic response to the problems arising from the refugee issue, with a central, visionary, and long-term planning for the whole country”. She also stressed:

“This past winter we experienced once more the lack of a central mechanism for refugee management on the islands. Despite the deplorable conditions in the islands’ camps since the summer, and although the number of residents way exceeded each camp’s capacity, the decongestion of the islands started to take place only when the situation hit rock bottom due to the worsening weather conditions. Then, in November, the Government rushed to transfer people to the mainland, to hosting facilities that were urgently created or adjusted, without proper planning”.

The Director of Amnesty International/Greek section, Gabriel Sakellaridis, and Eva Cossé, Researcher for Greece for the organization Human Rights Watch, analyzed the current situation on the islands for the asylum seekers and refugees stranded there two years after the Deal, stressing the need to lift the geographical restriction.

From a medical care perspective, Agapios Terzidis, Vice-President of the Board of the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO), presented the program Philos (Emergency Health Response to Refugee Crisis) and the challenges faced by KEELPNO during its implementation.

Vasileios Papadopoulos, Coordinator of the Legal Unit of the Greek Council for Refugees, set out the legal effects of the EU-Turkey Deal. Mr. Papadopoulos emphasized the need to move refugees and migrants from the islands to the mainland, while he also explained that the presumption that Turkey is a safe third country is highly problematic, both from a legal and political perspective.

Yonous Muhammadi, President and Coordinator of the Greek Forum of Refugees, and the cultural mediator Yasaman Heidarpour from the organization Melissa Network, talked about the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees on the Greek islands. In particular, Ms. Heidarpour told her own story as a refugee who reached Europe after fleeing Iran.

*The conference was organized by the following NGOs:

SolidarityNow

Amnesty International – Greek section

Greek Council for Refugees

Greek Forum of Refugees

Melissa Network

Human Rights Watch

Two years after the EU-Turkey Deal: a humanitarian tragedy for refugees and asylum seekers

Posted on Friday March 16th, 2018
Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow

Athens, 16 March 2018. Two years following the implementation of the EU-Turkey Deal, many refugees and asylum seekers continue to be trapped in the Greek islands, deprived of their basic human rights and access to international protection.

On this second anniversary, and whilst legal appeals against the geographical limitation of asylum-seekers to the islands are still pending, we continue to stress that the regime of reception and asylum at the EU borders has been brought to a dramatic standstill from every perspective:

  • Humanitarian, as thousands of people are still trapped in island hotspots, living in a state of constant insecurity about their future, whilst lacking access to basic services.
  • Legal, with border asylum procedures taking place, on many occasions, without the minimum procedural safeguards for effective access to asylum, while thousands of people are deprived of their liberty and detention remains a widespread practice in migration management.
  • Political, with EU governments continuing to present the EU-Turkey Deal as a success, without admitting that refugees and asylum seekers are forced to live under deplorable conditions on the islands, often leading to tensions between the refugee population and local communities.

For the past two years, our organizations have been repeatedly stating that the EU-Turkey Deal is undermining human rights and Europe’s very fundamental principles. We insist that the only way to properly receive displaced people is by adhering to our common European values and complying with our international protection obligations, i.e. respect the principle of non-refoulement, provide dignified reception and accommodation to asylum seekers, and ensure the right of everyone to seek asylum without discrimination. In practice, however, the EU asylum and migration policy is governed by a logic of deterrence and border securitization, at the expense of human rights protection and humanitarian values.

On the occasion of the EU-Turkey Deal’s second anniversary, we invite you at the Press Conference we are holding on 20 March 2018, in Athens. The event will be conducted in Greek, with simultaneous translation in English.

Interventions will be made by:

Amnesty International, Gabriel Sakellaridis, Director

Greek Council for Refugees, Vasileios Papadopoulos, Legal Unit Coordinator

SolidarityNow, Jenny Kavounidis, Board of Directors

Greek Forum of Refugees, Yonous Muhammadi, President & Coordinator

Melissa Network, Yasaman Heidarpour, Cultural Mediator for Farsi speakers

Human Rights Watch, Eva Cossé, Researcher for Greece

KEELPNO, Agis Terzidis, Pediatrician, Board Member

Moderator of the Press Conference: Ioannis Papadopoulos, journalist

 The Press Conference will be held at 12:30, at ESIEA (Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers) – 20, Akadimias str. (1st floor), Athens


The Press Conference is organized by:

SolidarityNow
Amnesty International
Greek Council for Refugees
Greek Forum of Refugees
Melissa Network
CEAR

 

BUSINESS FOR YOUth: SOLIDARITYNOW YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM

Posted on Wednesday February 28th, 2018

Click to read the announcement in FRENCH

Click to read the announcement in ARABIC

Click to read the announcement in FARSI

Are you between 18 to 35 years old?

Do you want to make your business dream come true? Are you interested in becoming a freelancer in Greece?

You have the will, you have the idea, but you feel that you do not have the proper tools to start?

SolidarityNow, with the support of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and in collaboration with the Social Enterprise Knowl, is organizing a 40-hour free Υouth Εntrepreneurship training program in Athens.

In this integrated program, you will acquire knowledge and develop skills that are necessary to make your first steps as a professional. You will learn the basic principles of entrepreneurship and the method that will help you build a successful brand.

And what’s the best?

Forty (40) out of the total of participants who will successfully complete the program will attend a special mentorship program in which they will receive counseling and guidance from entrepreneurs and professional mentors!

Why are you still waiting?

Read the detailed program information and fill in your application at the online form below!

One of the 330 positions of the program is yours.

Because business (is) for YOUth!

CRITERIA FOR PARTICIPATION

  • Participants for the duration of the program have to be based in Athens.
  • Young people aged between 18-30 years
  • Refugees or Asylum Seekers legally residing in Greece, benefiting from the International Protection in Greece, immigrants with a residence permit for Greece, unemployed Greeks.
  • Adequacy in at least one of the languages offered: Greek, English, Arabic, Farsi or French.

SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS

  • The final pool of participants will be selected through personal interviews.
  • Maximum number of participants: 330

DURATION

The training will be implemented in fifteen separate cycles, comprised of 40 hours of training (over 4 weeks).

The days and hours of the lessons will be announced shortly to the participants.

COST

Participation is free of charge for all participants.

CERTIFICATION

All participants who manage to successfully complete the training will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

For your application to participate in the training program, click the link below and

fill out the form:

Application form to participate in the training program

Business for Youth

For any further information: youth@solidaritynow.org

This project is supported by the Citi Foundation in partnership with the International Rescue Committee.

In collaboration with

Learn a foreign language for free!

Posted on Friday August 25th, 2017

The Erasmus+ Online Linguistic Support (OLS) in collaboration with the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki gives the opportunity to refugees to learn a new language and to enhance their language skills!

The Erasmus+ Online Linguistic Support (OLS) currently offers online courses in the 18 most widely spoken European languages to higher education students, vocational education and training learners and young volunteers taking part in the Erasmus+ programme.

The European Commission has decided to extend this service to the benefit of around 100.000 refugees over 3 years, on a voluntary basis!

Who can participate?

  • Refugees
  • Asylum applicants
  • Immigrants
  • Residence Permit Holders
  • Without age limit

Participants must first take a language assessment to find out what their current language level is. Upon completion of this assessment, they can access the language course (if available at the required level)

The language courses maximum duration is 13 months and includes the following languages:

  • German, English, Spanish, French, Italian and Dutch are available from levels A1 to C2.
  • Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Greek, Croatian, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Finnish, and Swedish language courses are offered at level A1.
  • Portuguese is available up to level B2.

After the completion of the course they can download a record of participation and take a second language assessment to measure their progress in the language, if they wish so. The second language assessment is not compulsory.

Location

The language courses are online. You can take the courses at any time from a computer, tablet or smartphone with an internet connection.

Cost

The courses are provided free of charge.

If you are interested please visit us at the Blue Refugee Center, Ioanni Koletti 25D, and we can assist you with the registration process.

Abracadabra!

Posted on Wednesday August 23rd, 2017

Harrison Kramer knows about magic tricks. He has a magic wand and make things disappear. He puts a love spell on people and make them happy. You see – he is a magician! He is the owner of “After School Magic”, a performing arts company located in Manhattan, NY. “After School Magic” provides a wide array of entertainment, enrichment, and hands on educational services. Harrison is an expert communicator and has facilitated over 1000 performances and educational workshops at different venues ranging from schools and weddings to refugee camps and pediatric ICUs.

SN had the chance to meet him during the summer and enjoy his volunteer work in its Northern Greece office where he performed and taught his art!

During his stay in Greece Harrison kept a journal, where he wrote down his experiences and his secret magic tricks. Harrison wanted to share them with us.

If you don’t believe in magic, be prepared to embrace them after your read the following.

Relax and let the magic enchant you!

6/30/17 Thessaloniki

Harrison visited on 30 June SolidarityNow’s Blue Refugee Center where he gave a magic and juggling performance and conducted a workshop for kids and teens. It seems that our young beneficiaries love magic as they were eager and enthusiast in learning the easy yet baffling magic tricks. Harrison taught them: balloon balancing, the ball and the vase trick, how to do a mind reading trick and the plate spinning. Later they chatted with Harrison about how magic tricks can be done with mainstream materials and about the importance of concentration during practice to achieve successful skill development. “For me the most rewarding thing was to see the kids coming up with their own ideas as well as how the more distant participants became more active and excited throughout the program” writes Harrison on his notebook.

 

7/3/17 Sindos Shelter

With the help of a skilled interpreter and a dedicated volunteer, Harrison performed in front a group of 16 children. They started with a series of magic and juggling tricks. Juggling had the greatest impact to the kids as it was more easily perceived by the them. After the performance, the kids where excited to learn more about magic and tricks. They sat together shaping a big circle and they successfully performed various tricks. “When I asked who wanted to try pretty much everyone raised their hand. It was wonderful to see” writes Harrison. “This was the perfect storm for me. When I envisioned this project, it looked almost exactly like this. The “After School Magic” philosophy is to facilitate creative enrichment through skill building and encouragement, which may ultimately lead to a child’s physical and psychological empowerment. Today I think we accomplished a wonderful thing” writes Harrison.

7/4/2017 Drama Refugee Camp

“After School Magic” visited Drama Refugee Camp. A large group of people -around 70- gathered to see his magic and juggling show. The kids got very excited. “While I am still learning to adapt my performance to these new environments, today was maybe the best show I have put so far” writes Harrison on his notebook. Before proceeding with the workshop, Harrison let the kids to explore and play with his magic equipment. Then he shown them ball balancing, plate spinning and how to use devil sticks. NGOs staff was also there playing with the children and helping Harrison. When the show ended, some of the children dispersed and those who were left continued to play with each other. “While I did not get to teach much magic, which in my opinion is one of the best aspects of the “After School Magic” programs, I think the children really did enjoy and even benefited from our efforts. Before leaving we donated a small batch of equipment to the camp to be kept in the staff office for future use. During the two-hour drive, back to Thessaloniki my two incredible facilitators, from Solidary Now, helped me better understand the many aspects of the refugee crisis, its population, the various dynamics at play. Today was a great day” says Harrison.

7/5/17 Kavalari Camp

For the last day of “After School Magic” project, Harrison visited Kavalari, where a little girl and boy did a trick but the girl was very shy and would turn away when Harrison tried to get her to participate. “In my experience if you put an interesting object in front of the kid and act like you are not paying attention they will likely pick it up to examine” writes Harrison. Indeed, the little girl took the sponge ball and then handed it back to Harrison.

This time, 15 kids and 20 adults participated in his show as well as a mixed group of NGO workers. The show went smoothly. After the workshop was finished, a group of adults and NGO workers asked questions about magic tricks. The shy girl was standing there and watching me. By that point, she was a very active participant. “I opened my arms to hug her. She did the same thing to me” Harrison writes.

“As we all know the only thing that separates these children from any others of their age is the circumstances. I am so thankful to all these NGO’s who are working with them and making the real difference, even though it may never be enough. These children deserve the childhood that is being stolen from them” Harrison says.

“Education Unites: From Camp to Campus”-An initiative taken by the US Embassy in Athens

Posted on Thursday July 20th, 2017

U.S. Mission to Greece launches “Education Unites: From Camp to Campus”

Academic Scholarship program for young refugees in Greece

 The U.S. Embassy in Athens, in collaboration with The American College of Thessaloniki – Anatolia College, Deree – The American College of Greece, and Perrotis College – American Farm School, announces the program “Education Unites: From Camp to Campus” that will provide higher education scholarships to 100 eligible refugees in Athens and 100 in Thessaloniki.

The goal of the program is to give opportunities to displaced students to continue their education; provide them with knowledge, skills and academic credits they can use either in Greece or in any other European country they move to in the future; help them get out of the camps and become integrated in local colleges; and offer young refugees hope for the future.

The “Education Unites: From Camp to Campus” program will offer two courses per student for the next two semesters (Fall 2017 and Spring 2018) in the three U.S. affiliated colleges in Athens and Thessaloniki. The courses offered will include preparatory English classes, academic classes in diverse fields based on the participants’ educational background, as well as vocational training.

Deadline for applications: August 30

For application and admissions information

For further information:

“The Small Room with 101 Windows”

Posted on Wednesday June 28th, 2017

“Small Room”, is an artistic project inspired and based on the refugees’ journey from their warring countries to Europe.

The first opening days of the exhibition were from May 28th to May 30th in Thessaloniki, where the initiator-activist Vassilis Tsartsanis, along with the Asklepeion Team, presented their work to the public. The exhibition was held in Bensousan Khan, a 19th-century inn, at the area of Ano Ladakika in Thessaloniki. The exhibition was comprised of a series of installations, with audiovisual material being projected mainly from the mobile phones of the refugees themselves.

The “Small Room with 101 Windows” project, is an experiential and at the same time interactive exhibition, which describes the two year of every day experience with the refugees originating from the war zones heading from Turkey to central Europe.

This vision-project led by Vassilis Tsartsanis’ inspiration and executed by the Asklepeion Team, aims to inform and raise public awareness on the critical refugee issue focusing on its multiple dimensions:

–        the magnitude of this humanistic drama

–        the power of solidarity

–        the threat of the uncontrolled action of the illegal trafficking gangs and their negative impact on the European asylum

–        the urgent need of action of the European authorities

–        the activization of the reflexes of the European citizens

–        the participation of young people and student as well as University institutions throughout Europe

The place/ point of reference, is situated on the Greek-Skopje border at the around area of Eidomeni where the biggest and at the same time most deadly passage to Europe had been established.

SolidarityNow, with the valuable support of our field teams in northern Greece, is participating in this great project with paintings and drawings from our young beneficiaries. The “Small Room” –funded exclusively by OSF– began its journey from Thessaloniki while its official premiere will take place in London, in September 2017. Then it will travel to various European cities; Berlin, Copenhagen, Brussels, Belgrade and Athens, ascertained so far.

See more on the project here.

Safe Refugee and Proud!

Posted on Tuesday June 27th, 2017
Valia Savvidou & Stefania Athanasiou

On Saturday, June 10th and during the three-day period, June 14th to 17th, SolidarityNow participated in Athens and Thessaloniki Pride, respectively, on the side of the LGBTI population.

The aim of the organization’s presence at the Festival was to stand by the LGBTI community and to present its own work on the protection and rights’ defense of the very sensitive population of the LGBTI refugees.

Operating under the principles of equality, respect, freedom of expression and solidarity, the organization implements, since November 2016, the “Safe Refugee” program, the specialized program for LGBTI refugees and asylum seekers who face double stigma; being both LGBTI and a refugee.  

This Festival provided the opportunity to join the voice of the Greek LGBTI community with that of the LGBTI refugee community through actions and things that unite people, all people, regardless of their origin, color, sexual orientation, social status. Music, colorful balloons, interactive awareness games, colorful informational material, and the cheerful general climate, were the means to highlight the joint requests of all for equality and respect.

Thousands of people visited the SolidarityNow kiosk, in both Athens and Thessaloniki, and had the opportunity to be informed about the “Safe Refugee” program, while their interaction with the organization’s people is a small step towards sensitization, against discrimination and in favor of acceptance and respect of human rights.

In SolidarityNow we believe that initiatives like these encourage societies to move ahead, to gradually become the open societies for which we work for, and in which we all have a position as equal members who deserve equal opportunities.

 

*In the framework of the specialized housing and support program, entitled “Safe Refugee”, SolidarityNow provides accommodation to LGBTI refugees in independent apartments in Athens and Thessaloniki. The program’s participants receive psychosocial support, legal aid, while they take part in educational and recreational activities; they are also part of a wider network that aims to improve their living conditions and support them while staying in Greece.

The Hosting and Accommodation Programs are developed by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO).