HOMEPAGE

(Ελληνικά) ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ | Το SolidarityNow συμμετέχει στη μεγάλη διοργάνωση EuroPride 2024 στη Θεσσαλονίκη

Posted on Tuesday June 25th, 2024

Sorry, this entry is only available in Ελληνικά.

PRESS RELEASE | A FEAST FOR WORLD REFUGEE DAY

Posted on Thursday June 20th, 2024

Food and stories from around the world

Yesterday, June 19, the Athens Solidarity Center by SolidarityNow was filled with flavors, colors, and voices of people from different countries who were invited to participate in a feast and enjoyed it enthusiastically.

The reason behind the event is today’s World Refugee Day and the organization’s participation in the activities organized in the framework of the Refugee Week Festival, which is organized in Greece for the third year.

The theme of this year’s Festival is “Our Home”.

Very often, beneficiaries of the organization call the Center ” their home “; in this way, they describe the place where they feel accepted and safe. That is why the invitation to a meal was made at their “home”, this large and welcoming space of the Athens Solidarity Centre, which is a hub of solidarity and care for thousands of people.

A celebration of solidarity

SolidarityNow invited beneficiaries of the Centre to prepare a dish from their homeland and sit at a table with people who have also cooked. Together they all shared their food, recipes, cooking secrets, stories, and memories of their homeland.

The rich and colorful table included dishes from Egypt, Albania, Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Greece, Greece, Ukraine, Palestine, Sierra Leone and Syria.

Here at this gathering, the similarities and differences only concerned the way a dish was cooked. No other distinction could be made between the people who spent three hours together in excitement, with smiles, and with the promise to meet again at such a feast. Vania from Bulgaria said, “I love cooking and I organize many gatherings. But I have never been to a gathering like this and now I am very excited to have friends from Palestine and Ukraine!”

*Since August 1st, 2023, the operation of the Athens Solidarity Center by SolidarityNow is supported by the Swiss-Greek Cooperation Programme to reducing economic and social disparities in the EU and by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum.

**The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

PRESS RELEASE | SolidarityNow joins Athens Pride 2024

Posted on Thursday June 13th, 2024

Athens, 13 June 2024

For the third year, SolidarityNow employees and volunteers participate in Athens Pride, proudly supporting the struggle of the LGBTQI+ community. This year, we will meet on Saturday 15 June 2024, at 19.00 at Syntagma Square, to walk together on the road of equality and respect!

The slogan “A LAW IS NOT ENOUGH“, brings forward the inadequacies of the laws concerning the LGBTQI+ community, even though the very important law of equality in marriage and childbearing for same-sex couples (Law 4089/2024), has been legalized and is a landmark for the efforts for protective legislation for LGBTQI+ people in Greece.

SolidarityNow, stands by the side of LGBTQI+ people, offering essential help and support. Through actions and interventions, the organization seeks to always be there for the community by offering free legal support and representation in the legal gender identity recognition process, employment consultations, and psychosocial support at its Solidarity Centers in Athens and Thessaloniki. In addition, assists with support and care programs for refugees and migrants, members of the LGBTQI+ community, who face double stigma due to both gender identity and refugee status.

The presence of SolidarityNow supports and reinforces the message of unity and solidarity, joining voices in the struggle for social justice and equality.

Solidarity: a “service” that is not hindered by distance

Posted on Thursday June 6th, 2024

by the Athens Solidarity Center

Klaudi came from Albania to Greece six months ago and was hosted by her relatives. Shortly after her arrival in the country, at the age of 41, she was diagnosed with cancer, which led to her immediate hospitalization in the hospital of the South Aegean Island where she lived.

In the meantime, the date for her interview with the asylum service for her residence permit was approaching.

The role of the Athens Solidarity Centre

The social service of the hospital contacted our Center and we immediately undertook the support of Klaudi. Her health condition required the postponement of the interview. Immediately, we informed the asylum service to ensure that the woman would have access to the necessary medical care and after a few days, we managed to issue the necessary legal documents and social security number.

The date of her interview was moved, giving Klaudi the time she needed to focus on her health.

However, a re-contact from the hospital’s social services department informed us of her serious health relapse. The decision to return to Albania to be close to her family was a one-way street and was facilitated by the Centre’s services.

We hope that Klaudi’s health adventure will have a happy ending and that she will regain her strength and optimism to pursue her dreams.

Klaudi’s story is another example of our ongoing efforts to stand by the side of people in need and ensure that they receive the care and support they need.

Our dedication to this cause is non-negotiable.

*Since August 1st, 2023, the operation of the Athens Solidarity Center by SolidarityNow is supported by the Swiss-Greek Cooperation Programme/Embassy of Switzerland in Greece to reducing economic and social disparities in the EU and by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum.

**The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

ARTICLE | Supporting and Empowering Parents

Posted on Monday May 27th, 2024

At the Athens Solidarity Centre’s psychological service, we often encounter requests from parents regarding their role and the management of difficult issues concerning their children. It is worth noting that the percentage of women seeking help is clearly higher when it comes to the parenting role.

Most of the time the difficulties relate to the limits that parents are called upon to set for their children, limits that ultimately concern the child’s security and confidence in himself and others, as well as the development of autonomy and social adjustment skills.

Stability and dynamism in adhering to rules and basic principles are often translated by parents into strictness, rigidity, indifference, and abusive behavior. It is not uncommon for parents who grew up in an abusive environment to repeat the experience to their own children, underestimating the psychological cost.

Some of the phrases we often hear are “I grew up with screams and tensions, but I was very fond of my father” and “I might have been slapped, but I don’t remember much about my childhood”.

The work we’re called to do is to illuminate the trauma and make conscious the unconscious pain associated with the experiences, so that every parent is fully aware of the ways in which they can set boundaries safely, without passing on to their child the endless cycle of violence.

*Since August 1st, 2023, the operation of the Athens Solidarity Center by SolidarityNow is supported by the Swiss-Greek Cooperation Programme Embassy of Switzerland in Greece to reducing economic and social disparities in the EU and by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum.

**The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

JOINT PRESS RELEASE | Returning to school after the break is not the same for all children

Posted on Wednesday May 22nd, 2024

Joint PRESS RELEASE of the Child Rights Advocacy Network (CRAN).

The undersigned civil society organizations, members of the Child Rights Advocacy Network (CRAN), express our concerns regarding the measures recently adopted by Decision No. 44879/ΓΔ4 of the Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports (Government Gazette B 2531/29-4-2024) to the fight against domestic violence and bullying. We believe that measures such as the reintroduction of five-day suspensions and the facilitation of changing school departments or school environment, act repressively and are not only in line with the requirements of modern pedagogical science but also with the legal commitments undertaken by our country under the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (Law 2101/92) and specifically with Articles 28 (universal right of children to education) and 29 (objectives of education). Moreover, implementing these measures increases the risk of marginalizing many pupils, especially those from vulnerable social groups.

It is clear that no child is born violent. When violent behavior, including bullying, occurs, it is nothing but a reflection of the violence they are subjected to from various sides. The priority must be to invest in prevention and in looking for the factors that lead a child to become a perpetrator, while at the same time empowering and training education professionals and parents to help create a democratic school with the participation of children. A school in which democratic citizenship is actively cultivated so that a child becomes neither a perpetrator, victim, or observer.

For all the above reasons, we express our concerns about the recent measures adopted, considering them to be moving in a perverse direction and we call on the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sport to reevaluate these repressive measures, after consulting the educational community and civil society bodies that develop child protection actions.

The undersigned organizations – members of the Advocacy Network for Children’s Rights:

Network for Children’s Rights
Shedia – Centre for Pedagogical and Artistic Training
Terre des hommes Hellas – Land of People
Hellenic Council for Refugees
Changemakers Lab
Better Days Greece
SolidarityNow
ARSIS Social Organization for Youth Support
Elix – Voluntary Work Programmes

KATHIMERINI | “An Odyssey for the obvious”

Posted on Monday May 20th, 2024

Journalist Ioannis Papadopoulos from the newspaper KATHIMERINI writes about a great success of the Legal Service of the Athens Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow in the case of the young Androniki Kiftis.

“Androniki Kifti, the daughter of Albanian migrants, was born, grew up and completed her schooling in Greece, but in December 2020 the Decentralized Administration of Attica refused to renew her residence permit. She was deemed ineligible because she had been absent from Greek territory for a long time, despite being in the US for studies. Last April, after many years of agony, the Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens ruled that her application had been wrongly rejected”. The article here (only available in Greek).

*Since August 1st, 2023, the operation of the Athens Solidarity Center by SolidarityNow is supported by the Swiss-Greek Cooperation Programme Embassy of Switzerland in Greece / Πρεσβεία της Ελβετίας στην Ελλάδα to reducing economic and social disparities in the EU and by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum.

**The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

Finding solid ground: The holistic support as the first step to success

Posted on Monday May 13th, 2024

A., a 45-year-old artist from Greece approached the Athens Solidarity Center’s services in the beginning of 2024, seeking for a more stable job with reliable salary payments. He started his sessions with the employment counselor, prepared his CV, and successfully participated in the Job Fair organized by SolidarityNow and Odyssea, where on-site interviews took place.

A few weeks later, he revisited ASC seeking an urgent appointment with the employability counselor. Visibly disturbed and nearly in shock, he reported a legal issue that had suddenly arisen, plunging him into despair.

The circle of solidarity for A.

During the session, he was referred to the psychological team in order to be empowered as well as to the legal team to proceed with the necessary legal actions. The lawyer described the next steps he needed to follow, and simultaneously, he started collaborating with the psychologist.

His CV was distributed by the employability counselors to the network of private sector partner companies, increasing his chances of being called for an interview. One month after the initial meeting, we contacted A. and he informed us that he got permanent employment at a hotel complex!

**The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

PRESS RELEASE | Successful Closing of the “INtegration: Through school into community”

Posted on Friday April 26th, 2024

The event for the successful completion of the project “INtegration: through school into community” was held yesterday, April 25^th. The project was implemented for six months with the collaboration among SolidarityNow, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Citizens and Institutional Protection.

The project aimed to provide education and employment access services to migrants and refugees, using the experience of all the partner institutions – SolidarityNow as a member of Civil Society, the largest University of Greece and a state institution.

The event was attended by representatives from the field of education, Civil Society and Ministries.

The three aspects of “INtegration”

The project included language learning – Greek and English -, seminars for frontline professionals (teachers and staff working with unaccompanied minors) and field research on school leak.

“INtegration” was embraced by the beneficiaries in response to a basic and urgent need and succeeded in supporting 190 people to learn Greek and/or English.

Overall, the following were achieved:

– more than 1000 hours of Greek and English language learning

– 65,5 % of the participants were women and mothers

– trainings of 120 frontline professionals

– participation of 100 unaccompanied minors in career/job fair days

Ms. Gelly Aroni, Head of the Unit for Integration and Support of Unaccompanied Minors at the Special Secretariat for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors of the Ministry of Migration & Asylum, in her brief welcome speech, underlined the importance of the project, emphasizing on unaccompanied and formerly unaccompanied children transitioning to adulthood.

Following this, Ms. Maria Iakovou, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, highlighted the need behind the project, the importance of collaboration among the institutions and the opportunity it offers to students to comprehend their subject outside the academic framework.

On behalf of SolidarityNow, the project implementation coordinators Kostis Aronis, Giannis Giantsidis, and Mariza Varthalami, presented in detail the activities organized in the framework of “INtegration”, as well as data on the reception of refugees/migrant students in Greek schools, the barriers and challenges, which are also the subject of the project’s field research.

Additionally, professors Evdokia Karava and Vasiliki Mitsikopoulou from the University, stressed the importance of such initiatives as an incentive for mothers to learn Greek themselves -accelerating their social integration- and at the same time to perceive the Greek school as an important aspect of their children’s social development.

*The project “INtegration: Through school into community” is implemented in collaboration with the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Citizens and Institutional Protection and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and aims at the integration of refugees and migrants by providing education and access to the labor market services for refugee/migrant adults, children, including unaccompanied minors, youth and their parents. The program is funded by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA) 2014-2021, within the GR-G Program entitled “Capacity Building of National Asylum and Migration Management Systems”. The European and Development Programs Management Agency of the Ministry of Citizen Protection in collaboration with UDI acts as the Programme Operator.

ANNOUNCEMENT | “Amaro Magippe” for the Empowerment of Roma Women and Youth, in Katerini for the International Roma Day

Posted on Friday April 12th, 2024

On Sunday, April 14th, in Katerini, the final event of SolidarityNow’s “Amaro Magipe” program will also be held to celebrate International Roma Day (April 8th).

The event, to be held at the Municipal Theatre of Katerini Park, aims to inform and raise public awareness on issues of inclusion and break down stereotypes and prejudices associated with the Roma community.

The “Amaro Magipe” program is conducted in collaboration with “Faros tou Kosmou” and the Cultural Educational Association of Roma Women “Elpida” of Drosero, Xanthi.

The Action entitled “Amaro Magipé: Actions for the Empowerment of Women and Young Roma” implemented under the project Small Grant Scheme 1 “Empowerment of Women and Young Roma” of the Program “Social Inclusion and Empowerment of Roma” benefits from a grant of 199.909,69€ from the EEA Grants (Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area 2014-2021) and from national resources, representing the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway to a green, competitive, and inclusive Europe.

Detailed Program

Sunday, April 14, 2024, Municipal Theatre of Katerini Park

Start: 18:00

Greetings
“Conversation among Women for International Roma Day” with Georgia Kalpatzidou and Irene Rapou, founding members of the NGO REVMA
Video screenings of activities in the Pelekas settlement
Narrations and reading of poems
Exhibition of photographs by the women of Pelekas
For children, the story “The Butterfly Irene and the Secret Recipe” will be presented by Akrilenia Kapou, a member of the NGO REVMA