The colorful mosaic, dedicated to Afghan women, found its “home”

SolidarityNow and the Greek organizers of a global artistic initiative under the auspices of UNESCO, presented yesterday to the public, the mosaic “Hanging by a thread”. The event for the presentation of the special colorful mosaic took place at the Athens Solidarity Center, where the project will be hosted after its donation to SolidarityNow.

The creation of this large scarf-like mosaic aims to symbolically embrace Afghan women and support the need for equal human rights. For this reason, the creators were inspired by the colorful local costumes of Afghanistan that were transformed into small works of glass mosaics. In Greece, 61 mosaic creations from 45 artists were collected and brought together by the three Greeks supervisors for the project, according to the guidelines of the inspirers and representatives of the International Project Madeleine Turgeon and Bady Essid Jaballah.

Among the creators, there are also women refugees from Afghanistan, who reside in the open accommodation structure of Thiva and are beneficiaries of the “Female Friendly Space” operated there by SolidarityNow, within the framework of the HARP program, with the support of the International Organization for Migration and the funding of the European Union.

Afghan women of all ages actively participated in yesterday’s presentation, each “guiding” the audience to its own mosaic, dancing traditional dances of their homeland and talking about their lives and dreams.

The event was honored with the presence of the organizers, Loukia Orfanou, Despina Georgiadi-Thessalonikeos and Mikelis Markidis, as well as artists who contributed to the creation of the work with their mosaics. In total, the initiative has spread to 45 countries on all continents with the participation of hundreds of voters.

*The artistic activity for the creation of the mosaics by the women beneficiaries of the “Female Friendly Space” of SolidarityNow, was carried out in collaboration with the team of the International Organization for Migration that is active in the camp of Thiva.

*Since August 2022, the Athens Solidarity Center is financed by EEA Grants, with ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360 as the fund operator, in the context of the “Local Development and Poverty Reduction” programme.

The “Local Development and Poverty Reduction” programme in Greece, financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, was awarded a total budget of 6,5 million euros as part of the EEA Grants 2014 – 2021. The program aspires to contribute to enhancement of social cohesion and reduction of economic and social disparities. The Fund Operator for the “Local Development and Poverty Reduction” programme in Greece is SOL Consulting S.A in partnership with Human Rights 360. More information: https://www.asylumandmigration-eeagrants.gr/ 

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