ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ

(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.

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

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

PRESS RELEASE | “Amaro Magippe” honours the International Roma Day

Posted on Tuesday April 2nd, 2024

SolidarityNow Celebrates International Roma Day in Collaboration with Municipalities of Ampelokipi-Menemeni and Katerini

SolidarityNow, through the program “Amaro Magipe” and in collaboration with the Municipality of Ampelokipi-Menemeni, the Municipality of Katerini, the Faros tou Kosmou, the Community Center with a Roma Center of the Municipality of Ampelokipi-Menemeni, and the Municipality of Katerini, celebrates International Roma Day in both cities on April 7th and 14th.

The goal of these events is to inform and raise public awareness on issues of inclusion and to break down stereotypes and prejudices associated with the Roma community.

Free Admission

One Year of “Amaro Magipe”

For one year, the “Amaro Magipe” program, implemented by SolidarityNow in collaboration with “Faros tou Kosmou” and the Cultural and Educational Association of Roma Women “Elpida” in Drosero, Xanthi, in Pelekas Katerini, in the Municipality of Pavlos Melas, in Drosero Xanthi, and in Dendropotamos Thessaloniki, has been supporting Roma women and youth through workshops and activities, achieving:

Participation of 223 women
Participation of 89 youth
Participation of 153 children, including 83 girls
Implementation of 2,095 meetings across the four areas

International Roma Day

International Roma Day is celebrated on April 8th in remembrance of the first congress held in London on April 8th, 1971, which laid the foundations for the Roma’s claims and recognition by the international community. Today, more than 50 years after that first congress and hundreds of years since the first presence of the Gypsies in Byzantium, the Roma continue to be victims of stereotypes and prejudice, often deprived of basic rights such as housing, access to health, education, employment, and equality before the law.

Given that the eradication of anti-Gypsyism starts with the preservation, promotion, and understanding of the Gypsies’ history for the development of an identity based on their experiences and needs, and placing them equally in all European events, it is important that international days are honored and established in the consciousness of both Roma and non-Roma. Below is the schedule for the first Sunday of the events, April 7th, in Thessaloniki:

Detailed Program

Sunday, April 7, 2024

Venue: Outdoor area of the KAPI Agios Nektarios – Roma Branch, Odysseos Androutsou 2, Dendropotamos

Start: 18:00

Greetings
Presentation of Roma History and Identity – Council of Europe Recommendation Booklet
Screening of the Amaro Magipe and Roma Connect AID video
Roma Literature – Presentation of Gypsy Fairy Tales
Recitation of poems by the children of Dendropotamos
Screening of the Amaro Magipe video “Breaking Stereotypes”
Live Gypsy music
Tasting of traditional Roma dishes and delicacies

Parallel Events

Background music from a relevant music CD
Photography exhibition
Children’s Corner

Notes for Editors

The “Faros tou Kosmou” Youth Center is a place of protection and creative engagement for the youth of Dendropotamos. Through continuous and relentless effort, it has not only highlighted the problems of the area but has found pioneering solutions in education, health, and employment. “Faros tou Kosmou” stands by all those in need and lights the path toward development and progress. https://farostoukosmou.com/el

The Cultural Educational Association of Roma Women of Drosero, Xanthi “Elpida” is an NGO founded in June 2006 by 20 Roma women. The desire and need of these women were to create an institutional body through which they could express themselves collectively as Roma women, with rights and obligations within Greek society. https://drosero.eu/

The “Amaro Magipe: Actions for the Empowerment of Roma Women and Youth” initiative, implemented under the Small Grant Scheme 1 “Empowerment of Roma Women and Youth” of the “Social Inclusion and Empowerment of Roma” program, is funded with a grant of €199,909.69 from the EEA Grants (European Economic Area Financial Mechanism 2014-2021) and from national resources, representing the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway for a green, competitive, and inclusive Europe. The three donor countries work closely with the EU based on the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement. The donor countries have provided €3.3 billion through successive grant programs between 1994 and 2014. For the 2014-2021 period, the EEA Grants have allocated a total of €2.8 billion, of which €116.7 million has been allocated to Greece through Protocol 38c. The priorities for this period are:

#1 Innovation, research, education, and competitiveness
#2 Social inclusion, youth employment, and poverty reduction
#3 Environment, energy, climate change, and low carbon economy
#4 Culture, civil society, good governance, and fundamental rights
#5 Justice and home affairs

The EEA Grants are jointly funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, whose contributions are based on their GDP.

PRESS RELEASE | Successful completion of the regional conference “Inequalities in Education”

Posted on Wednesday March 27th, 2024

Successful completion of the regional conference, aimed at sharing good practices and innovative approaches to inclusive education

The conference was held on March 20 and 21 (World Day Against Racism) in Athens by the operators of the Active Citizens Fund program in Greece – SolidarityNow and Bodossaki Foundation – and in Bulgaria – Open Society Institute Sofia, Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation, and Trust for Social Achievement. Among the speakers were representatives from the European Commission, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Ministry of Education, Religion, and Sports, and the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, academic institutions, embassies, institutional bodies, and European and local Civil Society organizations actively engaged in combating educational inequalities, supporting vulnerable social groups, and defending human rights. More than 40 speakers and participants represented 9 countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Malta, Norway, Poland, Romania, Czech Republic).

The conference was opened by the Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum, responsible for Inclusion, Vulnerable Citizens, and Unaccompanied Minors, Mrs. Sofia Voultepsi, the Ambassador of Norway to Greece, Mrs. Lajla Brandt Jakhelln, and the Founder and President of SolidarityNow, Mr. Stelios Zavvos.

Mrs. Sofia Voultepsi stated that the main cause of inequalities is the fact that not all people have the same starting point, a fact that is multiplied when discussing refugee children. Additionally, the Deputy Minister spoke about the inclusion steps that have been taken: “‘All Children in Education’ program is a motto and an acknowledgment, a success story and the flagship of refugee education. The program acts as a bridge between formal and non-formal education and the public school, benefiting since September 2021 to date more than 22,000 children.”

On her part, the Ambassador of Norway, Lajla Brandt Jakhelln, representing the donor countries of the EEA Grants, emphasized: “Every child has the right to education, and this is a fundamental right. Inclusive education is not only the right thing to do but also the smartest.”

The founder and President of SolidarityNow, Stelios Zavvos, noted that education is at the heart of the organization’s actions, being of fundamental importance for achieving peaceful coexistence, social inclusion and sustainable development. “The organization has developed multiple educational programs to improve and provide access to quality services for refugee children and their families and for Roma children, envisioning a society with equal opportunities and without exclusions.”

Through the experiences of four children attending Greek public schools, the 215 participants had the opportunity to realize the importance of inclusion in practice, where every child, regardless of nationality, disability, gender, linguistic, and other skills, has their place and must feel an equal member of the school. Data shows that although the enrollment rate of children in European countries is very high, there are still inequalities in access to quality education and learning outcomes, especially for some vulnerable groups of children, such as refugee and migrant children, Roma children, and children with disabilities.

Throughout the conference, over a series of presentations, discussions, and statements, the need for more documentation, the importance of the participation of children, families, and their communities in their education, the value of highlighting or recognizing cultural and linguistic diversity, the debunking of stereotypes about educational capabilities, and above all, the need for an inclusive way of thinking were highlighted. The common theme was that the inclusion of all children in education is an issue that concerns every society.

You can watch the speeches made in the context of the conference here. We thank blod.gr for the video recording.

*The conference is a regional initiative in the context of the Active Citizens Fund programmes in Greece and Bulgaria funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as part of the EEA Grants 2014-2021.

The Active citizens fund in Greece is supported through a € 15 m grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as part of the EEA Grants 2014 – 2021. The programme aims to develop the sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector in Greece, and to strengthen its role in promoting and safeguarding democratic procedures, active citizenship, and human rights. The Fund Operator for the Active citizens fund in Greece is Bodossaki Foundation in consortium with SolidarityNow.

PRESS RELEASE | Job Fair in Thessaloniki: 230 jobs offered to refugees & asylum seekers

Posted on Friday March 22nd, 2024

More than 230 job positions were offered, following approximately 770 interviews, during the successful job fair organized by SolidarityNow and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Thessaloniki on March 13th. The event aimed to connect refugees and asylum seekers who were looking for a job with employers from various sectors operating in Northern Greece.

The event, which took place at the Blue Refugee Centre*, is part of the strategic goal of both organizations to promote the employability of refugees, supporting the National Strategy for Integration for the benefit of both refugees and the Greek economy, and society.

During the event, 279 refugees and asylum seekers who participated underwent interviews with 15 employers from various business sectors, such as tourism and the manufacturing industry, who aim to strengthen and expand their workforce.

Receiving guidance and support at every step of the process, participants had the opportunity to draft their resumes on the spot and to learn about their working rights and obligations before proceeding to interviews with company representatives. Additionally, two parallel-group discussions provided inspiration and practical advice to refugees seeking to enter the job market.

Shaaima, a mother of three children, who came from Iraq to Greece in 2018 and, despite the challenges she faced, is ready to open her restaurant in Thessaloniki with Arab and Greek flavors. During her speech at the discussion titled “Refugee Women in the Workplace,” Shaaima inspired and encouraged all women to have confidence in themselves and to believe that they can make their own decisions. “Every woman is a knight and a poet. If a woman looks into her soul, she will see this,” she said.

Ola, a young woman from Sierra Leone who has been in Greece for about 1.5 years, shared her experience during the group discussion titled “Refugees and the Greek Labor Market: Discussion between Employers and Candidates.”

“For me, hope means patience. You must take one step at a time. You must recognize the value of what you do, and believe in yourself,” she stressed to mobilize other refugees who may feel helpless and have lost their hope. The practical advice Ola gives to refugees living in Greece is to seek support and guidance from local organizations. “My first step was to go to the Blue Refugee Centre. They helped me there.” While Ola received a job offer at a hotel this summer, she continues to pursue her big dream of becoming a real estate agent.

On their part, the employers who participated in the discussions expressed their gratitude to SolidarityNow and UNHCR for their initiatives aimed at promoting the employability of refugees. Although they all mentioned the administrative obstacles that undermine and often hinder the hiring process of refugees and asylum seekers, they praised the skills and professional ethics of refugee colleagues in Greece, which, as they explained, was the reason they participated in the event because they are interested in hiring even more.

“The company bus that transports workers to the construction site never had to wait for more than five minutes. They never neglected safety measures. They always had a positive attitude,” said a representative of a company operating in the construction sector during his speech, praising the excellent work ethic of refugee colleagues.

During the job fair, the UNHCR also presented the Adama Job-Matching Platform, a useful tool designed by UNHCR and Catholic Relief Services that connects refugees seeking employment in Greece with potential employers across the country.

The event was honored by the presence and participation of the Deputy Mayor for Social Policy, Solidarity, and Welfare of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, Mr. Efthymios Chatzitheoklitos, and the Deputy Mayor for Social Protection & Equality, Employment, Vocational Orientation and Volunteering & Health Promotion of the Municipality of Neapolis-Sykies, Ms. Irini Kagkavini. Both local officials praised the long and constructive cooperation with UNHCR and its partners in promoting the integration of refugees through the implementation of innovative programs.

Notes for editors:

– 279 refugees and asylum seekers of 29 nationalities participated in the job fair

– 212 men and 67 women participated

– 15 employers looking for staff also participated in the event

– 15 employers and employers of job seekers were also invited to participate

– So far 234 jobs have been offered and 148 offers have been accepted

– According to a survey conducted by SolidarityNow in 2022, 65% of refugee women respondents said they seek recognition of their professional experience, certificates and diplomas, while 63% expressed the need to study in Greece and work in a friendly and safe working environment.

*SolidarityNow’s “Blue Refugee Centre” operates in Thessaloniki in cooperation with UNHCR and UNICEF in order to support refugees and asylum seekers by providing a range of services that facilitate their integration. You can read more information here.