At the graduation ceremony of the Metropolitan College, which took place at the Athens Concert Hall, SolidarityNow participated with its General Manager, Ms Antigone Lyberaki, who said during her speech: “The aim of education is to understand the world out there, but also the world inside us and how they interact with each other. But even more, education is to find ways to make both worlds even better. Our collaboration with the Metropolitan College refers to all aspects of the educational experience. ”

The invitation to this important event for graduates took place in the context of the collaboration between the Metropolitan College and our organization, when a group of Arizona State University students from the USA attended a two-week program in accommodation structures run by SolidarityNow .

Read below the greeting of Antigone Lyberaki during the event.

Education has always been an experiment, a journey with known routes but with many unexpected incidents along the way too. A journey aiming to make us understand the world around us but also our inner world. To make us understand the different ways in which the inner and outer-side world coexist.. and of course, make both worlds better.

This cooperation between solidarity now and the Metropolitan College, is connected to all sides of educational experience. We try to offer opportunities to comprehend the world around us and embed in the inner world of young people the compassion for the least lucky people around us. We are aiming to offer tools for the interaction of young people belonging to different worlds with the ultimate goal of making them better. (Both the world and young adults)

We had the pleasure of hosting 6 students from Arizona State University to our programs here in Athens for two weeks last May. Those young girls had the opportunity of getting to know and experience Solidarity’s Now actions and activities first hand.

They had an orientation visit at the Solidarity Centre in Athens. They participated in entertaining activities alongside children of the Hosting Centre Facilities of Solidarity Now in Paiania. They helped with the collection of clothes for the Bazaar that the Care Centre for Minors had organized. They participated in a brainstorming session on how an ideal youth center should be like in Athens. Finally, they had a summary/overview discussion in which they went through everything they’d learnt the past weeks and evaluated their overall experience.

All of us here in Solidarity Now, are always eager to welcome students from the Metropolitan College and share with them experiences that we’ve gained through our work and open for them the door to our world.

We would be very grateful if also the Metropolitan College, from their side, opened the door of opportunities and qualitative education to young people belonging to the population we support. In order for them to gain real valuable opportunities which – we are certain – will enrich the lives of both the recipients of scholarship from Solidarity Now but also the rest of the College students.

During this effort for an open and welcoming society of understanding and opportunities, those collaborations based on reciprocity are a valuable tool.