Dates: 29 June - 8 July 2018
Place: Athens & Kalamata, Greece
Activities
For this particular Job Shadowing, we traveled in two different cities. The 1st stop was in Athens, a metropolitan city and capital of Greece. The 2nd was in Kalamata which is a city at a southern coast of Greece with agricultural traditions. By this way, we tried to give to the participants a more complete picture of sustainability in different areas of Greece. The Job Shadowing in Greece was generally focused on Social and Solidarity Economy, the self-organisation and community participation.
Participants had the pleasure to visit and participate in activities of different organisations, projects and public bodies, as well as get engaged with both local communities of the center of Athens and Kalamata! Here is a small taste of what happened.
Place: Athens & Kalamata, Greece
Activities
For this particular Job Shadowing, we traveled in two different cities. The 1st stop was in Athens, a metropolitan city and capital of Greece. The 2nd was in Kalamata which is a city at a southern coast of Greece with agricultural traditions. By this way, we tried to give to the participants a more complete picture of sustainability in different areas of Greece. The Job Shadowing in Greece was generally focused on Social and Solidarity Economy, the self-organisation and community participation.
Participants had the pleasure to visit and participate in activities of different organisations, projects and public bodies, as well as get engaged with both local communities of the center of Athens and Kalamata! Here is a small taste of what happened.
The first day the group visited the Cooperative Enterprise called Wind of Renewal (Anemos Ananeosis) and their project Welcommon Hostel, a new hostel in Athens and an experience in responsible tourism, a social experiment, a center for innovation, art, social & job integration. After this meeting we had a “Walk and Talk” activity in Exarcheia area. The “tour” included discussions about the use of public spaces, the anti-globalization and environmental justice movements, the social services offered by the community to the community (social pharmacies, social kitchens, social markets, exchange markets, time banks, open education, sustainability movements) and the Municipal services. The discussions took place at Navarinou Park , a self-organised park in Exarcheia – part playground, part open-air cinema, part vegetable garden and verdant oasis. The day finished by joining the 21st Antiracist Festival where the group had also the opportunity to taste Migrants Food. That Festival was a great way to have better understanding of what is happening in Greece with regards to migration and refugees, as well as social movements and active participation.
During the second day, the group tried to go "back in time" from Exarcheia and Metaxourgeio area, they moved to archaeological sites of Athens, learning more about the sustainability of the ancient times in Athens. After visiting the old antique shops and feeling the atmosphere of Athens of the 80s, the group spent quality time at a cooperative Cafe with local and fair trade products that is also a Network for Social and Solidarity Economy at Thiseio area. Of course, the group could not miss the opportunity to go up to Acropolis hill to close the day!
The last day in Athens, the group went to Oikia Theotokopoulou of the Municipality of Athens to participate in a workshop offered by the ReMakers project of Athens Makerspace using their Precious Plastics Lab. Athens Makerspace is a physical community space where tools and machinery are structured and organised in different fields of fabrication, both from new and traditional technologies. They provide open access to anyone in return for a small monthly fee, while promoting the DIY (Do It Yourself) and DIT (Do It Together) mentality. They focus on digital fabrication technologies and rapid prototyping of physical objects. Within the makerspace “hands-on” educational workshops take place, with a goal of learning by doing.
After the interesting and educational workhsop, the group moved to the city of Kalamata!
After the interesting and educational workhsop, the group moved to the city of Kalamata!
The Job Shadowing continue at the city of Kalamata. Starting with a guiding tour at the Castle of Kalamata, they talked about indicative historical aspects of Kalamata and the big environmental destructions that the city and wider region had to phase in the past (storm, earthquake, big fire). The same day, the group had to complete a task in which they had to move around and explore the city, identify indicators of sustainability and issues that hinder sustainability, collecting also testimonies from the public (locals and tourists). Interesting discussions about sustainable tourism and migration followed after the task, part of which gave the inspiration to develop one of the educational activities!
The next days included many different visits. The first one was at the Environmental Education Center of Kalamata. Where they presented us their work and their project called ArchaeoSchool for the Future: a sustainability approach. Participants got valuable information on non-formal learning activities and facilitation. They took part in different non-formal activities that are usually organised during the trainings of the center.
The next day we met Anna from R.A.D.I.Kal.A, which combines ways to deal with environmental issues and insufficient physical activity through innovative projects designed to engage every generation. In specific, R.A.D.I.Kal.A. designs and produces items such as sailboats from plastic bottles shredded by school children during their sport hours, using bike-shredders designed by R.A.D.I.Kal.A. Boats are then used to teach these children sailing skills. They have recently launched a recycled boat under an Erasmus+ project called DREAM, in collaboration with KANE youth organisation based in Kalamata. Pictures taken from R.A.D.I.Kal.A. social media account.
In the afternoon, we visited the Fifa farm and had a tour around the farm by Myrto. She introduced to us the local composting idea and the RE:Think Project. the educational activities that are taking place at the farm addressed to kids, the natural gardening, the seeds bank and the whole permaculture spirit of these activities. Such an incredible place to be!
Our last visit was at Lysos Garden, a very special initiative that aims to help people with special needs to become independent, to work and earn money, to feel good because they have work and earn a bit of income. It offers a wide range of gardening workshops! The group was very impressed by their hospitality, simplicity and honesty!
Finally. the STEP Job Shadowing in Greece finished by resulting two different educational activities and one nice boat trip!