Values in Peace – Pilot workshop in Athens


On the last day of September, we held our local pilot, where we presented all the material we have learned and worked on in the framework of ‘Values in Peace’ project, to a group of 20 participants. The attendants were of various backgrounds, some members of the local authorities, a great number of students, some teachers and volunteers, all of whom created a combination whose responses were of great interest to us. Also present were the volunteers who participated in Madrid’s training course.

Step One: We chose a combination of short videos downloaded from the UNCHR, where all basic knowledge was presented in animation and in clear, simple language (in Greek). After each video, we had prepared some simple questions to work with, in order to grasp the basic terms, and that was a great starting point for discussion. The interest of the attendants was very high, and we unanimously agreed on the fact that everyday, common people don’t fully grasp or realize the basic aspects of the state of immigration.

Most of the participants didn’t really know who a refugee is, or what their difference from an immigrant is. We began with the two most basic terms, Refugee and Migrant. We proceeded with the Internally Displaced People, the Asylum Seekers, and finally the Stateless People – a very common situation even among our students, which very few really know about. Finally, we spoke about the Refugees’ rights and Who can help the Refugees.

Students are educated in basic terms about immigration

If you like to use this material: https://www.unhcr.org/teaching-about-refugees.html

Step Two: A group of students, that had already taken a great interest in the topic, prepared two interviews, one with a refugee and the other with an immigrant, and put together a video which they presented us during the workshop (in Greek).

The basic axes of the interviews were the route each one followed, and the channels they had to pass through in order to reach our country, as well as the impact of the locals’ behavior on their lives. All this actually created a sparkle, which soon enough led to the formation of a team of students and teachers, willing to create a youtube channel with more similar interviews, mainly with unaccompanied children that we have located in our proximity.

Students in a interview with refugees

If you like to see this material: https://youtu.be/KiC0VpwQkrc

Step Three: The members of the EPAL Kaisarianis team, and the volunteers trained in Madrid’s course last February, presented the material that we had prepared on Mobile Applications for refugees and migrants, as well the Good Practices that each country-member should share.

Especially the part on Mobile Applications really caught the attention of the audience. During the discussion that followed, we put forward the idea to create a similar application, in collaboration with the department of Computer Science.

Presentation of VIP Good Practices

If you like to read this material: Soon online..

Step Four: In the end, we had an open discussion, and reached certain conclusions which were also noted down in the Evaluation Form that each of the participants filled in.

Lastly, we distributed the Certificates of Attendance, and we agreed upon the most important notions of the day: KNOWLEDGE & SOLIDARITY.

Volunteers trained in Madrid last February, are presenting the VIP Values applications