37 companies recruited beneficiaries of the organization’s Employability Service

Thessaloniki, June 11, 2019

“I just signed my contract today and I’m very happy. All the happiness on my face is thanks to you” – Linda, 40 years old from Cameroon, beneficiary of the Blue Refugee Center’s Employability Service who found a job in Thessaloniki.

Work, Confidence, Independence, Safety, Integration, and Acceptance are some of the new words learned in Greek by migrants and refugees who come to seek help and employment support at SolidarityNow’s Blue Refuge Center in Thessaloniki.

In line with SolidarityNow’s overall aim to support the integration and empowerment of refugees and migrants, despite the country’s economic instability and weak labor market, the Employability & Work Counseling Service at SolidarityNow’s Blue Refugee Center* in Thessaloniki succeeded in connecting migrant groups to the Greek labor market. Specifically, in the three years of the Service’s operation, 223 people have found work based on their skills, knowledge, experience and aspirations. Furthermore, 37 companies that collaborated with the organization, hired people who have been among the Employability Service’s beneficiaries.

“SolidarityNow’s Employability Service was designed based on the needs of people visiting our Centers. Our aim is to highlight and strengthen the different skills, as well as the cognitive and cultural background of our beneficiaries, so that they can respond to their new life”, notes Ioanna Fourkiotou, Director of SolidarityNow’s activities in Northern Greece and continues: “Most important of all is that this effort has been embraced by many companies and employers who have shown social sensitivity and hired these people, giving them a second chance in life”.

SolidarityNow wants to thank the companies and employers who have turned their social responsibility into practice and have collaborated with the organization’s Employability Service. We believe – and we are working towards this direction – that in the near future we will see even more companies responding and developing synergies as an integral part of their Corporate Social Responsibility and their recruitment policy.

Since 2016, a great alliance has been achieved among different stakeholders. And the heart of this alliance is in the heart of SolidarityNow’s activities in Thessaloniki, the Blue Refugee Center:

• 839 people have sought professional counseling; of them, 223 have found a job. Specifically:
• 17 women, and
• 206 men
• from 29 different countries

found work, mainly in the sectors of tourism and food service, but also as manual labor workers and interpreters.

• 37 cooperating companies recruited the Service’s beneficiaries.

All these were made possible through 2812 individual counseling sessions,

28 group training sessions and 3 thematic workshops.

“But above all”, as the Center’s employability team underlines “our beneficiaries believed in themselves and in their strength and started seeing life more optimistically”.

The inclusion of refugees and migrants in the Greek labor market and more broadly in the Greek society is a process with many difficulties -legal and bureaucratic- and therefore time-consuming. Furthermore, their lack of knowledge of the Greek language and the cultural differences coupled with high unemployment and discrimination are considerable barriers to entry to the labor market. However, these barriers are not insurmountable. SolidarityNow, through its Solidarity Centers and all its programs in Athens, Thessaloniki and Ioannina, as well as its specialized staff, strives to find a solution to all these difficulties and create the conditions for equal access and equal opportunities at work for Everyone.

*The Blue Refugee Center is supported by UNHCR GREECE and funded by EU.

Busting 10+1 Myths

Raising questions – Giving answers – Busting Myths

The new SolidarityNow video that informs and raises awareness aiming to defend

LGBT refugees’ rights

Myth 1: Can you tell that someone is gay just by looking?

Myth 2: Does an LGBT person feel free in Greece?

Myth 3: Why do some LGBT people flee their home country?

One minute and seven seconds are enough to bust the 10 + 1 myths that surround the members of the LGBT community, refugees and non-refugees. Providing answers to the above questions, SolidarityNow, through the Bridging Rainbow program, seeks to break down myths against fundamental human rights and build a bridge towards respect.

“Bridging Rainbow”

 The project “Bridging Rainbow” aims to raise awareness about the vulnerable social group of LGBT refugees by increasing the knowledge and understanding of all relevant stakeholders.

It also intends via targeted awareness actions to strengthen the collaboration among all stakeholders supporting the LGBT refugee community and act as an accelerator of social change facilitating this way the pathway towards the refugees’ and asylum seekers’ social inclusion and integration. To achieve this goal, busting myths and stereotypes about the LGBT community but also regarding refugees and asylum seekers is an extremely important step.

The Importance of Raising Awareness

Raising awareness and sharing information about issues that concern LGBT people is vital for ameliorating the quality of services available for LGBT refugees and asylum seekers for their identities to be accepted, understood and respected by all relevant stakeholders. LGBT refugees often face ignorance and insensitivity both in their own cultural communities and in the humanitarian sector.

At the same time, the Greek LGBT community isn’t always open to racial, ethnic and religious difference, which is another aspect of the intersecting identities of LGBT refugees and asylum seekers that must be respected. It is equally important to ensure that organizations about LGBT rights are well informed in legal and other practical issues, as well as in matters of intersectionality, inclusion and cultural diversity.

In order to respond to the above, the Bridging Rainbow program includes:

• Sensitization trainings and information sessions regarding the legal framework and the asylum procedure.
• Workshops to support the access and integration of refugees and asylum seekers to the labor market.
• Capacity-building of stakeholders that serve this group.
• Relevant informational and awareness raising events.

Did you know that

80 countries worldwide criminalize same-sex relations?

While most refugee populations flee their home countries due to conflict, political instability and natural disasters, LGBT refugees flee their homes simply due to their sexual orientation and gender identity for which they face persecution, discrimination and violations of their basic human rights.

Nearly 80 countries worldwide criminalize same-sex relations, while specific laws limiting the rights of the LGBT community may not exist in some countries, and governments often fail to adequately protect this group’s fundamental human rights in the face of abuses and violations. LGBT refugees and asylum seekers face numerous challenges throughout their displacement, including prejudice, unjust detention, sexual and gender-based violence, inhibited access to humanitarian services, and barriers to articulating protection needs during the asylum process.

*Τhe project is implemented by SolidarityNow and supported by the Municipality of Barcelona and the foundation ACSAR.

Τhe members of SolidarityNow’s Board of Directors unanimously selected Yiannis Boutaris as the new member of the organization’s Board to honor his outstanding and important work and contribution to the Local Government and the strengthening of civil society.

“It is with great joy and excitement we welcome  Yiannis Boutaris, to SolidarityNow’s Board of Directors, a great man, a pillar of civil society”, states SolidarityNow’s Chairman, Stelios Zavvos. Yiannis Boutaris, in his years of office, expanded and strengthened the local government in Thessaloniki while helping the city make an opening to its multicultural heritage in a way that included its citizens and made them reembrace their multinational roots. And as he states, ‘we opened Thessaloniki to the world. We planted the seed of openness’. “And there is no doubt that Yiannis Boutaris is a man who dares to fight for his ideas”, Mr. Zavvos pointed out.

His initiatives have been of great contribution to both the humanitarian field, notably the refugee crisis, but also towards the protection of the environment. SolidarityNow as a whole is very proud that Yiannis Boutaris will contribute to the organization’s mission with his experience and innovative social proposals for an open society.

“I was aware of SolidarityNow’s outstanding work long before my election as Mayor. In my years of office, I have had the opportunity to work with the organization, with which we organized activities for the benefit of the municipality and its citizens. It is an honor for me to join the Board of Directors, a post from which I will continue to offer to the community after my term as Mayor of Thessaloniki”, states Yiannis Boutaris.

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Yiannis Boutaris is a businessman, politician, Chemist graduate of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki while also being a successful Oenologist. Since 2011 he is the Mayor of Thessaloniki. His term of office in the Municipality of Thessaloniki has been described as “a positive policy, reforming and refreshing mindset”. During his term of office, important was his contribution to reducing financial costs, rationalizing public services and fighting corruption in the city of Thessaloniki.

The Board of Directors of SolidarityNow consists of:

Stelios Zavvos – Chairman

Alivizatos Nikos – Honorary Professor of Constitutional Law/University of Athens

Vidalis Euthimios -Businessman,

Diamandouros Nikiforos – Honorary Professor of Political Science/University of Athens

Doxiadis Aristos – Partner/Venture Capital Investor

Kavounidi Jenny – Senior Research Fellow, Center of Planning and Economic Research, Visiting Associate Professor/Athens University of Economics and Business

Matsagganis Manos – Associate Professor in the Department of International and European Economic Studies/Athens University of Economics and Business

Nomikou Kalipso – Businesswoman

Christos Rozakis – Professor of International Public Law/University of Athens, Vice President of the European Court of Human Rights

Triantafyllidou Anna – Professor/European University Institute, Florence, Italy.

During the three years, (August 2016-February 2019), of the Child and Family Support Hubs’ operation by SolidarityNow in refugee camps of mainland Greece, more than 14,500 people, adults, and especially women and children, have been supported to regain their lives but also to be empowered for their next big step: their inclusion in our society.

SolidarityNow, with the support of UNICEF, brought to completion the 2^nd phase (November 2017-February 2019) of the innovative Child and Family Support Hubs program (CFSH). “The program has adapted many times to the changing needs of the refugee crisis in Greece. Hence, non-formal education was included as one of the main pillars of the program, alongside child protection and the prevention and treatment of gender violence”, underlines Christiana Kyrkou, SolidarityNow program’s Coordinator.

Focusing on the refugees’ social integration and on strengthening their autonomy, the Child and Family Support Hubs were operational in more than 20 different sites in Attica, Epirus, Central and Northern Greece, with their specialized field teams.

 The CFSH program’s achievements:

• 7,363 the total number of beneficiaries: 3,829 children and 3,534 adults
• 2,774 children benefited from the Child Friendly Spaces
• 2,221 refugees and children received psychosocial support
• 2,133 women and girls had access to the Female Friendly Spaces
• 724 children under the age of 2, accompanied by their mothers, had access to the neonatal and postnatal counseling facilities-Mother Baby Corner.

A further great achievement is that during the program’s implementation children and families of high vulnerability were identified and referred to specialized services in order to receive the necessary support:

• 332 unaccompanied children and 106 people with disabilities were referred to receive additional support
• 286 children, male and female victims of gender violence were identified and received specialized support and care
• 3,017 adults and children in total received legal support
• 3,229 referrals of people with health problems (physical injuries, illness) to health services
• 270 referrals of people with mental health problems to competent services
• 904 children were referred to formal or non-formal educational services.

Two-way education!

The identification and referral of vulnerable beneficiaries were facilitated by the daily contact of teachers with their students. In total:

• 3,562 children and adults attended courses and received school support
• 34 teachers were specialized in the education of refugees and migrants.

“Is there a difference among children growing up in peacetime and children who have experienced displacement? Yes, there is. However, this difference can be soothed with the right support as time goes by. This way childhood is proven to be strong enough to prevail over a dreadful experience. For example, the children’s drawings show us that a more beautiful world is feasible“, says Sofia Tzelepi, one of the program’s lawyers.

The 2019 target: Child Protection and Education in 13 sites across the country

 SolidarityNow, with support from UNICEF, IOM (International Organization for Migration) and funding by the European Union, continues the program’s implementation in 2019 by scaling up to present in 13 locations, providing holistic child protection and non-formal education services through the Hubs. “With the dynamic presence of our teams in 13 sites, we aim to support the interconnection of the local community with the local camp, strengthen the refugees’ openness and build on the local organizations’ capabilities so that they also take an active role since the great challenge now is the inclusion to local communities”, underlines Marietta Provopoulou, Deputy General Manager.

*The program is implemented with the support of UNICEF – until 2018 it was funded by the European Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO). Since March 2019, the program is funded by the European Union with the support of UNICEF and IOM.