Meeting changemakers

Across districts in the west and the centre of Thessaloniki
Meeting point: 'Point 0', Dimokratias sq., 18:00
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Participation upon registration (up to 15 participants)

During the Greek Crisis, a plethora of initiatives sprung as a way to meet collectively local needs, while operating via democratic decision-making processes. After more than a decade, Social Solidarity Economy, Commons and neighbourhood initiatives are still trying to bring to the present the futures that they have been envisioning. This walk through the west and the centre of Thessaloniki will provide the opportunity to speak face to face with the people behind some of these initiatives, such as alterthess, a local publishing and media cooperative, Vardaris Neighboorhood Group, which is supported by Self-Help Promotion Program, Eklektik – Cooperative Grocery and Café, and dot2dot, a social cooperative enterprise active in the fields of culture, experiential tourism, research and education.

Heinrich Böll Foundation’s office (3 Aristotelous st., 3^rd floor), 19:00
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Across Europe climate policies are increasingly entangled in culture wars and co-opted by (far)right populists. A generation of young people, increasingly disillusioned with the political status quo, remains apathetic –or even actively denies– the looming climate crisis. Energy communities can offer a vision of class-conscious climate policy that can energize (young) people with messages of radical social and climate justice. A pitch by Chris Vrettos from Electra Energy Cooperative, a participant of the 8^th Congress of Young Europeans himself.

Alexandrou Svolou Neighbourhood’s pocket park (Agapinou st. & Ioannou Michail st.), 18:00
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The first pocket park in the city of Thessaloniki was developed by the Alexandrou Svolou Neighbourhood Initiative in collaboration with the Municipality of Thessaloniki to counter the lack of green, public spaces, an indeed common challenge for many cities in the wider region.

The creation of the park began in 2017 with a participatory planning workshop to transform a derelict urban void (431.65 m²) into a communal park, as an attempt to (re-)activate the neighbourhood feeling, the community element and re-claim public but abandoned land for and by citizens.

The park has been active part of the neighbourhood everyday reality for more than seven years now, hosting more than 120 activities (collective actions, cultural activities, scientific workshops and so on), with more than 3.000 people participating, ultimately turning the space into a green and creative place. All activities are free, and there has been no external institutional funding.

Its reputation, however, goes far beyond the neighbourhood borders and its example has inspired similar initiatives in other parts of the cities and in other Greek cities, indeed. In a time of a shortage of free social spaces in Thessaloniki, the Pocket Park represents a self-organised initiative for reclaiming public space, and emphasises the need for coexistence and collective action at a (trans-)local level.

ActionAid Hellas Youth Centre Thessaloniki (7 Navarinou sq.), 19:00
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‘1000 Dreams’ is a project entirely authored by people with a refugee background telling the stories of refugees across Europe. While our understanding of the refugee experience most often comes through stories told by others, often creating incomplete and biased perceptions, ‘1000 Dreams’ allows us to get to know the stories of people on the move and to learn about them, their dreams and their strengths. For a second year in a row, we as Heinrich Böll Foundation have the honour and pleasure of exhibiting in Thessaloniki a selection of these portraits and stories coming from the LGBTQI+ refugee community in Europe.