Milad - My Planet...

Milad and his siblings learn in a violent way how one can find their planet, when their father has to face the hard dilemma: should he send one of his children, unaccompanied, and thus save the whole family?

Jelani married a woman from a different tribe. To avoid getting killed, they fled their country. On foot – and any other way possible – they finally arrived at a river, months later. Some die crossing it; others manage to swim across and enter Europe. But, once they set foot in Greece, the first adjacent European country, they found themselves homeless and socially excluded, without being able to move on or go back. The only solution is to travel illegally to Germany, that’s what the smugglers say. They don’t have enough money for the whole family to pass. Jelani faces this dilemma and has to choose. If one of the children leaves unaccompanied and arrives in Germany sound and safe, it will be able to bring the whole family there. Jelani’s children will have to learn violently what it’s like to discover their own planet or how they can create one from scratch – and whether Germany is the solution or just a new nightmare.

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The Return

Can theater as an education and rehabilitation medium help underage inmates, who stage their own lives, to overcome the limitations and obstacles of prison?

Can theater become an educational and rehabilitation medium for underage inmates who have no chance of escaping disobedience?
In a teenage prison, the inmates stage their own lives and become protagonists of a film that attempts to overcome the limitations and obstacles of a “correctional” institution.

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My Cotton Family

Will these pregnant women or with underage children, alone, find a shelter and be reunited with their families that are scattered around the world?

Mothers with their underage children or pregnant women, alone, persecuted in their countries for political and social reasons, find shelter in a house in Syngrou Avenue, Athens, where a group of specialists help them integrate in society and find the members of their families that are scattered in other countries. These women, who had no other choice than exile, find in that shelter the support they need in order to lawfully redefine their future in a strange continent.

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Beyond Limits

A school in a juvenile prison? Can underage inmates - convicted for life to recidivism - find the means there to make a new start in their lives?

A prison turns into a bright pause from hard life, when a group of teachers decides to found a school in juvenile prison of Avlona; as a result, knowledge and culture invade the young inmates’ lives, who would not have access to them in any other way. The years of detention become a useful flash of light in the lives of people who grow old deprived of basic social rights and convicted to recidivism. In prison’s school, they find the means to make a new start. Will they make it?

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Theatre and Reality

Can documentary and reality become a theatrical play where the “protagonists” redefine institutions and their own lives on stage?

Document and reality become a theatrical performance and real life heroes become the “protagonists” of their own lives on stage, demanding a better prospect.
The protagonists of the documentary theater play are the people of Lygourio village who, through their narration on stage, depict the history of Epidaurus Festival, along with some doubts about this institution, and the Greek Railways employees who discover the importance of the railways both in their lives and the history of modern Greek life.

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Greek Animal Rescue

Why are wounded stray dogs from Greece so popular for adoption abroad? Is there a hope for the ill-fated dogs, and an ill-fated area near Athens?

A gravely ill, abused three-legged stray dog, abandoned in the industrial desert of Aspropyrgos, a town near Athens; a London-based charity whose mission is to help the neglected animals of Greece; a group of young volunteers who patrol Aspropyrgos and attend to the strays – these are the characters of the film found in a nightmarish place, a hellhole for many abandoned animals. Does the sick three-legged hound stand any chance of getting adopted, becoming healthy again and running across the fields of Essex? Why are the Greekies – the strays from Greece – so popular when it comes to being adopted abroad? With an unexpected ending, the film tries to discover whether there is any hope for the doomed dogs and for a doomed area outside Athens.
A cinematic allegory of the Greek circumstances during the crisis based on true stories taking place in “invisible” districts near Athens that tourists and Athenians often ignore. The stories of stray animals depict – with a cinematic precision – everything that happens in Greece in times of crisis and motivate a London based charity, that discovered this by chance, to start a European campaign aiming at awakening all those who live “protected” and trapped in big cities.

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Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Six Greeks put their real stories on stage and wonder whether they should stay in Greece during the crisis or go. So, will they stay or will they go?

Six Greeks perform their true stories on stage wondering whether they should stay in the Greece of the crisis or leave. A German tries to understand whose fault this is and all together they attempt a new kind of theatre that turns documentary into a theatrical play. The camera follows the true lives of the heroes both in Berlin and Athens and along with the audience gets involved in the real stories of the protagonists that play themselves on stage. So, should they stay or should they go?

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The Second Chance

Is there ever a second chance in real life? A young inmate from Lithuania learns Greek in the prison’s school and aspires to study at the Technical University. Will he make it?

“…You go out in the yard. On a bench, you find some prisoners talking about how they will break the law without getting caught. On other benches, prisoners talk about drugs and Kalashnikovs. And suddenly, you see a big Lithuanian guy with some other inmates of the same proportions playing chess…”
These are the words of a music teacher that is currently incarcerated in the Special Youth Detention Center in Avlona, Greece.
Is there ever a second chance in real life? A young man from Lithuania finds himself imprisoned in a youth detention center in a foreign country where he doesn’t even speak the language. He can either stay in his cell and give up everything or find a way to redefine his life. He may even try to learn Greek in the prison’s school, discover his hidden talents and study at the Technical University one day. Will he succeed?
For three years, he strives to fulfill these seemingly unattainable goals as the camera records his anguish to start his life from scratch.

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Matternet

Can drones support - for peaceful purposes - Third World cities that find themselves secluded because of weather conditions and poverty? A new network of transportation and communication, or a science-fiction scenario?

Andreas Raptopoulos, an engineer from Greece, travels around the world and invents new applications that try to find a solution to social problems. In Singularity University, in NASA’s premises, organized by another scientist of the Greek diaspora, Peter Diamandis succeeds in making a utopian dream come true: Raptopoulos is the first one to build drones for peaceful purposes as a means to help Third World populations and cities that find themselves secluded because of weather conditions and poverty. A course that starts in a Technical School in Greece, and passes from London before going to San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Amazon.com, and finally the steep mountains of Mongolia, creating a new network for transportation and communication, which is no longer science fiction.

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Start Up Means... I Begin

Unemployed Greeks find ways to carry out venturesome dreams and impossible ideas by giving birth to dynamic and ambitious startups in Silicon Valley.

Unemployed Greeks, trying to promote their business abroad, arrive at Silicon Valley. The successful Greeks of California support and guide them by financing their bold dreams and impossible ideas, giving birth to new startups. Some of these startups become sought-after and are sold to big companies, like Tech behemoth Google, while their creators present them on camera, describing the whole process, the know-how, exonerating failure, giving a significant meaning to innovation.

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My Raft

The jobless “new poor” in times of crisis through the first Greek street-magazine find again their hopes so they can get a home, a job, study and a position in the society that has excluded them.

They found themselves homeless in a city that doesn’t know how to help them. The jobless “new poor” of our country have no hope. John Bird, an ex-homeless man and the homeless street paper he created in London, is the starting point, and, through his advice, the film follows Christos Alefantis and his team, as they lay the basis for their “Raft”, the Greek street paper “Shedia”. The camera documents the printing of the first issue, along with the worries whether this endeavor will succeed, so that excluded people are able to find a home, get a permanent job, study and reclaim their position in the society that has chased them away.

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Kick Out Poverty

The National Homeless football team competes with other homeless teams from around the globe and proves that football can become an important “weapon” against social seclusion.

A football team represents Greece in a world cup and wind the Fair Play Award. The Greek Homeless Football Team competes with other homeless teams (like the Indonesia team whose players are HIV positive) in Poland. The film follows the homeless players in their first journey abroad, while they score and receive goals, and prove that football, sοcialization and tolerance can become important “weapons” for one to deal with the hardships of a life that seems lost and tries to find ways to deal with social exclusion.

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Discover the interactive player

The interactive player expands the stories in space and time, offering augmented material
The position of the augmented material is indicated by dots at the bottom of the video attached to the timeline
When the player reaches a dot, a thumbnail containing extra material enters the screen, waiting for your input
You can click
Play now
to watch the extra material. The main film will continue once the extra material is completed
But you can also click
Watch later
to store the extra material in the “More stories” library for later viewing. The main movie will continue
All collected extra material will be available in “More stories” at the bottom of the screen as “Seen”, “Unseen” and “Bonus / not-included in the interactive player”, sorted by subject. You can open it by clicking the arrow
The dimmed images are extras that you have already seen
The grey boxes are placeholders for extras that you will collect later while watching the film
The label indicates extras that are “Bonus / not-included in the interactive player” material
At the end of the movie, after returning to the Home Page, you will find “The story continues” and “Get Involved” to be able to learn, help and be helped
Anytime you want to watch the tutorial again, you can click on the ? symbol at the upper right part of the screen
More stories

More stories / on the new homeless of Athens

  • The new homeless people of Athens

    2:47 min.

    Homeless people living in a subway station in Athens try to find ways to survive.

  • The "house" under the bridge

    3:17 min.

    A homeless couple in love builds its open-air house under a bridge

  • The house I dream of

    1:34 min.

    Marilena, a homeless woman, dreams of her ideal home.

  • Is there any hope?

    7:26 min.

    The famous Greek-Australian writer Christos Tsiolkas talks with the homeless vendors of the street paper "Shedia".

More stories / on turning my homelessness into art

  • A "homeless" performance in the subway

    4:56 min.

    The homeless vendors of the street paper "Shedia" stage a theatrical performance in the Athens subway with the passengers as their audience.

  • Homeless people staging a play

    5:03 min.

    Homeless vendors of “Shedia” stage a play in a commercial gallery in Athens

  • Homeless "in the middle of the street" - street performance

    5:15 min.

    A theatrical performance staged by homeless people who tell their stories and meet with the audience in unexpected parts of the city.

  • A home for "Shedia"

    1:32 min.

    The homeless vendors of the street paper "Shedia" become photographers, capture the life in Athens and exhibit their work at the Onassis Cultural Centre.

More stories / on supporting "Shedia" street paper

  • "Shedia" at TEDx

    1:57 min.

    The street paper "Shedia", "Kick Out Poverty" and Greek Homeless Football Team are presented as success stories at TEDX Athens.

  • Becoming homeless for a few hours

    3:52 min.

    Famous Athenians become vendors of the street paper “Shedia" in the center of Athens.

  • Concerts of 5 years for "Shedia"

    3:40 min.

    The concerts that took place for the support of "Shedia" street paper.

  • Everything that "Shedia" has made possible

    2:46 min.

    Statistical calculations on social, financial and psychological benefits for the vendors of "Shedia".

More stories / innovation against homelessness

  • ART Shedia

    2:23 min.

    "Shedia"'s old issues become the raw material for inventive creations by its homeless vendors.

  • Invisible tours

    4:14 min.

    Homeless vendors of the street paper "Shedia" in an unexpected tour in parts of Athens that usually remain “invisible”.

  • A former homeless person becomes a businessman

    5:53 min.

    The homeless vendors and heroes of the film, Bessy and Yannis, three years later, set up a family and start a new life.

More stories / on the street magazine "Shedia" 7 years later

  • The "Shedia" covers

    80 images

    All the issues of the street paper "Shedia". Issue 1 to 80

  • The street paper "Shedia" - 5 years later

    9:32 min.

    The street paper and the new lives of homeless vendors, 5 years later.

  • The homeless vendors of "Shedia" tell their stories

    79 images

    The personal stories of the vendors of "Shedia", in the last page of the street paper, every month.

  • Handwritten stories, notes and letters of the homeless vendors of "Shedia"

    10 images

    A collection of letters: success stories, stories of everyday survival and gratitude notes, written by the vendors of the street paper "Shedia".

More stories / on the street paper magazine "Big Issue"

  • Success stories by big issue vendors

    16 images

    "Chefs, poets and employees": Stories of hope and success by British street paper "Big Issue" vendors.

  • 25 years "Big Issue"- We will not stop

    3:40 min.

    A tribute for the 25th anniversary of street paper "Big Issue".

Screenings of the second season of of the documentary series MEETING WITH REMARKABLE PEOPLE 2020-2021

November 13, 2020

The second season of MEETING WITH REMARKABLE PEOPLE will be broadcasted at the second television network of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, the public broadcaster of Greece (ERT2) from 01/11/2020 until 11/04/2021. Find out more about the stories of the protagonists while navigating the platform and the augmented material of each movie.

“Shedia” street paper

SOLIDARITY SUBSCRIPTION Link: http://www.shedia.gr/subscriptions/ "SHEDIA" MOBILE APP Link: http://shedia.gr/mobileapp/                   “Shedia” is the only Greek street paper and a member of the International Network of Street Papers (www.insp.ngo). “Shedia”, like all the street papers around the world, is sold in the streets by official vendors. Vendors come from vulnerable population groups: homeless, long-term unemployed and other people experiencing extreme poverty and social exclusion. The cover price is 4.00€, out of which 62,5% (i.e. 2.50€) goes directly to the vendor, allowing them to earn a small income and cover some of their basic needs. “Shedia” serves as a medium through which people who experience social exclusion can rebuild their lives.  

http://www.shedia.gr/

International Network of Street Papers

Since 1994, INSP has developed into an international network supporting street papers around the world to start-up, develop and scale. Our support includes editorial content, business development support, training, networking opportunities and being part of a global community for collaboration, innovation and exchange.

https://insp.ngo

The Big Issue UK

The Big Issue’s mission is to dismantle poverty by creating opportunity, through self-help, social trading and business solutions. The Big Issue magazine launched in 1991 in response to the growing number of rough sleepers on the streets of London, by offering people the opportunity to earn a legitimate income through selling a magazine to the public. Twenty-five years on, the vendors come from a variety of backgrounds and face the myriad of problems associated with poverty and inequality.

https://www.bigissue.com

The Big Issue (Australia)

The Big Issue Australia runs social enterprises to create work opportunities for people who are unable to access mainstream jobs. The Big Issue Australia’s social enterprises not only provide opportunities for people to earn an income, but importantly, to build confidence and the capacity to help themselves.The people that Big Issue Australia help, come from a range of backgrounds including mental illness, homelessness, long-term unemployment, intellectual and physical disability and drug and alcohol dependency.

https://www.thebigissue.org.au

StreetWise (U.S.A.)

StreetWise aims to empower the entrepreneurial spirit through the dignity of self-employment by providing Chicagoans facing homelessness with a combination of supportive social services, workforce development and immediate access to gainful employment. StreetWise magazine is among the largest “street papers” in the United States and serves as a model for street papers across North America.

https://www.streetwise.org

Klimaka

Klimaka is a social institution, a non-profit, non-governmental organization, founded in 2000 and is engaged in providing mental health services and integration programs for marginalized social groups in Greece and abroad. Klimaka’s actions and programs aim at supporting the socially excluded by strengthening their approach towards life, the responsible assertion of rights and equal inclusion. Ultimate goals of the organization’s operations are:

  • The development of human and social capital to address social exclusion
  • Equal access to opportunities and social goods
  • Promotion of mental health
  • Strengthening of social cohesion and solidarity

http://www.klimaka.org.gr/

Praksis

PRAKSIS is an independent N.G.O. which provides humanitarian aid in a wide range of fields (including medical, legal, social welfare, psychological and financial) to socially vulnerable groups in need regardless of: color, race, religion, age, nationality, ideology or political beliefs, through an array of programs.  PRAKSIS is active throughout Greece, mostly in the regions of Attica, Central Macedonia, the islands of Lesvos, Chios and Samos, and the greater Patras area. Their mobile medical units are on call and ready to intervene wherever it is needed, responding to the occurring needs.  PRAKSIS Infrastructure and Interventions include: 

  • Community Centre – Athens
  • Polyclinic – Thessaloniki
  • Day Centre for the Homeless – Athens
  • Day Centre for the Homeless – Piraeus
  • Drop-In Centre for Unaccompanied Minors – Patras
  • Semi Independent Living (Apartments) for Unaccompanied Minors – Athens, Thessaloniki
  • ESTIA Project – Athens, Thessaloniki
Their services are provided to those who experience discrimination, social and / or financial exclusion, those who are deprived of basic goods and access to health. The Drop-In Center is a Daycare Center for unaccompanied or separated minors who need international protection. The Hospitality Centers in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras and the islands, house unaccompanied minors and other vulnerable asylum seeker groups. The Next Door Children program is aimed at children experiencing social and / or economic exclusion, children living under precarious conditions or the poverty line, exposed to risks, Roma children, victims or potential victims of transnational trafficking. The Mobile School and Futbalnet social actions also offer support to children and young people, promoting social inclusion through sports.

https://praksis.gr/en-about/

Nostos

NGO "Nostos" was established in 1995 by the Federation of Pontian Associations of Southern Greece and local pontian associations, against Social Exclusion and Unemployment. "Nostos" operates in the field of social and employment inclusion of those facing difficulties in their attempt to re-integrate into society and the working environment. In order to achieve their vision, Nostos provides social and educational services.

http://www.nostos.org.gr

The Greek Ombudsman

Platform of actions of the Citizen's Ombudsman for socially vulnerable groups. The Greek Ombudsman acts as guardian of the people’s rights in both the public and private sectors, with a special emphasis on monitoring and promoting the implementation of the principle of equal treatment, the rights of the child and the rights of vulnerable groups. In addition, this Independent Authority stands by the citizens affected by the financial crisis; it investigates problems caused by legislation or administrative acts or omissions and undertakes targeted initiatives, building on the expertise it has developed so far, and the enhanced competences it enjoys.

https://www.synigoros-solidarity.gr

Ithaca – Mobile Laundry

Ithaca is a mobile laundry service for the homeless, founded in 2015 by three students, Thanos Spiliopoulos, Fanis Tsonas and Andili Rahouti. Each mobile unit consists of two washing machines and two tumble dryers, while water and electricity are provided free of charge by partner organizations. Each wash lasts about 40′ and another 45′ for the dryer. Beneficiaries deliver their clothes at the start of the shift, where they receive a priority number by which they pick up their clothes at the end of the process. At the moment, the mobile laundry operates in five different spots in Athens and Piraeus, six days a week. Ithaca aims to improve the hygiene conditions of homeless people, so as to restore their dignity and self-esteem.

http://ithacalaundry.gr/

KETHEA

KETHEA is the largest rehabilitation and social reintegration network in Greece. It has been providing its services to drug addicts and their families 1983. Its services are offered free of charge on the street and in prisons and rehabilitation units around Greece. KETHEA also helps people suffering from other forms of addiction including alcohol, gambling and the Internet.  

http://www.kethea.gr/

OKANA

OKANA's work and programmes focus on prevention, treatment and social reintegration of people facing problems related to substance use.  

http://www.okana.gr

Caritas Hellas

Caritas Hellas aims to support individuals and groups of people who need help without any discrimination. The purpose of the organization is to create and implement actions and programs of humanitarian and philanthropic content, as well as to develop a spirit of solidarity within society. Caritas Hellas focuses on providing social services, counselling, moral and psychological support as well as implement actions and design programs to combat poverty and social exclusion of vulnerable population groups. 

http://caritas.gr

Anestios Bookstore of the Homeless

A man found himself homeless during the economic crisis when he was made redundant from his job at a publishing house. He started collecting any books and small objects he could find and started the “Bookstore of the Homeless”. Today, he has about 25 thousand books and is looking for associates and volunteers, offering work opportunities to homeless people in Athens.   https://www.facebook.com/Παλαιοβιβλιοπωλείο-των-αστέγων-120961292625868/

http://www.anestios.gr

Mind the Fact

Mind the fact is an artistic initiative founded in 2016. It is an innovative model of artistic production based on true stories told by the people who experienced them.  Within the mind the fact network, professional artists collaborate with non-artists. Concealed or unspoken issues and excluded or hidden protagonists of real life come into light and present themselves, claiming their own space through art. The performances, exhibitions and events of mind the fact are shaped through carefully designed workshops. 

http://www.mindthefact.gr

Synergy-o

SYNERGY-O is an experimental art space in the center of Athens. Founded in 2010, SYNERGY-O in collaboration with NGO Amaka, run the Art and Theatre workshop called 'Station Athens' for refugees and immigrants.  SYNERGY-O's mission is to produce artistic work with social content while offering art and theatre workshops to vulnerable social groups.  

http://www.synergyo.gr

Red Cross

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded in 1863 to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering without cultural or ethnic distinction. The Greek Red Cross, founded in 1877 was immediately recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross. It is the largest humanitarian organization in Greece with work based on voluntary action and immediate response from citizens. The organization makes all possible efforts to alleviate human suffering in times of war and peace, supporting injured, sick, refugees, the elderly, people with financial difficulties and people from every vulnerable group of the population.

http://www.redcross.gr

Bread and Action

The NGO BREAD and ACTION supports and nourishes people who are experiencing survival problems. Founded in 1998, BREAD and ACTION has offered its services in over 300,000 cases through the years, supporting a range of vulnerable social groups such as the homeless, refugees, earthquake victims and immigrants. The daily presence of BREAD and ACTION is of great importance in regards to offering food, supplying people with the essentials, providing psycho-social support and other actions.

http://artosdrasi.rei.gr

Social Kitchen “The Other Human”

The idea of the Greek aid group "The Other Human" is an action of solidarity and a manifestation of love towards our fellowmen, through cooking and sharing meals, with the hope to awaken consciousness and to inspire similar actions from other groups.

http://oallosanthropos.blogspot.gr

Institute of Global Homelessness (IGH)

The Institute of Global Homelessness is the first organization to focus on homelessness as a global phenomenon with an emphasis on those who are living on the street or in emergency shelters. IGH supports an emerging global movement to end street homelessness. As a first step toward achieving this goal, IGH is working with key global strategic partners to eradicate street homelessness in 150 cities around the world by 2030. Their vision is that within a generation, everyone will have a place to call home.

http://www.ighomelessness.org/

Feantsa

FEANTSA is the European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless focusing exclusively on the fight against homelessness. Established in 1989, FEANTSA brings together non-profit services that support homeless people in Europe. FEANTSA works towards ending homelessness by:

  1. Engaging in constant dialogue with the European institutions, national and regional governments to promote the development and implementation of effective measures to end homelessness.
  2. Conducting and disseminating research and data collection to promote a better understanding of the nature, extent, causes of, and solutions to, homelessness.
  3. Promoting and facilitating the exchange of information, experience and good practice between FEANTSA's member organisations and relevant stakeholders with a view to improve policies and practices addressing homelessness.
  4. Raising public awareness about the complexity of homelessness and the multidimensional nature of the problems faced by homeless people.

http://www.feantsa.org/en

Doctors of the World / Médecins du Monde – Greece (MdM-Greece)

Doctors of the World / Médecins du Monde – Greece (MdM-Greece), is a medical humanitarian non-governmental organization and is a member of Médecins Du Monde International. The guiding principle underlying MdM’s activities is that every human being has a right to humanitarian assistance, irrespective of their gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, ideology or political persuasion. MdM’s members speaking out about human rights abuses witnessed in the field. Médecins du Monde – Greece, since the beginning of its operations, has been implementing several projects within Greece and abroad, in order to provide medical as well as other services to marginalized populations that cannot access healthcare services and medical care. The first and foremost mission of Doctors of the World is to provide medical care. Actions though are not limited to medical treatment: Always based on the medical experience, the organization is vocal against the obstruction of access to healthcare, against to violation of human right and dignity.

https://mdmgreece.gr/en/

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