Reflecting on the intersection of circus, social justice, and climate action

Lead Partner: ΜΟΝΟΚΥΚΛΟ ΑΣΤΙΚΗ ΜΗ ΚΕΡΔΟΣΚΟΠΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ
Co-Partner: ACTING FOR CLIMATE

Monokyklo, a Greek non-governmental organization specializing in social circus, aims to collaborate with the Norwegian organization Acting for Climate, to conduct a series of circus workshops and performances about climate change for the refugee communities in Thessaloniki. The Norwegian partner organization, which specializes in circus arts and has a strong commitment to social issues, is an ideal collaborator for this initiative. Monokyklo will handle the logistics of the project (e.g securing the venue and equipment, engaging with the refugees). The partner will provide expertise in circus arts and help develop the 3 workshops and conduct 2 performances. The initiative consists of three activities:
1. Monokyklo will provide 12-16 circus workshops to the refugee community in Thessaloniki from March to April
2. From May 1-6, 3 workshops from Acting for Climate
3. Additionally, the Norwegian partner will conduct 2 performances, in a public space.

Voices without borders

Lead Partner: Greek Association of People Living with HIV – Positive Voice
Co-Partner: HIVNorway (HIVNorge)

“Voices without borders” is an initiative aiming to document the lived experience of migrants & refugees with HIV, to help in advocating for their inclusion in the Greek NHS, as well as strengthening bilateral relations.
The planned activities are the following:
-The staff of Norsensus will give a seminar on planning, story-telling advocacy & other expertise areas for members of Positive Voice staff, and the staff of HIVNorway will give a seminar on HIV advocacy & other common interest areas. (10/2023, Oslo, Norsensus/HIVNorway)
-The staff of Positive Voice will give a seminar on communications & advocacy methods (mostly regarding HIV) and other areas of expertise, for members of the staff of Norsensus & HIVNorway. (10/2023, Athens, Positive Voice)
-Bimonthly meetings between Positive Voice and each partner will take place in order to discuss updates on the project and exchange know-how (6 with Norsensus & 6 with HIVNorway, 09/2023-08/2024, online, Positive Voice/Norsensus/HIVNorway)
-Monthly social media posts in order to disseminate project-relevant information (12 in total; 09/2023-08/2024, Positive Voice)
-Creation of 3 short videos showcasing issues relevant to the project for awareness-raising purposes (09/2023-08/2024, Positive Voice)
-Open Info Day: Positive Voice will host an online event in order to share stories of refugees, experience from the field, current challenges/conclusions/lessons learned from this program & future directions. The event will be open to stakeholders from Greece & Norway. (07/2024, online, Positive Voice)

MUSIC EMBRACING CULTURES

Lead Partner: PRAKSIS – PROGRAMS OF DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL SUPPORT AND MEDICAL COOPERATION
Co-Partner: CULTURE BREAK BORDERS / KULTUR BRYTER GRENSER

All three CSO’s are partnering to create a project named «MUSIC EMBRACING CULTURES / Η ΜΟΥΣΙΚΗ ΑΓΚΑΛΙΑΖΕΙ ΤΟΥΣ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΟΥΣ” which consists of a 7-day music and media workshop in Athens, open to young people aged 15-30, from refugee, immigrant, and Greek backgrounds. The goal is to use music (songwriting) and media training (videography) to build community and understanding around issues of cultural difference, gender-based violence, prejudice, and discrimination. One guest musician, Frode Barth from Norway, will join Greek filmmakers, photographers, and GBV and human rights experts, who will guide the youth in their creation of new songs and music videos, which will then be shared online.

Classrooms against Bullying – CAB

Lead Partner: Allileggie SolidarityNow
Co-Partner: The European Wergeland Centre

The proposed initiative, entitled “Classrooms against Bullying – CAB”, is a collaboration between NGO SolidarityNow (SN) and the Norwegian resource center European Wergeland Centre (EWC), aiming to cement a bilateral partnership for the promotion of safe and inclusive schools in Greece. The exchange of knowledge and good practices is at the core of this project, aiming to prevent discrimination, bullying and violence in schools, while enabling the inclusion of all children in the education system. EWC’s expertise on promoting a citizen’s democratic capacity through education also includes the production of materials especially adapted for the Greek context through the Schools for All project; SN has long-standing experience in providing direct education to vulnerable children across Greece, as well as in capacity building for educators.
The project implementation will span 12 months, between July 2023-June 2024, and aims to develop an approach to prevent bullying and violence in Greek schools, and promote the integration of all children, regardless of their background and vulnerability. The approach will be developed through the exchange of practical experiences, facilitated by a study visit to Oslo, and the adaptation of already existing materials and international approaches, capitalizing especially on the resources developed by EWC over 15 years on the holistic school approach and development of democratic competences. They will be distilled into a singular publication, widely disseminated to the Greek school community, and accompanied by a relevant training delivered in Athens twice (in vivo) to 30 Greek members of the public school system, including teachers, school administrators, school social workers and psychologists, regional educational advisors, and refugee education coordinators. Beyond the immediate goals of this collaboration, the project aims to build a strong bilateral partnership for further targeted work on inclusive education.

Support displaced people, especially vulnerable women, and children

Lead Partner: Allileggie SolidarityNow
Co-Partner: Dråpen i Havet / Drop in the Ocean

The proposed initiative aims to strengthen the existing partnership and enhance the collaboration between Greek NGO SolidarityNow (SN) and Norwegian NGO Dråpen i Havet / Drop in the Ocean (DiH), both working to support displaced people, especially vulnerable women and children.
This will be achieved through the implementation of the following activities:
a) the exchange of know-how and sharing of information through study visits of experts from Greece and Norway,
b) the exchange of best practices related to the community engagement and integration of women asylum seekers and refugees residing in refugee camps/sites,
c) the joint implementation of activities of community engagement and support, targeting women asylum seekers and refugees specifically in the camp of Nea Kavala/ Polykastro in Northern Greece.
d) A focus group discussion (FGD) will also be conducted at the beginning (M1-2) of this initiative to assess the needs of the female beneficiaries. This needs assessment will better inform the activities that will be implemented by both organizations in the period of 8 months (duration of this initiative).

Enhancing the orderly and humane voluntary return of migrants, including vulnerable groups, to their Countries of Origin through enhanced cooperation and knowledge-sharing between Greece and Norway.

Lead Partner: IOM Greece – International Organization for Migration
Co-Partner: Hero Norge AS

The proposed initiative seeks to contribute towards enhancing the capacity of the Norwegian authorities and stakeholders in organizing the voluntary return of migrants to their CoOs in an orderly, humane and dignified manner, with particular focus on the specialized needs of migrants in situations of vulnerability. The project will also contribute towards enhancing cooperation and knowledge-sharing between Greece and Norway, by enabling Norwegian entities to visit and observe best practices implemented by IOM as part of its AVRR programming in Greece, as well as support them in adapting the knowledge and lessons learned to the assisted voluntary returns context in Norway. Therefore, the project is aligned with the objective of Program II “Asylum and Migration” to ensure functional national asylum and migration management systems, and to safeguard the right to seek asylum. In particular, the project will focus on increasing the knowledge and capacity of the Norwegian counterparts on two elements of the AVRR programming in Greece, which are considered best practices, and which can eventually contribute to increasing the quality, as well as humane and orderly nature of voluntary returns in Norway, these being pre-departure accommodation of returnees in vulnerable situations, and the incorporation of protection within AVRR

School as an institution for Protection and Inclusion of Refugee children and families

Lead Partner: School Committee of Primary Education 1st Municipal Community of the Municipality of Athens/82nd Kindergarten of Athens
Co-Partner: District Søndre Nordstrand, Oslo Municipality

(Bydel søndre Nordstrand, Oslo Kommune)

This initiative intends to establish bilateral networks between entities on the local and international level in Athens/Greece and Oslo/Norway, for knowledge sharing and practice development that can improve inclusive kindergarten services for asylum-seeking/refugee children. The initiative is taken by the 82nd Kindergarten of Athens (82KA) and will involve kindergarten and university partners from Greece and Norway.
-Knowledge sharing activities
-Capacity building for experts through workshops
-Creation of educational material
-Dissemination

Enhancing Capacity and Ensuring Protection for Vulnerable Migrants, Asylum Seekers, and Refugees

Lead Partner: INTERSOS HELLAS
Co-Partner: University of Bergen

The partners aim to analyze the current situation regarding Asylum seekers and Recognized refugees based off of the consequences of COVID-19 in Athens and Bergen. The partners will analyze the context of the target population to identify gaps and foster new operational methodologies, and will exchange the implemented experience by country, with focus on food insecurity, Mental Health (MH), and COVID-19 consequences. The Pandemic Center will organize and host a study trip to Bergen in order for the Greek partner to acquire knowledge and experience based on the partner’s academic analysis. Later, the Greek partner will further analyze the findings from said study trip, and start the documentation with the aim of fostering and mobilizing the new techniques in an operational and programming aspect. In the meantime, the two partners will have frequent meetings and communication to analyze the project’s progress. Based on the analysis and use of this experience, the Greek partner will prepare a workshop to present the findings publicly. The last phase of the project will be the closure of the project and the lessons learned through experience of the present call.

Psychosocial Support and the provision of quality reception conditions for refugee populations in Greece and Norway, respectively

Lead Partner: DOCTORS OF THE WORLD
Co-Partner: Hero Norge AS

The project will include the exchange of best practices and know-how, and aims at deepening their networking and potential future collaborations. MdM-GR will perform a working visit to Oslo, attending a 3-day workshop organized by Hero, including professionals from the field and key-stakeholders. Another working visit of the same kind, following a similar structure of activities, will be implemented in Athens, organized by MdM-GR. As a result, two teams of 4 people from the Project Promoter and the Project Partner (of various professions/specialties) will engage in two intensive working visits, including thematic workshops inside the premises of the host organization, and meetings with key stakeholders (public authorities, institutions and other Non-Governmental Organizations that co-operate on field-level), taking place in Athens and Oslo.

One Centre One Voice

Lead Partner: Dråpen i Havet/ Drop in the Ocean
Co-Partner: One Happy Family

Through this bilateral partnership we aim to strengthen the cooperation between Greek organization One Happy Family and Norwegian organization Dråpen i Havet. The partner was chosen as the two organizations already share a multifunctional center of operations in Athens, The Victoria Community Center, and thus see this as an opportunity of working closer together, within the area of communication and advocacy. This opportunity is a way to improve our outreach to the population who can benefit from the center’s various activities and services, as well as advocate towards local, national, and international stakeholders.
Through this strengthened partnership we aim to implement the following activities:
• Best practice exchange
• Needs assessment (for strengthening communication and advocacy)
• Communications and advocacy training
• Communications and advocacy strategy and planning through onsite meetings