One hour of workshop use for a refugee in Greece

Habibi.Works - A workshop for products and perspectives

Access to education and self-determination for refugees in Greece

In the kitchen, Mohammed from Syria rings the brass bell and for a moment everyone in Habibi.Works stops what they are doing - lunch! The saws in the wood workshop fall silent, where Leo from Germany is currently helping Greeks from the neighboring village and refugees build furniture. In the study area, Dina from the USA quickly answers the last questions in English class, while in the media lab next door, Maria from Greece and Khaled from Syria are still excitedly pressing the start button for the 3D printer. Humming laptops and books are closed, the laser cutter is turned off and the grinder in the metal workshop, where a bicycle is being repaired, falls silent. The rattling of the sewing machines in the textile area subsides and the workshop hall of Habibi.Works is suddenly filled with the smell of delicious dishes, a tangle of voices and scraps of words from all over the world, laughter and Arabic music.

need

Education and self-determination for refugees in northern Greece.

activity

With a FabLab, a small NGO offers people from Greece and refugees access to diverse workshops and innovative education.

Measurable performance

Number of refugees and Greeks who can participate in workshops in the workshops.

Result

Depending on camp occupancy, up to 400 refugees who would otherwise have no access to education will have access to innovative learning opportunities.

Systemically relevant impact

Improved educational, professional and integration opportunities for refugees into European society.

background

The closure of European borders has left people in Greece alone with many challenges (ProAsyl 2017). Epirus is the economically weakest region in the country. As in other parts of the country (UNHCR 2017), refugees live here in camps or shared accommodation - some of them for over a year. Within a refugee camp, there is a lack of self-determination. In everyday life, people can rarely decide what and when they want to eat or where and with whom they live. People cannot make life-changing decisions themselves, such as the question of which country they want to live in or raise their children in. While on the run, educational and further training opportunities are very limited or simply non-existent. People who had a job in their home countries, studied, gained valuable experience in their daily activities or attended school are forced to interrupt their education and activities for an indefinite period of time. In Epirus, the region in northern Greece, the local population has suffered particularly from the economic crisis. These people also have to overcome challenges every day. The state does little to encourage the integration of refugees into Greek society. As a result, there is a lack of opportunities to meet each other and work together on innovative solutions.

The good deed

In Habibi.Works, people can become active, expand their knowledge, make their own decisions, implement innovative solutions and develop their potential. In the 700 m2 FabLab (open workshop), the Habibi Works organization provides platforms, materials, tools, machines and know-how to enable refugees and Greeks to implement their own projects and interests. As part of the informal educational offerings, the organization focuses on the needs of the target groups and encourages people to acquire new skills, expand their knowledge and share it. Today's donation supports the work in the FabLab.

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