Good Practices

Dec 03 2018

4 important awards for Anemos Ananeosis / Wind of Renewal in one year

By Nikos Chrysogelos | Χωρίς κατηγορία | No Comments

4 important awards in one year

WELCOMMON was honored on June 8, 2017 with the “Special Mention” award of the REVES Excellence Award 2017, which aims to strengthen synergies between local / regional authorities and social economy actors, and to highlight the achievements of such cooperation. The evaluation committee consisted of representatives of the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Parliament, the Regional Committee and Social Economy Europe.

The French Federation of Social Inclusion Enterprises invited ANEMOS ANANEOSIS / WIND OF RENEWAL to participate in its national Congressorganized in November 16-17, in Marseille, and presend the WELCOMMON center for housing and social inclusion of refugees as a “good example of social inclusion in Euro-Med area”.

We are awarded as one of the 3 best examples of projects for refugees contributing to the dialogue between the cultures in the Euro-med area(2017 Euro-Med Dialogue Award) by the Anna Lindh Foundation and the Fondazione Mediterraneo. The Bestowing Ceremony took place in Tallinn (16/12/2017) with the support of the Estonian Foreign Ministry.

It is a great honor for Anemos Ananeosis/Wind of Renewal to have been awarded the European Citizen’s Prize on 9^th of October 2018, in the European Parliament

Nov 25 2018

Social Economy Europe: The future of the EU policies for the Social Economy: towards a European Action Plan

By Nikos Chrysogelos | Library, News | No Comments

Social Economy Europe produced recently a document on “The future of the EU policies for the Social Economy: towards a European ActionPlan“. This document defines a series of axes and actions that may serve as a basis for elaborating a European Action Plan for the social economy. The proposals included in this document take into account the very important work that has been carried out by all EU institutions and particularly by the European Commission in recent years to support the development of the social economy. Furthermore, these proposals are the result of a consultation process in which all Social Economy Europe members have actively participated.

What Social Economy can bring to the European Union

The Council of the European Union defined the social economy as a key driver of economic and social development in Europe. According to the European Economic and Social Committee’ study on the Recent evolutions of the Social Economy in the European Union there are 2.8 million social economy enterprises and organisations in the European Union, that employ 13.6 million people and represent 8% of the EU’s GDP. Therefore, the social economy is a crucial part of the EU socio-economic landscape. The social economy refers to a wide diversity of enterprises and organisations -cooperatives, mutuals, associations, foundations, social enterprises, paritarian institutions of social protection etc.- that share common values and features such as the primacy of the individual and the social objective over capital, a democratic governance, and the reinvestment of most of the profits/ surpluses to carry out sustainable development objectives, services of interest to members or of general interest.

The social economy is formed by enterprises and organisations of all sizes -ranging from SMEs to large companies and groups- that operate in all the economic sectors such as: industry, education, healthcare and social services of general interest, agri-food, ethical and cooperative banking, insurance, renewable energy, re-use and recycling, retail and consumption; housing, tourism, culture and leisure, building, professional services, digital economy, etc. Because of its strong social commitment, the social economy offers innovative solutions to the main economic, social and environmental challenges of our time.

In short, the social economy is an enterprise model for the future of Europe that, thanks to its defining values and principles, contributes to several key objectives of the EU.

The social economy is “a European success story” that has increasingly gained political visibility as a sector that constitutes an important pillar notably in terms of employment and social cohesion across Europe and as key actor for the achievement of the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, setting up the sustainable development goals. In this sense, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Economic and Social Committee, Member States, the Commission Expert Group on Social Entrepreneurship and social economy representative organisations have consistently called for the development of an ambitious European policy for the social economy with adequate resources proportionate to its socio-economic weight in the European Union.

In 2016, the European Commission adopted the Start-up and Scale-up Initiative containing a section on social economy and social enterprises. On that basis, the Commission has set up and implemented (in 2017 and 2018) a series of actions for the social economy and social enterprises, structured in five pillars:

1. Access to funding;

2. Access to markets;

3. Improving framework conditions;

4. Social innovation, technologies and new business models;

5. International dimension

However, the implementation of these important actions will come to an end in 2018. In this context, social economy representative organisations, led by Social Economy Europe; the European Parliament’s Social Economy Intergroup, the European Economic and Social Committee and an important number of Member States are calling on the European Commission to take a step forward towards a European Action Plan for the social economy. This Action Plan shall serve to boost the visibility of social economy enterprises and organisations; support them to generate social and technological innovations; improve their access to finance and EU funding; remove the legal obstacles impeding their ability to grow and operate in the Single Market on an equal footing with other types of companies; as well as inspiring public authorities from the EU and its neighbouring countries to promote the growth of the social economy as a driver of economic and social progress for all.

Furthermore, this Action Plan should also serve to boost the uptake of new technologies in social economy enterprises and organisations. Digitalisation, blockchain, big data and artificial intelligence, among other emerging technologies, represent an enormous opportunity for the growth of social economy companies and for the creation of social economy start-ups in Europe. By adapting to this technological revolution, social economy enterprises will bring their values of solidarity, democracy and sustainability to the new economy.

A European Action Plan for the social economy, with a proposed duration of 5 years (2020-2025), shall be a key tool to systematically incorporate the social economy into the different socio-economic policies of the European Union, as well as into its actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The objectives of this proposal for an Action Plan are the following:

Objective 1 Recognise the social economy as a transversal actor in the main socioeconomic policies of the European Union: Social economy enterprises and organisations operate in all the economic sectors and represent an important part of the European economic and corporate landscape (more than 10% of all EU business), demonstrating that the diversity of enterprise models enhances the competitiveness of our economies. Therefore, the social economy should be taken into account by the European institutions, Member States and all public authorities in the design of their socio-economic policies.

Objective 2 Promote the convergence and coordination of the different public authorities involved in the promotion of the social economy by defining strategic objectives and benchmarks at EU level: Various administrations at local, regional, national and EU level are directly involved in the regulation and promotion of the social economy. Therefore, it would be important to set-up a European policy framework for the social economy to enhance the coherence, complementarity and coordination of the different policies and regulations, remaining respectful of the principle of subsidiarity.

Objective 3 Foster a conducive ecosystem for the growth of the social economy in Europe, improving its contribution to key EU objectives and allowing social economy enterprises to take full advantage of the single market and of EU funds and financial instruments: The social economy has been one of the drivers of European integration, offering innovative solutions to address evolving socio-economic challenges. The EU institutions should initiate appropriate actions to foster the development of the social economy and to unlock all its potential for a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth at the service of European citizens.

In line with these three objectives, this policy proposal includes 20 policy measures and 64 actions structured in 7 pillars:

1. Establish a common understanding of social economy enterprises and organisations in Europe

2. Improve the visibility of social economy enterprises and organisations and of their values and characteristics

3. Measure and further document the weight of the social economy and its effective contribution to the socio-economic development of the European Union

4. Provide in the framework of the European Single Market a conducive ecosystem for the growth of social economy enterprises and organisations, supporting them to access to finance and scale up, and by establishing the necessary legal framework, allowing them to fully operate trans-nationally in the Single Market.

5. Further integrate the social economy in EU funds and programmes, such as the ERDF, ESF Plus and the cohesion funds

6. Foster the role of the social economy in the external action of the European Union

7. Consolidate and strengthen a permanent and structured dialogue between EU institutions and the Social Economy

About Social Economy Europe

Social Economy Europe (SEE) was created in November 2000 under the name of CEP-CMAF -the European Standing Conference of Cooperatives, Mutuals, Associations and Foundationswith the purpose of establishing a permanent dialogue between the social economy and the European Institutions. In 2008, CEP-CMAF changed its name and officially became the “Social Economy Europe”.

SEE members are the European organisations of mutual and cooperative insurers, non-profit healthcare players, health mutuals and health insurance funds; industrial and service cooperatives; foundations, associations of general interest, work integration social enterprises, paritarian institutions of social protection, ethical banks and financiers, and the European Cities and Regions for the social economy.

At national level, SEE represents the national social economy organisations of France (ESS-France), Italy (National Third Sector Forum), Portugal (CASES), Spain (CEPES) and Belgium (ConcertES). Social Economy Europe’s mission is to:

– Represent the interests of the social economy in the European Union so that the main EU policies promote and take into consideration this enterprise model;

– Promote the dialogue and the inter-cooperation between its members and develop new services of common interest;

– Boost the visibility of the economic and social impact of the social economy and of the values and principles that define this virtuous enterprise model;

– Support the Member States and the national organizations aiming to promote the development of the social economy.

SEE believes in a European Union that is determined to promote economic and social progress of its Member States, and that acknowledges its key role as global social economy leader. SEE believes in:

– A diverse economy at the service of people.

– A democratic, sustainable and inclusive economy, strongly committed to society;

– A more favourable ecosystem for the development of the European social economy, that will keep offering innovative solutions in response to societal demands.

– The social economy’s active participation in the development and implementation of the main socio-economic policies of the European Union.

Sep 25 2018

Climate Action-2d training of 200 teachers on climate protection and energy saving

By Nikos Chrysogelos | Χωρίς κατηγορία | No Comments

Second training of teachers on climate protection and energy saving in the framework of the program “OPEN SOCIETIES AND SCHOOLS IN CLIMATE PROTECTION AND ENERGY TRANSITION (CLIMATE SCHOOLS Be.At)”

The new school year began with the …second training of primary and secondary education teachers in the framework of the program “OPEN SOCIETIES AND SCHOOLS IN CLIMATE PROTECTION AND ENERGY TRANSITION (CLIMATE SCHOOLS Be.At)”!

On Friday 14^th and Saturday 15^th of September 2018 the 2^nd Training of the teachers took place at the 2^nd Experimental Lyceum of Athens. The training had a total duration of 14 didactic hours divided in both days. There participated a total of 102 primary and 96 secondary teachers. The participants formed 10 groups and each group had two trained trainers. The training was formed in 7 units and each group followed them on a different order.

Unit A: Team reconnection – Proposals on how to integrate the program into school life – How to set up key groups: Energy Council, Energy Team, Energy Inspectors – Getting familiar with the worksheets and the methodology of educational research.

Unit B: Climate Change: Cognitive background, educational approaches, world game and other educational activities, visual related material (movies, cartoon etc.).

Unit C: Getting familiar with the measuring instruments

Unit D: Energy tour, mapping, drafting of the school’s energy profile (case study of the hosting 2nd Experimental Lyceum of Athens).

Unit E: Action plan for energy saving regarding lighting, heating, cooling, appliances (case study 2nd Experimental Lyceum of Athens). Study data from the electricity, oil and gas consumption of the participating schools. Discussion on the energy profiles of participating schools that teachers have already completed.

Unit F: Disclosure – program visibility (class-school-community), visilibility campaign, public events.

Unit G: Getting familiar with the program’s Moodle platform and the deliverable material.

Evaluation of the 2^nd Training: The majority of the participants were very satisfied with the experiential learning activities (i.e. world game) and the practice with the measuring instruments (infrared thermometer, room thermometer, CO2 meter device, luxmeter, kettle and electric stove for comparison of energy consumption using energy meter and a set of lamps – (led, economy, incandesce). They also expressed their satisfaction with the overall collaboration between the schools. In general they feel confident to begin the implementation of the program activities at their schools.

The program “OPEN SOCIETIES AND SCHOOLS IN CLIMATE PROTECTION AND ENERGY TRANSITION (CLIMATE SCHOOLS Be.At)” constitutes a collaboration between the Municipality of Athens, the educational community, the Social cooperative “Anemos Ananeosis / Wind of Renewal”, the German citizens initiative Respekt für Griechenland e.V. / Respect for Greece (Berlin) and the German Unabhängiges Institut für Umweltfragen / UfU. It aims to raise awareness of the educational community, local communities and municipalities, for climate protection and energy transition. The program also aims to increase the energy efficiency of the schools with the substantial participation and collaboration of the teachers, students, parents and local authorities. The program is under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs.

The program was evaluated and selected for funding by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI), which is a financing instrument of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). The overarching goal of EUKI is to foster climate cooperation within the European Union in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. It does so through strengthening cross-border dialogue and cooperation as well as exchange of knowledge and experience.

The 1st step of the training schedule was the initial training of 19 trainers, on climate & energy issues and climate action in schools, realised by Greek and German trainers (Wind of Renewal, experts, the german Unabhängiges Institut für Umweltfragen / UfU) in Athens (12^th -15^th April 2018).

The 2d step was a 6 hours training of 200 teachers (19^th May 2018 for the secondary education, 9^th June 2018 for the primary education) as well as a study visit of 6 teachers in Berlin (17^th – 24^th June 2018).

The 14 hours training was the 3d step of the training schedule. Now the 200 educators are prepared, trained and with educational and supportive material, ready for #ClimateAction in schools in collaboration with the pupils and their parents.

For more information concerning the previous activities and trainings of the program “OPEN SOCIETIES AND SCHOOLS IN CLIMATE PROTECTION AND ENERGY TRANSITION (CLIMATE SCHOOLS Be.At” please follow the links below:

OPEN SOCIETIES AND SCHOOLS IN CLIMATE PROTECTION AND ENERGY TRANSITION (CLIMATE SCHOOL Be.At)

https://anemosananeosis.gr/en/climate_schoolsbe-at2/

“Training of the Trainers” on climate protection and energy efficiency

https://anemosananeosis.gr/en/euki-training5/

Primary education teachers are excited to participate in CLIMATE SCHOOL Be.At

https://anemosananeosis.gr/en/climateschoolsatbe5/

Training of secondary education teachers on climate protection and energy saving

https://anemosananeosis.gr/en/semnar-b-educ-4083-2/

6 school teachers visit Berlin for climate protection and Climate Schools

https://anemosananeosis.gr/en/study-visitberlin-2/

Sep 21 2018

6 school teachers visit Berlin for climate protection and Climate Schools

By Nikos Chrysogelos | Actions, News | No Comments

In the framework of the program “OPEN SOCIETIES AND SCHOOLS IN CLIMATE PROTECTION AND ENERGY TRANSITION (CLIMATE SCHOOL Be.At)”, a second study visit was made to Berlin. Six primary and secondary school teachers participated in it during the period 17-24 June 2018. Below is a brief description of the work of the study visit.

Day 1

Visit to Carl-Friedrich-von-Siemens-Gymnasium

Carl-Friedrich-von-Siemens-Gymnasium is an all-day public high school in a green area in Berlin’s northwest suburbs. 550 students, aged from 12 to 15 attend the school (6 grades). All students must have graduated with a minimum grade from the primary school and must also have received a positive recommendation from their teacher. The school personnel cosists of 52 teachers, 3 trainees, 3 secretaries and 3 social workers.

The school is active in environmental projects for 5 years and holds the Berliner Klima Schule, Eco Schools and MINT (STEM) certificates. It participates in ERASMUS Plus programs together with other Eco Schools, focusing on sustainability.

Good environmental practices in the school include, among others, sorting waste into separate bins in each class and corridor (paper, plastic, composite) as well as interventions in the building such as the installation of temperature regulators on each radiator and motion sensors to turn the lights on in the corridors, marked switches, bicycle parking to encourage green travel, etc.

Additionally, environmental programs are carried out as part of the extracurricular activities of the school (2 hours per week). Some of the actions that the environmental team of the school carries out are the organization of a sustainable Christmas bazaar, the publication of an information brochure on the environmental symbols used in consumer products, etc., in the schoolyard the students maintain a small habitat with a pond and plants, build birdhouses and participate in the maintenance of beehives.

Energy saving practices

Environmental activities in the schoolyard

Students’ environmental projects

Day 2

Visit to Quentin-Blake-Europe-School

Quentin-Blake-Europe-School is an all day public primary school with 420 students, 35 teachers and 15 educators who help with the lesson and supervise students in their leisure time. It has classes for bilingual students who are taught the main lessons in English and German-speaking students who are taught English only as a foreign language. There are educational clubs in the school, one of which concerns Environmental Education.

Great importance is given to shaping and exploiting the schoolyard, which is shared with the children of the Special School. The schoolyard consists of football and basketball courts, a children’s playground, a wall and a climbing net, shelters, playing in the mud with water from a hand pump and sand. In addition, students borrow kinetic development games, e.g. skates, which they return with the sound of the manual bell. Finally, there is a group of senior students responsible for noticing and resolving crises during breaks.

The school with its environmental activities has won the Berliner Klima Schulen and Klimaschutz-Zertifikat certificates. These actions include:

“Green Wednesday” and “Green Week”, during which students are motivated to transport to and from school without a car.
Recycling in separate colored bins.
Lights with motion sensors in the corridors.
Composting
“Energy Saving Officers”: 2 students remind the teacher of the necessary actions at the end of the lesson (eg. room ventilation, turn off switches)
“School vegetable garden”: Pupils plant, maintain, harvest and sell their products,
“Garden” with pond and ornamental plants.

The schoolyard

Good practices on energy saving projects

Green Wednesdays & Green Week

School vegetable garden & Artificial lake ecosystem

Visit to the KunstStoffe Upcycling Center

The aim of the KunstStoffe Upcycling Center is to change the relationship between the citizen and the use of the objects, to promote wider ecological goals, and to stimulate the local economy through collaborative networks with companies, schools, universities, artists and cultural centers. Its ultimate goal is to strengthen the resilience of the local community.

At the KunstStoffe Upcycling Center

At KunstStoffe we visited all the storage areas with the materials to re-use and our visit was completed with a short construction workshop with materials of our choice.

DAY 3

Workshop on palm oil in the botanical garden (BNE Zentrum)

The seminar was attended by high school students during the project week. It was divided into three phases:

The first phase was introductory and included activities aiming to activate students on the topic and to inform them about the basic uses of palm oil (raw material for food, for cosmetics and biofuel).
In the second phase the students were divided into groups and they had to stop by some workstations doing the corresponding activities. The activities highlighted various aspects of the subject, such as working conditions in palm plantations, deforestation, annual consumption and other environmental and social issues.
The third phase was held in the greenhouse of the botanical garden which is one of the largest in the world. The students worked in groups and by using a worksheet they did activities in order to realise how many species of flora and fauna are affected by deforestation for the creation of palm tree plantations.

Seminar on palm oil – 1st phase

Seminar on palm oil – 2nd phase

Seminar on palm oil – 3rd phase

Attending a course on teaching methods and measurements at BNE Zentrum

During the two-hour seminar, teaching methods were discussed together with how they can be used in energy saving programs. In addition, practical work took place on using the measuring instruments (temperature, brightness, humidity).

Temperature, illuminance & relative humidity measurement tools.

Meeting to promote collaboration and networking

Τhe meeting was attended by representatives of schools, institutions and organizations, including Respect for Greece (RfG). During the meeting, the possibility of future collaborations between Greek schools and German organizations was discussed.

Co-operation & network meeting

DAY 4

Visit to the environmental education center Gartenarbeitsschule (GAS)

Το Gartenarbeitsschule (GAS) is a center for environmental education, which is open from 7:00 to 15:00. It employs 2 educators, a gardener and many volunteers (beekeeper, cooks, gardeners, a trainer-engineer by profession-, trainee teachers) and receives about 30,000 visitors per year. There are environmental programs implemented for the students in the surrounding areas on nutrition, energy, beekeeping, herb cultivation, vegetable and tree growing. Its 30.000 square meters include arable land, training rooms, a kitchen-dining room, a greenhouse, a specially designed outdoor area, a fenced area for animals (rabbits, etc), beehives and an experimental lab.

Students adopt an area of arable land with vegetables and herbs. They are responsible for planting, grooming and harvesting (spring – early autumn). In the training rooms they participate in activities and games for recycling and through experimental and exploratory methods they learn about life of living organisms (e.g. snails). In addition, in the kitchen-dining room the children cook their organic produce with the help of volunteer cooks. In the hives the children learn about bees and honey with the help of the volunteer beekeeper. In the same area there is an insect house.

In the experimental lab students are trained on renewable energy sources. At first, the concepts of renewable and non-renewable energy sources are clarified and also the way electricity is produced from ready-made experimental constructions is explored. Then, they either carry out experiments on wind energy with fans or construct paper models of solar cars from recyclable materials.

We had the chance to watch students in the first grade of high school consttructing solar cars. Each student

Got a package with the necessary material
Carved the contact points
Cut the outline of the car, painted it
Assembled the rest of the parts
Placed the two solar panels

The students got out of the lab and observed the movement of the wheels, that is the conversion of the solar energy into kinetic energy. It is worth mentioning that during the whole process the students got help from both their teacher and the trainer.

On one of the roofs of Gartenarbeitsschule there are placed photovoltaic panels connected to a digital price table for CO₂in Kg, electricity production in kW, total solar output in kWh. The students observe the prices and discover the conversion of solar energy into electricity as well as the amount of CO₂that is not emitted into the environment.

Greenhouse & outdoor learning spaces

Planting places for vegetables and herbs

Beehives & other insect hosting constructions

Educational project for snails

Recycling, composting and nutrition projects

Educational projects for alternative forms of energy

Construction of paper solar car model

DAY 5

Visit to Robert-Havemann-Gymnasium

We visited one of the laboratories of Robert-Havemann-Gymnasium in northern Berlin. This lab is located in the ground floor of the school, it was created by a Physics Department’s initiative, and it consists of three thematic labs: “Energy lab”, “Solar energy lab” and “Renewable energy lab”. Its equipment (modern experimental devices) was funded by donations and prizes after participation in competitions. Apart from the Robert-Havemann’s students, students from other schools can visit it as well. It is also used for training teachers on relevant topics.

The laboratory’s manager (among the many energy conversion devices that were existing), presented us the fuel cell, power generation by cycling, geothermal heat exchangers, etc. After touring the premises, we went to the ” learning about energy lab” where we participated in a small solar car assemblage workshop. Our trainers handed out the parts of the small car to us, which we progressively assembled, following the worksheet instructions. Finally, after putting the photovoltaic panels outdoors, in order to get charged by the sun, we activated our solar cars.

Energy laboratories at the Robert-Havemann Gymnasium

Construction of small solar cars

Evaluation

The second study visit to Berlin ended with an evaluation meeting between the two German project managers and the six Greek participants.

First of all, there was an evaluation table, titled “Happiness Radar”, depicting three faces in the left vertical column and the elements to be evaluated were mentioned in the horizontal line (each day of the study visit, time frame and duration, language and translation, coordination and communication, variety). Teachers completed the evaluation table according to their degree of satisfaction.

Study visit evaluation meeting

Subsequently, they discussed the visits they liked most, such as those that took place in the schools, the botanical garden, the environmental center and the energy lab. In total, of all the visits two were the least satisfying. One of them was the visit to the Upcycling Center, which could last less. The other one was the meeting for co-operation with representatives of institutions and schools, that did not have the expected result, as there was no participation of primary school educators and a small participation of secondary educators, that couldn’t achieve sufficient further networking between schools of the two countries.

Αξιοσημείωτη ήταν η οργάνωση και η συνέπεια συνολικά σε αυτήν τη δεύτερη εκπαιδευτική επίσκεψη στο Βερολίνο. Η μετάφραση στα αγγλικά ήταν πολύ καλή και χρήσιμη γεγονός που διευκόλυνε την επικοινωνία μεταξύ μας. Επιπλέον, υπήρξε ποικιλία στο καθημερινό πρόγραμμα επισκέψεων.

Τέλος, στην ολομέλεια έγιναν ορισμένες προτάσεις από τους εκπαιδευτικούς όπως η ανάγκη για περισσότερη εμβάθυνση σε επιστημονικά ζητήματα, καθώς και ο διαχωρισμός των μελών σε ομάδα πρωτοβάθμιας και σε ομάδα δευτεροβάθμιας για μια μέρα ώστε κάθε ομάδα να επισκεφθεί χώρους προσανατολισμένους στο αντικείμενό της.

In overall, the organization and the consistency of this second study visit to Berlin was remarkable. Also, the translation from German to English was quite satisfactory and helped the communication among the participants a lot. In addition, there was a variety of schools visits.

Finally, suggestions were made by the Greek team, such as the need for further deepening on scientific issues and the separation of the group members into primary teachers and secondary teachers for one day, in order for each group to visit more places that meet more their professional interests.

Teachers-authors

Michalis Fotiadis, Maria Boumpouka, Vasiliki Gkitzia, Dimitra Gavana, Pantelis Tsolakos, Argyro Tsokou

The program “OPEN SOCIETIES AND SCHOOLS IN CLIMATE PROTECTION AND ENERGY TRANSITION (CLIMATE SCHOOL Be.At)” constitutes a collaboration between the Municipality of Athens, the educational community, the Social cooperative “Anemos Ananeosis / Wind of Renewal”, the German citizens initiative Respekt für Griechenland e.V. / Respect for Greece (Berlin) and the German Unabhängiges Institut für Umweltfragen / UfU. It aims to the mobilization of the educational community, local communities and municipalities for climate protection and energy transition as well as to the energy efficiency of the schools with the substantial participation and collaboration of the teachers, students, parents and local authorities. The program is under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Education.

The program has a duration of 28 months (2017-2019) and aims to raise awareness on climate change and energy consumption in the schools’ communitie of the Municipality of Athens (MoA).

The program was evaluated and selected for funding by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI), which is a project financing instrument by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). It is the overarching goal of the EUKI to foster climate cooperation within the European Union in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. It does so through strengthening cross-border dialogue and cooperation as well as exchange of knowledge and experience.

The program aims at:

enhancing the overall efforts to inform and sensitize students, teachers and parents and their involvement in climate protection and reduce energy waste,
the reduction of the energy footprint of school buildings (by 5%),
an overall effort to reduce the ecological footprint.

Aug 24 2018

Our new project: WELCOMMON Hostel, a new experience in responsible tourism

By Nikos Chrysogelos | Actions, News | No Comments

We are part of the LE MAT Network- special place, people, value

The WELCOMMON Hostel is a hostel in the center of Athens, an innovative proposal for sustainable tourism, innovation, art, social and job integration based on the idea of “community”, initiated by the social cooperative ANEMOS ANANEOSIS / WIND OF RENEWAL.

The WELCOMMON Hostel is a seven-floor facility for people of all ages. We would like to welcome you during your visit to Athens. We can also help you plan your stay in the city. WELCOMMON is not just a hostel, it is also part of a social experiment, a center for innovation and art, as well as social and job integration for Greeks, migrants and refugees.

We can organize your study trip in the city and provide details about interesting social events and groups; we can also supply you with all necessary information on other Greek cities, an island or a mountainside; we can connect you with cycling groups, or let you know the secrets of culinary delights, we can host your seminar or workshop; we can also host a painting exhibition or a cultural event.

Be sure to CONTACT US before arriving in Athens, let us know about your needs and your interests!

The Hostel, Welcome in Common

You have a variety of options for accommodation in WELCOMMON HOSTEL; you may like to share an eight-bed dormitory with your friends or other travelers; or you may prefer to stay in a five-bed room, a four-bed room, a three-bed room, a twin or double bed room or a single; you may need a cheap room or you may be willing to pay a little more for some extra perks; or you may like to go for a room with a balcony. Regardless of what you select, all rooms are comfortable, clean and attractive; a lot has been artistically designed with reused items, always with your comfort in mind.

How is WELCOMMON Hostel different?

WELCOMMON Hostel means welcome in common – together. It is not only an opportunity to stay in a good place in Athens, the Greek capital; it is also a way to:

– enjoy your stay in the city,

– discover its social, cultural and environmental side,

– exchange experiences and ideas,

– learn and “share”; you can participate in activities we organize (art exhibits, non-formal education, music events, visits to cultural sites and activities, etc…) or you can organize something yourself (e.g. a concert, painting classes or even give a speech!).

The building, the rooms and places are accessible for disable persons.

Our philosophy is that we want to be part of the social change we want to see happen. Anemos Ananeosis / Wind of Renewal has a strong commitment to building a better world through social and green innovation and the cooperative business model. We want to influence the direction of our society to become more sustainable and ecologically and socially fair.

Our vision is to bring close people from all over the world, to enable them to communicate, to be entertained and to explore the creative side of Athens. In the WELCOMMON Hostel we can introduce you to the world of Greece’s cultural, environmental and social organizations as well as of social economy. You can also contribute with your ideas and experience. It highlights the positive impact that cooperatives and social enterprises have on communities, revitalizing neighborhoods, making bridges between communities, social groups, newcomers and local people.

Our mission is to daily improve and develop our services, make our hostel more than convenient, friendly and live, artistic and social innovative. We can organise your study trip in the city and provide details about interesting social events and groups. We can also supply you with all necessary information on other Greek cities, islands or a mountainside, connect you with cycling groups, or let you know the secrets of culinary delights.

Training for social and employment issues

Although the hostel is no longer a refugee hosting center and has been refurbished into a modern facility, two floors of the WELCOMMON Hostel are used as an open center for social empowerment and inclusion. The aim is to create new employment opportunities for everyone in areas such as upcycling, ethnic cuisines, culture, green / cyclic economy, energy efficiency and others. Our societies must not accept generations being lost, we must not leave young persons, Greeks, migrants, refugees behind.

We offer classes (e.g. for language, painting, puppet show, music etc) with the support of volunteers to refugees, migrants, local people, tourists; we work for the empowerment and training of our guests and design interactive workshops for the professional training and promotion of the abilities and qualifications of refugees, especially the young persons, along with Greek nationals, in order to be able to find their way in our societies for the benefit of our societies.

As a visitor of Athens you could participate in an event or even present a topic to other guests or visitors in our WELCOMMON Hostel, in our meeting corners, in our “classrooms”, or during drinking a juice, a coffee or a herbal tea in our café or in our socializing bar and restaurant “In Common”. It is real!

We are part of the social change we want to see happen

Athens is a city in crisis but at the same time one can see a real change if one decides to be part of the social and ecological change. We have decided to be part of this social change.

In the WELCOMMON Hostel we can introduce you to the world of Greece’s social economy and you can learn about its strengths and weaknesses. You can also contribute with your ideas and experience.

The WELCOMMON Hostel highlights the positive impact that cooperatives and social enterprises have on communities, revitalizing neighborhoods, making bridges between communities, social groups, newcomers and local people.

Anemos Ananeosis/Wind of Renewal has a strong commitment to building a better world through social and green innovation and the cooperative business model. We want to influence the direction of our society to become more sustainable and ecologically and socially fair.

Discover the other side of the city

Your stay in the WELCOMMON Hostel is also a chance for you to discover what is going on in the city. You could join initiatives working for the transformation of the city and its environmental protection, you could contact human rights groups or initiatives working with the unemployed, young people or for the inclusion of the refugees. There is an interesting, hidden side of the city, a real live and fresh city within the city; our community is ready to host you and work with you.

You help us boost the social impact of our project

When you choose to stay with us you contribute to the employment of a fantastic group of people, consisting of a number of long-term unemployed Greeks, migrants and refugees who have settled in Greece.

The first step is crucial: we want to be financially and socially sustainable, we try to improve our services, to make our hostel more convenient, friendly and live, more artistic and social. But the next step is also very important to us; we are committed to investing any profits in social and environmental improvements, in the transition to an energy-efficient and green economy, in creating a new center for the most vulnerable; we also aim to contribute to reducing the energy poverty of households, offering them know-how and support so that they can exit a difficult situation through social empowerment and energy efficiency.

You can feel the history of WELCOMMON

The WELCOMMON Hostel has a quite uncommon, interesting history. For many years the building was used as a public clinic. During the Greek economic crisis, in February 2013, the clinic was shut down and merged with a bigger hospital. We, the social cooperative Anemos Ananeosis / Wind of Renewal –working for the promotion of the social and green innovation and economy– began renting the building in August 2016. We refurbished it in order to transform it into an innovative center – WELCOMMON – for the hosting and social inclusion of the most vulnerable refugees. The project was not simply meant to be for the refugees but with the refugees –working with them for their benefit, as well as that of the neighborhood and the local community. It became one of the most innovative and creative centers for hosting, empowering and socially including refugees, based on the idea of “empowerment through the community”. It was supported by the Development Agency of the Municipality of Athens and the UNHCR. But these agencies decided that refugees should be hosted only in apartments, there is no need for transition structures. Read about this HERE. The center closed in March 2018.

We decided to start refurbishing the seven-floor facility located in the centre of Athens, and to transform it into a HOSTEL, but not just any kind of hostel! Now we are running the WELCOMMON Hostel, a social hostel combining sustainable tourism with social and cultural activities and job integration for Greeks, migrants and refugees. We aim for Welcommon to be a social experiment, a centre of innovation and art, and for social and employment integration. And of course a hub where travellers can get insider’ information to organize their trip in the city, discover interesting social events and groups, but also information on other Greek cities, Islands or villages.

Learn about our history, contribute to the change

You can learn about our model, a community model, for the protection but also the inclusion of refugees, migrants and Greeks. It is a model we could adjust for vulnerable social groups, too. Although the center for refugees closed, you can experience some of our new activities, participating in workshops, language and painting, photo exhibitions, video or info-material. But you can also meet some of our previous guests, working now for the WELCOMMON Hostel, being part of our new community.

WELCOMMON HOSTEL

Kapodistriou 4, GR-Athens 10682,

www.welcommonhostel.gr, www.facebook.com/welcommonhostel

Aug 17 2018

Combining the opening of the WELCOMMON Hostel with the art exhibition “TRAVEL”

By Nikos Chrysogelos | Actions, News | No Comments

We started our new journey with WELCOMMON Hostel, as well as the development of other “trips” that we continue (the social and green economy, social innovation in health, energy saving and climate protection in schools, social inclusion, the energy transition and) or completed (such as the innovative WELCOMMON refugee center). We thus decided to symbolically combine the officially opening of the WELCOMMON Hostel with an art exhibition with the theme “TRAVEL”. Which means a trip for recreation, a journey of immigration or refuge, a journey to new ideas, a trip to the past, a trip to nature, a trip to art and creation, a real trip, a virtual trip or reading a book, a trip together with friends or self-awareness journey, a journey to colors, senses, music.

In the “TRAVEL” exhibition, creators from Kassos island, were involved – we chosed Kassos because it is an island that knows well these various aspects of the “journey”. Take part: Alexandros Giorgos, Varkaxidis Kostas, Glytsi Angela, Dagleris Thanasis, Kilimandzou Athena, Magou – Karachaliou Litsa, Nikolaaraki Ioanna, Rukunaki Maria Blacksmith Sophia, Halkitis Lilian, Hanuška Olga, Chatziantoniou Rea, Fountis Konstantinos

The works of the Kassiotis creators were exhibited from June 14th to June 30th in the special “Dialogue Hall” that we have created at WELCOMMON HOSTEL to host exhibitions, events, meetings, seminars, workshops. It is also the first stop on a collaborative journey started by the social cooperatives “ANEMOS ANANEOSIS / WIND OF RENEWAL” and “KASSIOS

You can contact us from HERE, and even book in advance your accommodation.

Aug 02 2018

Training of secondary education teachers on climate protection and energy saving

By Nikos Chrysogelos | Actions, News | No Comments

It was an interactive, interesting, positive energy training seminar of secondary education teachers on climate protection and energy saving practices at school. According to the framework of the program “OPEN SOCIETIES AND SCHOOLS IN CLIMATE PROTECTION AND ENERGY TRANSITION (CLIMATE SCHOOL Be.At)”, 200 teachers from 65 primary, secondary, high school and technical education schools of Athens and neighboring areas will be trained so that they will be able to take action and make research in their schools to raise awareness of the educational community and change behaviors to achieve energy saving.

The seminar was held on the 19^th of May and took place at the 1st Experimental Secondary School of Athens. A seminar with similar content will follow on the 9^th of June and will involve the training of primary education teachers. The 200 teachers from both primary and secondary education will participate in a total of 24 hours of training (6 hours in the spring of 2018, followed by 14 hours in September and 4 hours in May 2019). Responsible for the organization of both trainings is the social cooperative ”Wind of Renewal /Anemos Ananeosis”.

The training was implemented by various experts, including experienced teachers and schools’ consultants, environmental education directors, etc. The trainers had been trained in the principles, methodology and objectives of the program “OPEN SOCIETIES AND SCHOOLS IN CLIMATE PROTECTION AND ENERGY TRANSITION (CLIMATE SCHOOL Be.At)” on a 4 days extended seminar that also took place in Athens during 12^th -15^th April 2018 (“Training of the Trainers”). The “Training of the Trainers” was implemented by a team of Greek experts and teachers together with instructors of the German Independent Institute for Environmental Issues (UfU) with the coordination of ”Wind of Renewal /Anemos Ananeosis” and the Municipality of Athens.

In the 19^th of May training were trained 95 teachers of secondary education. The 95 teachers had previously expressed their interest and were selected to participate in the program. The training lasted 6 hours and focused on the following topics:

Theoretical input on energy and climate change.
Familiarization with methods of creating an action plan for each school in order to save energy and raise the awareness of the school community in climate change.
Familiarization with methods of coordinating energy-saving actions (organizing an energy group, energy council, energy tour at the school, etc.).
Implementation of energy saving soft measures at school.
Introduction to recording and processing data methods.

The methodological process of the implementation of the program has been structured on the basis of the following 10 steps:

Define an energy group for the school
Define an energy council for the school
Organize an energy tour of the energy council
Study of the energy situation of the school (raise awareness on climate change issues)
Energy tour at the heating room of the school with the energy team
Data processing-Action Plan for energy saving and raise awareness on climate change
Create a campaign to promote the implementation of the action plan in the school community
Apply energy saving measures
Make proposals for changes to the building’s infrastructure
Evaluate overall implementation of the program

The implementation of the program will be followed by a research framework. Aim of the research is to track the pilot implementation of the program. At the end of the program, a more comprehensive study that will be based on the collected research data will be articulated. This study will be used by the Municipality of Athens in order to formulate an action plan in the direction of energy saving and the development of sustainable practices in all the municipal schools.

The program aims to:

enhance the overall efforts to inform and raise awareness of students, teachers and parents and their involvement in climate protection and reduce energy waste,
reduce the energy footprint (of the electricity consumption) of the municipal school buildings (by 5%)
an overall effort to reduce the ecological footprint of the municipal schools

The duration of the program is 28 months (2017-2019) and aims to raise awareness on climate change and energy consumption in the municipal schools of Athens.

The program was evaluated and selected for funding by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI), which is a project financing instrument by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). It is the overarching goal of the EUKI to foster climate cooperation within the European Union in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. It does so through strengthening cross-border dialogue and cooperation as well as exchange of knowledge and experience.

Jun 20 2018

BIOHEC-LIFE: workshop in Athens for recycling of used cooking oil

By Nikos Chrysogelos | Actions | No Comments

The project BIOHEC-LIFE aims at developing and promoting new technologies to enable an optimized recovery and treatment of used cooking oil (UCO) for the production of biodiesel that is then used into local vehicle fleet.

The project is led by Gecco, a French and social enterprise that is developing the project in Lille (France) and gathered four European partners. The main objective of the project is to find European social enterprises keen to start a partnership with Gecco to implement the project in their country. Other partners of the project is the Rre-use Network and the think & do tank POUR LA SOLIDARITÉ-PLS

Between January 2017 and November 2017, PLS led a market study to identify where the project will have the best opportunity to be replicated in Europe. Based on many criteria, they concluded that 4 countries had a strong potential to implement the activity and Greece is among them.

The organizers of the C.6_Biohec-LIFE_Partnership request (1)Biohec E.4_Provisional Agenda_Athens Workshop_29062018, invite social enterprises or any organisation that might potentially be interested in C.6_Biohec-LIFE_Partnership request (1). Wind of Renewal / Anemos Ananeosis assists the organizers in order to meet with social enterpises interested in participating

https://www.eusew.eu/energy-days/biohec-life-advanced-biodiesel-circular-economy-low-carbon-future-public-transport

Jun 12 2018

Primary education teachers are excited to participate in CLIMATE SCHOOL Be.At

By Nikos Chrysogelos | Actions | No Comments

Despite the high temperature and the early time, last Saturday, the 93^rd Primary School of Athens at Neos Kosmos was full of life. But what was going on? Following the seminar on climate protection and energy saving practices at school of secondary education teachers, a seminar for the primary education teachers was about to be held.

According to the framework of the program “OPEN SOCIETIES AND SCHOOLS IN CLIMATE PROTECTION AND ENERGY TRANSITION (CLIMATE SCHOOL Be.At)”, a total of 200 teachers from 65 primary, secondary, high school and technical education schools of Athens and neighboring areas will be trained so that they will be able to take action and make research in their schools to raise awareness of the educational community and change behaviors to achieve energy saving.

The bell rang at 8.30am and the 10 trainers of the seminar welcomed their trainees at the classrooms in groups of 21-25. In total there was trained a gender balanced group of 105 teachers. All of them had personal desire and willingness to participate in the project. They were really enthusiastic about the topic of energy efficiency and climate protection since it was their first time working for that in such a practical, coherent and structured way. Comparing to recycling or other environmental projects that they had already run in their schools, they expressed their enthusiasm to guide their students to implement such a practical and research based program that will lead to measurable results.

The teachers left very positive comments about the quality of the 6-hour training, the overall structure of the project and the training material. They characterized the project as: ambitious, challenging, interesting, manageable, organized, innovative, methodical, well-structured, promising, well-designed. Their expectations are more concentrated on practical applications and technical knowledge, and they expressed interest to develop synergies with other institutions and similar initiatives in Greece in order to achieve better results and a sustainable implementation of the outputs of the program.

The training focused mainly on the following topics:

Theoretical input on energy and climate change.
Familiarization with methods of creating an action plan for each school in order to save energy and raise the awareness of the school community in climate change.
Familiarization with methods of coordinating energy-saving actions (organizing an energy group, energy council, energy tour at the school, etc.).
Implementation of energy saving soft measures at school.
Introduction to recording and processing data methods.

training-on-climate-protection

training-on-climate-protection

The methodological process of the implementation of the program has been structured on the basis of the following 10 steps:

Define an energy group for the school
Define an energy council for the school
Organize an energy tour of the energy council
Study of the energy situation of the school (raise awareness on climate change issues)
Energy tour at the heating room of the school with the energy team
Data processing – Action Plan for energy saving and raise awareness on climate change
Create a campaign to promote the implementation of the action plan in the school community
Apply energy saving measures
Make proposals for changes to the building’s infrastructure

Evaluate overall implementation of the program

The implementation of the program will be followed by a research framework. Aim of the research is to track the pilot implementation of the program and together with the research data that will be collected articulate a more comprehensive study that will be used by the Municipality of Athens in order to act in the direction of energy saving and promoting more sustainable practices in all the municipal schools.

The 19 trainers that implemented the 2 training seminars of the 200 teachers had been previously trained in the principles, methodology and objectives of the program “OPEN SOCIETIES AND SCHOOLS IN CLIMATE PROTECTION AND ENERGY TRANSITION (CLIMATE SCHOOL Be.At)” on a 4 days (30 hours) extended seminar that also took place in Athens during 12^th -15^th April 2018 (“Training of the Trainers” seminar). The “Training of the Trainers” seminar was implemented by a team of Greek experts and teachers together with trainers of the German Independent Institute for Environmental Issues (UfU) with the coordination of the social cooperative ”Wind of Renewal /Anemos Ananeosis” and the Municipality of Athens.

The 200 teachers from both primary and secondary education will participate in a total of 24 hours of training (6 hours in the spring of 2018, followed by 14 hours in September and 4 hours in May 2019). The trained teachers will work for the implementation of the program in the school year 2018-2019, starting from September 2018.

The program “OPEN SOCIETIES AND SCHOOLS IN CLIMATE PROTECTION AND ENERGY TRANSITION (CLIMATE SCHOOL Be.At)” constitutes a collaboration between the Municipality of Athens, the educational community, the Social cooperative “Anemos Ananeosis / Wind of Renewal”, the German citizens initiative Respekt für Griechenland e.V. / Respect for Greece (Berlin) and the German Unabhängiges Institut für Umweltfragen / UfU. It aims to the mobilization of the educational community, local communities and municipalities for climate protection and energy transition as well as to the energy efficiency of the schools with the substantial participation and collaboration of the teachers, students, parents and local authorities. The program is under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Education

The program was evaluated and selected for funding by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI), which is a project financing instrument by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). It is the overarching goal of the EUKI to foster climate cooperation within the European Union in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. It does so through strengthening cross-border dialogue and cooperation as well as exchange of knowledge and experience.

EUKI

Jun 12 2018

Inaguration of the operation of the WELCOMMON Hostel and Art exhibition “Travel”

By Nikos Chrysogelos | Actions, News | No Comments

WELCOMMON Hostel opens its doors officially on 14/6, alongside the opening of an art exhibition on “TRAVEL”.

We start our new journey with WELCOMMON Hostel, as well as the development of other “trips” that we continue (the social and green economy, social innovation in health, energy saving and climate protection in schools, social inclusion, the energy transition and) or completed (such as the innovative WELCOMMON refugee center). We thus decided to symbolically combine the officially opening of the WELCOMMON Hostel with an art exhibition with the theme “TRAVEL”. Which means a trip for recreation, a journey of immigration or refuge, a journey to new ideas, a trip to the past, a trip to nature, a trip to art and creation, a real trip, a virtual trip or reading a book, a trip together with friends or self-awareness journey, a journey to colors, senses, music.

In the “TRAVEL” exhibition, creators from Kassos island, are involved – we chose Kassos because it is an island that knows well these various aspects of the “journey”. Take part: Alexandros Giorgos, Varkaxidis Kostas, Glytsi Angela, Dagleris Thanasis, Kilimandzou Athena, Magou – Karachaliou Litsa, Nikolaaraki Ioanna, Rukunaki Maria Blacksmith Sophia, Halkitis Lilian, Hanuška Olga, Chatziantoniou Rea, Fountis Konstantinos

The works of the Kassiotis creators will be exhibited from June 14th to June 30th in the special “Dialogue Hall” that we have created at WELCOMMON HOSTEL to host exhibitions, events, meetings, seminars, workshops. It is also the first stop on a collaborative journey started by the social cooperatives “ANEMOS ANANEOSIS / WIND OF RENEWAL” (initiator of the WELCOMMON Hostel) and “KASSIOS

You can contact us from HERE, and even book in advance your accommodation.

4 important awards for Anemos Ananeosis / Wind of Renewal in one year

Climate Action-2d training of 200 teachers on climate protection and energy saving

6 school teachers visit Berlin for climate protection and Climate Schools

Training of secondary education teachers on climate protection and energy saving

Primary education teachers are excited to participate in CLIMATE SCHOOL Be.At

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