DiversiNEET

Website: www.antigone.gr

Contact Person: Pavlina Lazaridou - pavlina.lazaridou@antigone.gr

ANTIGONE is a non-profit organisation headquartered in Thessaloniki that has been active in human rights since 1993.  

Mission

ANTIGONE aims to

-safeguard equal opportunities and treatment for everyone without discrimination on the basis of sex, race, national origin, social/economic/educational status, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation etc. 

-raise awareness on the issues such as discrimination, racism, social exclusion, fundamental rights, ecology, peace, and non-violence

Philosophy 

ANTIGONE carries out its actions jointly with targeted social groups targeted so as to always run according to their needs. The organisation and the people it addresses meet up on an everyday basis. This is how ANTIGONE follows people’s reality and develops activities based on their expectations. ANTIGONE’s activities are targeted at the coexistence, interaction and association of different social groups, so as to develop common action that can lead to their equal participation in the social, economic, and cultural life.  

ANTIGONE holds experience in similar actions, steaming from the implementation of the following projects (indicatively, more recent projects): 

- HELP: The project is a multilateral attempt of both Greece and Serbia to improve the living conditions of asylum seekers and refugees in the respective two countries through various activities including development of activities enhancing the interaction between refugees and local communities (recreational activities, multicultural kitchen, artistic workshops, multicultural walks in Thessaloniki etc.)  

-Schools for Change: a project on democratic, inclusive, human rights education addressing students (workshops on human rights including the thematic section "Gender equality-Gender identity"), addressing teachers (workshops on the use of human rights non formal education methodology in the schools class), and addressing parents (experiential workshops on the acceptance of differentiality). Running for the 4th school year in row.

-Say it with comics: an educational and artistic project on human rights run with the participation of students of 5 primary schools of Thessaloniki. Running the school year 2015-2016.

-Youth is Tolerance-Combating anti-Roma stereotypes among young people: a project to combat racism, xenophobia and anti-semitism with a particular attention on Roma discrimination among young people, also on the basis of gender. (2013-2015)

- Youth for Rights: an educational project for the awareness raising between youth on human rights and democratic participation (April 2015)

-ANTIGONE, since the autumn of 2015, has participated in the preparatory meetings for the establishment of a Local Thematic Network on Health Education, with the Department for Secondary Education of East Thessaloniki acting as a coordinator-founder and on the issue of “Human Rights. Abroad. Migration and Refugee."

Staff

Athanasios Theodoridis is a Lawyer of Athens since 1994, expert on human rights issues, with a master degree on the administrative and constitutional law (Athens University). During 1997 and 1998 he used to be Legal Counselor of the Greek Helsinki Monitor and Minority Rights Group-GR (human rights NGOs). During 2002 and 2003 he worked as Legal Counselor and Project Manager and since 2003 and up to now he is working as Executive Director of “ANTIGONE”. He is specialized in the field of non discrimination and in particular in the implementation of the anti-racist Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC. Since 2003 up to now he is a member of the National Commission for Human Rights of the Hellenic Republic (NCHR. During 2003–2006 he had the general responsibility of the EUMC Project RAXEN on behalf of ANTIGONE which constituted the Greek National Focal Point of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) for two consecutive terms (2001-2006). During 2008 and 2009, he co-administrated in Greece, on behalf of “ANTIGONE”, the FRALEX project (which regularly provided the EU Fundamental Rights Agency with legal studies) and since 2010 he represents ANTIGONE in the new FRA’ s project (FRANET) which is implemented in cooperation with the Center for European Constitutional Law as a main partner. In January 2010 he has been selected as member of the European Network of Legal Experts in the Non-Discrimination Field with the aim to provide EU with legal reports and independent advice on relevant developments on all the grounds of discrimination. He is a volunteer member of several NGOs of human rights.

Athanasia Telliou studied International and European Economics and Politics (University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki). In 2009, she got a masters degree in human rights and democratization (European Inter-University Center, Lido, Venice) and the following year, a second masters degree in political theory and rights (Department of Political Science, University of Crete). In 2012, she completed one-year pedagogical studies (School of Pedagogical and Technological Education, Patra). She is a native speaker of Greek and she also speaks English and some French. From September 2012, she has been working in ANTIGONE NGO as a project officer. In parallel, the past four years she works for the organization as a non formal education trainer coordinating workshops on human rights and non discrimination addressed to children and youth. She is involved in activities related to democratic education for the promotion of active participation, particularly in disadvantaged groups.

Andromachi Besiri studied Greek Language and Literature at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (ΑUTH). She attended courses specialized in Ancient Greek and Latin Literature at the University of Granada (UGR), Spain. She also participated in seminar courses of AUTH regarding Teaching Methodology of language and literature lessons and School Psychology. She has been extensively trained having attended seminars and experiential courses for years concerning the approach of people with disabilities.

Targets

ANTIGONE’s main targets are:

-awareness raising, sensitization and education on human rights, fighting racism, xenophobia and any form of negative discrimination by means of social ecology and non-violence.

-turnaround and improvement of the political and social framework towards integration and equal participation of all people 

-active participation of various social groups in common activities to promote respect for the difference and solidarity

Activities

-National and international projects (e.g. on the overcoming of prejudice, on degrowth etc.)

-Awareness raising activities, events against discrimination (e.g. in schools, elderly people meeting places, festivals)

-Activities aimed to foster social integration and prevent social exclusion (e.g. of people with disabilities, the Roma, people of different national/regional groups etc.) 

-Educational seminars / vocational training workshops (e.g. to prisoners, migrants, addicts etc.) 

-Experiential workshops (e.g. with women victims of violence, children and youngsters, people with disabilities etc.)

-Non formal educational activities (e.g. project with participants from 4 continents)

-Research on racism and migration, annual reports, surveys, essays etc.

-Publications and press releases (e.g. on localisation, on peace and non violence)

-Update of electronic library (www.antigone.gr/library/default.html)

In short, ANTIGONE

-Implements international and national projects and activities with social groups such as: refugees/asylum seekers, migrants, minorities, women, LGBT people, young people, elderly people, people with disability, prisoners/people released from prison, unemployed, people with different religion, people from remote areas etc. 

-Consists of the National Focal Points of Fundamental Rights Agency Network that run under the framework of FRANET Programme as subsidiary to the comparative research carried out by EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA).   

-Organises from 2002, each year on a different topic, the Annual Round Table with the participation of state representatives, public authorities, academics, NGOs, migrant/refugee organisations and collectives. Furthermore, throughout the year, ANTIGONE organises many other conferences and seminars.    

-Releases publications and issues studies and press releases on racism, xenophobia and antisemitism in the fields of employment, education, legislation, racist violence and housing in Greece.   

-Participates in various antiracist festivals in Athens, Thessaloniki and other towns, in awareness raising activities and other relevant events. 

-Has been, from 2007 until 2010, the Greek national partner of EU Fundamental Rights Agency in collaboration with the Center for European Constitutional Law, for the implementation of FRALEX Programme that involved carrying out specialised legal surveys on a wide range of human rights issues.    

-Has been, from 2001 until 2007, the national collaborative institute of European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) in Greece. 

-Has been appointed as correspondent of Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) in Greece for combating discrimination.  

-Is the Greek partner of the European Network of Legal Experts in the Non-Discrimination Field. 

-Participates in international, national and regional networks of NGOs (Anna Lindh Foundation Network-ALF, European Network Against Racism-ENAR, UNITED for Intercultural Action, Nazi-Free Thessaloniki Assembly-NAFTHA etc.). 

-Collaborates on a permanent basis with a wide network of experts (sociologists, social anthropologists, political scientists, legal experts etc.) as well as with professors of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki so as to provide updated information on Greek reality concerning racism and xenophobia both to the Greek society and academic community as well as to international institutions and organisations.