The House of Europe in Rhodes

«Current translation pending review – For demonstration only».

The House of Europe in Rhodes is successfully participating as a partner in two European projects funded by the Erasmus + program with the aim of capturing and sharing good practices and developing strategic partnerships.

Active Citizens in Rural and Remote Areas

The first major project partnered with the Rhodes House of Europe is READ IT – Active Citizens in Rural Areas. The program is a collaboration of organizations participating in the European Network for Education and Training, European Network for Education and Training, e.V. – EUNET. Network members from Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, France, Poland and Sweden are participating.

The objectives of the program are:

  • Increasing the social viability of small villages in rural and island regions.
  • Developing innovative ways to promote active citizenship in these areas.
  • Informing stakeholders about the opportunities for exchange.
  • Sharing the pooled experience between the program participants and their partners.
  • Developing a handbook with examples from different countries available and useful in a wider European context.

The second international meeting of the program took place on September 18-19, 2018, in Ovanaker, Sweden. The Greek delegation was the President of the House, Michalis Kavouklis, the Treasurer of the House, Stavros Chrysochos, a Board of Directors member of the House and teacher, Lina Filippaki and the South Aegean Region Executive, Emmanuel Chryssis. A total of 24 participants from 6 countries had the opportunity to exchange views but mainly to visit rural areas of Sweden, to discuss with farmers and entrepreneurs the challenges they face but also to be inspired by the design, long-term plans shown by Sweden citizens of remote areas for the development, production and tourism of their sites.

The next international meeting of the program will take place in Rhodes in April 2019. The project coordination team is already in touch with the Dodecanese Development Chamber, the Dodecanese Chamber of Commerce and local authorities to better develop a visit program that will contribute to the promotion good practices from Rhodes and the surrounding islands, but it will also include the results of insularity and extreme seasonality in the economy that our islands are experiencing. The program is completed in June 2019, in Poland.

Expressions in Dialogue

The second round of the Expressions in Dialogue program, which was successfully completed with funding from the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue of Cultures, resulted in the training of two people from Rhodes in the Living Libraries methodology and pilot implementation for the first time in Greece, in Rhodes in May 2017, managed to join this time under the auspices and support of the Erasmus + program.

The project managers’ inaugural meeting was held in Rhodes on 29-30 September 2018. The purpose of the program is to train new people in the Live Libraries process in order to use this original and unique methodology in integrating refugees and immigrants into local communities. The first major training will take place in February 2019 in Tallinn, Estonia, followed by the second meeting of the program managers in Magenta, Italy, an additional training meeting in October 2019 in Barcelona and finally the program meeting again in Rhodes, on February 2020.

In the meantime, agencies from five countries (Greece, Estonia, Spain, Italy, France) will develop local teams and take corresponding actions in their area. The goal is to collect good practices and create a platform that will fully inform the methodology of each stakeholder to apply. Note that the Live Libraries methodology puts people with different stories in the ‘books’ position, and in an organized and controlled environment, invites ‘readers’ to read, get to know, experience real stories and experiences, thereby breaking down stereotypes and prejudices.

Announcements for participation in local groups and international meetings will be made in November.