ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SOCIAL ECONOMY GROUP

National Network
Greece
Address

Marni 56 & Karolou
10437 Athens
Greece

Telephone
+3102105232044
E-Mail
info@ekogreece.com
Organisation Type
Non-Governmental Organization
Year of Establishment
2013
Fields of Activity
  1. International/Cultural relations
  2. Youth and education
General Information

EKO is a newly founded non-governmental organization based in Athens, Greece. EKO’s team consists of a board of four members, among which the President, who  is the European Ambassador of Female Entrepreneurship, one youth worker and, depending on the period,  one or two volunteers through the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program.  EKO’s financial sources include occasional funds of the Erasmus+ program and donations of members and friends of the organization, which are used to implement intercultural dialogue and KA1 youth mobility projects. Despite being a small organization, EKO has an extended network of partners across the Euromediterranean basin. Our organization is a member of the International Alliance for Peace and Development (IAPD), launched in September 2017 with members in 23 European and MENA countries, as well as a Euromediterranean Network of 11 civil society Youth Organizations (Y-NEMO).

Mission and Objectives

We believe that if one had to chose the top-two most serious challenges faced by the Greek society nowadays, answers would be unanimous: Firstly, youth unemployment  and economic obstacles as a result of the economic crisis and, secondly,  the xenophobic sentiments, cultural intolerance and exclusion created by the refugee-crisis. Our organization’s mission is to contribute to the creation of an inclusive society, free from prejudice and discrimination, which will be in the position develop and grow sustainably. To achieve this mission we focus on the following specific objectives: Empowering youth through non-formal education, training opportunities, life-long learning and fostering youth’s active participation and civic engagement Facilitating intercultural and interreligious awareness and solidarity, especially between Europe and MENA regions as well as within Europe, by providing dialogue platforms, and organizing cultural exchanges and tolerance trainings Strengthening cross-border civil society, by providing support, knowledge transfer and sharing of good practices, as well as by developing collaborative initiatives with our broad network of international partners  

Main Projects / Activities

Erasmus+ Youth Mobility Projects. As of yet, EKO has participated in 7 Youth Mobility projects, designed and coordinated 6 Youth Exchanges, and is currently working with the preparation of 4 more projects (more information in the attached file) Design, planning and organization of educative sessions and trainings for enhancing work-related skills and employability Providing communication platforms and mediation for intercultural dialogue and exchange International NGO networking, Initiation and strengthening of organizations’ networks for the development of collaborative initiatives to achieve shared visions

How can you contribute to the Network in your country?

EKO is fully committed to support the achievement of ALF’s vision and objectives, as our goals are perfectly aligned. This support may take the form of: Dissemination and publicity of ALF’s activities Promoting its objectives and initiatives for human rights protection and regional development Becoming a local implementation partner of non-formal education initiatives and trainings for youth and intercultural solidarity projects Contribution to development and implementation of common operations/actions in collaboration with HoN Member organizations Knowledge transfer and sharing of good practices Strengthening within-border, as well as cross-border civil society networks

Why do you want to join the ALF Network?

ΕΚΟ aspires to facilitate social progress through empowerment of youth, protection of vulnerable groups and fostering intercultural understanding and cooperation.  We are highly sensitized with regards to the creation and enforcement of communication channels and cooperation ties across the Euro-Med basin, as the most concerning issues these countries face (economic, refugee and humanitarian crisis) are highly interconnected, and call for collaborative solutions. Our ethic emphasizes the principles of inclusion, active citizenship and unity in diversity. Thus, we firmly believe that our vision, values and territorial scope fully comply with those of Anna Lindh foundation. EKO’s intent to join ALF Network  is based on our wish to: Become part of the, currently, largest-scale effort to bring together people and civil society actors across Euro-Med region, which ALF represents Develop a network of local partners and leverage our international level, to broaden the sphere of our influence and number of beneficiaries Facilitate our efforts to achieve intercultural solidarity, by utilizing ALF as a dialogue and cooperation  platform

Contact (1) Full Name
Kitty Panourgia
Job Title
President
Head of the organisation
Dr. Kyriaki Panourgia
Contact (2) Full Name
Eliana Vasileiou
Job Title (2)
Project Manager