Re-act! Ideas in motion

This year we celebrate the 10th anniversary of our presence in Greece with a two-day event full of ideas, inspiration, discussions and actions! The event will bring together leading experts, decision makers and civil society representatives in a collaborative effort to look beyond dominant narratives and to identify the necessary steps towards a fair, inclusive and livable pathway.

On the first day, 29 June 2022, at the 'Re-think' Ideas Forum, leading experts, decision makers and civil society representatives will examine how the economy can recover a sense of public purpose, why is it urgent to bridge the urban-rural divide, why is it essential to set the foundations for energy democracy, how we can truly empower open and inclusive communities and safeguard human rights and democracy at all levels.

On the second day, 30 June 2022, together with our partners we are organising a number of events in selected spots across Thessaloniki ('Re-act'), trying to show how the above ideas can be put into practice.

1. Our bookstands pop up in the city
   Our publications featured in Thessaloniki bookstores
   book exhibition / Akivernites Polities (28 Alexandrou Svolou st.), 9:00 - 21:00 / Oblik Editions (29 Spandoni st., Kapani Market), 10:00 - 20:00
   
   The publications of the Heinrich Böll Foundation are known for their validity and completeness and have gained the trust of experts, becoming reference points in the relevant literature. On the occasion of our anniversary events, they will be on display throughout the day in special stands in bookstores of Thessaloniki, so that a wider public can get to know them and obtain them free of charge.
   
    
2. Our roof, ourselves
   Social housing in Thessaloniki
   guided tour / Around Twelve-Storey buildings (Langada st.), 9:30-11:00
   Meeting point and morning coffee: Former “Neighborhood Room” in the Twelve-storey buildings (Dimitriou Galanaki st. & Georgiou Ivanoff st.), 9:00-9:30
   
   An alternative tour around the twelve-story buildings and their surroundings. A journey in the present that starts from the past and highlights the future of social housing in Thessaloniki. Because access to affordable housing is a key element in configuring cities, their social cohesion and above all supports a fundamental right.
   
    
3. A pocket park is born
   The Vardaris neighbourhood welcomes a new common space
   participatory workshop / Vardaris’ Pocket park (5 Afroditis st. & Odysseos st.), 11:30 – 13:00 
   
   Opening of a new Pocket Park in the Vardaris area. Participation has been a key in both its design and construction. Members and employees of the Self-Help Promotion Program, people from the neighborhood and friends of Vardaris joined forces. This effort created a new communal space for meeting, relaxation and creativity from, with and for the neighborhood itself!
   
    
4. Build a bee oasis
   We protect biodiversity in the urban environment
   hands-on workshop / Pocket park (Agapinou st. & Ioannou Michail st.), 11:45-12:30
   
   Through a hands-on workshop designed for all ages and genders, we aim to raise awareness about the importance of the bees on ecosystems and biodiversity, and of the challenges that they face. By planting bee friendly flowers (full of nectar and pollen), we create urban oases, suitable for these useful insects that are seriously endangered by pesticides.
   
    
5. The Climate Crisis and Energy Quiz
   We learn by playing and observing
   educational game / ActionAid Youth Centre Thessaloniki (7 Navarinou sq.), 12:30-13:30
   
   An educational game for children and adults, focusing on energy and the climate crisis. It includes a quiz whose answers turn our earth... green, a workshop on how we can all together become a community that produces energy, and through “magic binoculars” we see how the climate is changing in Senegal!
   
    
6. “European Mobility Atlas”
   Mobility, energy crisis and railways
   book presentation, discussion & guided tour / Railway Museum of Thessaloniki (7B Nea Monastiriou st.), 14:30-15:30
   
   We present our new publication, the “Atlas of European Mobility”, and discuss with experts how to tackle the energy crisis through sustainable mobility. We will also talk about the importance of railways and have a tour of the Railway Museum of Thessaloniki, which includes a carriage from the legendary Orient Express!
   
    
7. 1000 Dreams - About refugees, by refugees
   Stories from the LGBTQI+ refugee experience
   photography exhibition /Former Kindergarten building (1st pier, port),16:30-18:00
   
   Our understanding of the refugee experience most often comes through stories told by non-refugees and therefore our perception can be incomplete and biased. 1000 Dreams is a project entirely authored by people with a refugee background and tells the stories of 1000 refugees across Europe. We will exhibit a selection of these refugee stories coming from the LGBTQI+ community and offer an exhibition opening talk about refugee and LGBTQI+ dreams – and their rights and opportunities to pursue them.
   
    
8. Communities and Commons
   The local SSE initiatives in exchange
   hybrid discussion / To Oreon Depot (18 Vafopoulou st.), 19:00-20:30
   
   In the second stop of the series of events “The Local SSE Initiatives are Discussing”, the Social Solidarity Economy initiatives of Thessaloniki decided to talk about communities and the commons. Terms that constantly reappear in one way or another, rallying people and trying something different in the here and now. However, where do the new and older initiatives stand today?
   
    
9. We design our neighbourhood
   Envisioning our city in a participatory way
   workshop / Nea Paralia (Garden of Music), 19:00-20:00
   
   In this workshop, which takes place in Nea Paralia, a beloved public space of the citizens of Thessaloniki, participants are invited to “tell” stories of their daily life in their neighbourhood, but also to envision the neighbourhood and the city they want.
    

10. A night inspired by the Nobelist Heinrich Böll 
    theatrical performance & concert / Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki (66 Vasilissis Olgas st.), 20:30-23:00

    The two-day anniversary events for the 10 years of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Thessaloniki will conclude with an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the award of the Nobel Prize for Literature to the great German writer, whose name our Foundation bears. Theatre meets literature and political action, while the evening closes in a relaxed atmosphere with live music, networking and conversations in the cool and welcoming courtyard of the Goethe-Institut.
    
     

More information about the events can be found here.

Due to their nature only selected events will be accessible in English. We will do our best to accommodate translation needs on the spot. Please indicate whether you will be needing simultaneous translation upon registration (top right button) and before the start of each event.

Warm thanx to our partners, co-organisers and supporters for their invaluable contribution that made all these possible!