According to the research conducted by the European Commission (Discrimination in the European Union, 2006), 76% of Greek citizens believe that school plays an important role in battling discrimination.
This year, SKEP and Vaggelis Avgoulas are intensifying their already fruitful collaboration, aiming at a nationwide implementation of SKEPs' Disability Awareness Program "Focus on the person" which addresses primary & secondary education mainstream students within the school curriculum.
Through an open, informative dialogue held by motivational speakers with disability, the program aims to awaken students and change their attitude towards diversity while introducing them to the notion of social acceptance and equality.
Apart from familiarizing students with disability, the program offers the participants a life lesson by creating a new communication code, building relationships of understanding, respect and acceptance through the experiential process. Additionally it reinforces the notion of social inclusion, camaraderie and awareness, while simultaneously promoting trust in ourselves and others.
Vaggelis Avgoulas, a young lawyer with disability, is elected as a Councilman for the Municipality of Ilion and he had been also Deputy Mayor of Ilion, while serving as a Regular Representative in Greece of the VIEWS International Organization for the visually impaired, co-ordinator of the Youth Committee of the Panhellenic Association for the Blind, Member of the Accessibility Committee for Students with Disabilities of the University of Athens since its establishment, Vice President of the “Tyrtaeus” Athletic County Association of Disabled, and also as a member of the Health and Social Welfare Committee of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE).
"Our cooperation will allow us to visit schools nationwide, while giving students the opportunity to approach the everyday life of a young person with disability in a spontaneous, substantial and simple way. Through a sincere dialogue and interaction, they will discover a man who has found solutions to his own obstacles & ways to defeat adversities", said SKEP’s President of the Board, Mrs. Athena Kritikou.
"I believe that students, who are tomorrow’s active citizens, are our last hope as a society, for something better, for something more meaningful, and true. I believe that investing in the unselfish interaction with children leads the way for a better tomorrow. A tomorrow of mutual acceptance and respect for diversity", said Mr. Avgoulas.
The Educational Program is approved by the Ministry of Education.