1. SKEP’s Interactive Debate at UNESCO
On the 11th of December 2019, at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, SKEP - Association of Social Responsibility for Children and Youth, held an interactive debate, titled "Discovering and defining my personality in school" under the auspices of the Permanent Delegation of Greece to UNESCO.
SKEP has 13 years of experience in creating and effectively implementing innovative educational programs. Through its collaboration with UNESCO, SKEP contributes to the European public dialogue, by proposing the establishment of a new educational pilot program within the school curriculum, aiming to encourage mainstream students to:
- Strengthen their ability to identify and deconstruct bad practices, stereotypes and prejudices
- Accept and embrace diversity
- Advocate for equal rights and opportunities
The proposed program leads to a school that promotes dialogue, coexistence, empathy, solidarity, acceptance, the development of students’ personality and the respect for the uniqueness of each individual.
An extensive analysis of best practices and international scientific data was presented by academic experts and disability advocates focusing on equal rights and opportunities of people with disability.
The conference was greeted by:
- H. E. Ms Maria Diamantopoulou - Ambassador - Permanent Delegate of Greece to UNESCO
- Mr Christophe Chantepy - State Counselor - former Ambassador of France in Greece
- Florence Migeon - Focal Point for the Inclusion in Education program - Educational Sector UNESCO
The internationally renowned Greek performer, Nana Mouskouri, embracing SKEP's vision, supported the initiative by sending a written message read by Mr. Chantepy.
The presenters by order of appearance were:
- Athena Kritikou: Founder and President of the Board, SKEP - Association of Social Responsibility for Children and Youth
- Dimitris Nikolsky: Head of Unit "Children with Disabilities", Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs, Greece and Former Chair of the Committee of Experts on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Council of Europe
- Dr Olympia Palikara: Associate Professor in Educational Psychology, Department for Education Studies, University of Warwick, UK
- Elena P. Soukakou D. Phil: Honorary Research Fellow , School of Education, University of Roehampton, UK
The conference was coordinated by Mrs. Maria Corantis, Deputy Permanent Delegate of the Permanent Delegation of Greece to UNESCO.
The event provided interpretation in French / English and English / French & simultaneous interpretation in French sign language.
French presentation of Athena Kritikou at UNESCO.
2. SKEP's Educational Program amongst IEA case studies
UNESCO and the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education have designed this unique collection of case studies in order to support stakeholders (e.g. policy makers, teachers and educators, researchers, development partners, NGOs) to develop and implement inclusive and equitable education policies, programmes and practices. The case studies section presents detailed and highly structured material on key policy developments.
The aim of the case study material is to provide detailed information on inclusive policy and practice from policy makers and practitioners, about the implementation and its results. It includes a collection of case studies relating to policy statements, descriptions and evaluations of policy developments, plans for and reflections on policy implementation from different regions. At present the case studies are all in English, but additional material may be in any language. This section will continue to be updated with new case studies.
We are proud that our educational program "Focus on the person" in schools, is among the aforementioned case studies.
The educational program can be found on the IEA website here.