Ampelokipi-Menemeni: reaching out to vulnerable groups
Edited on
26 April 2019Ampelokipi-Menemeni, a municipality of Thessaloniki (GR), has focused on working with a specific community as part of the Stay Tuned project – the Roma community
Detecting vulnerable groups
The highest rate of early leaving from school and education (ELET) was observed in the Roma community in the Agios Nektarios district. This has been linked to social and economic problems, including health and poverty challenges.
Reaching out
The new Department of the Community Centre in the district served as the main base for targeted education activity. Diverse extracurricular activities were organised to keep youngsters engaged. Furthermore, adults were re-integrated in education as well.
Parental involvement
A way of connecting to the youngsters was involving their parents. It led to bottom-up engagement, with the municipality team creating opportunities, whilst maintaining the role as a broker between people and services. The importance of local community ownership and positive connection with the offered opportunities was key.
Submitted by Matthias Peynshaert on