Adolescents’ Awareness Raising Workshops

Adolescents' Awareness Raising Workshops "Building Healthy Intimate Relationships" in Greece

Upon finalization of the two training seminars of 73 teachers of secondary education in 2015, and with the permission of the Hellenic Ministry of Education, started in the 2015-2016 school year the implementation of Experiential Awareness Raising Workshops of students on issues related to gender stereotypical attitudes, gender equality and of gender-based violence in adolesents' relationships.

Under the coordination and supervision of EAVN, a total of 21 Workshops were implemented at junior and senior High Schools in 14 perfectures of 10 out of the 13 Peripheries of Greece. 

Students and teachers worked with great enthousiasm during the school year and at the end of the workshops they worked with the aim to create awareness raising material for their peers. They created material, with the aim to convey to their peers messages on how to build healthy and equal relationships, based on mutual respect. All adolescents' creations are included in an e-campaign with the aim to inform and sensitize the adolescents' general population in Greece.

In addition, 11 more awareness raising workshops were conducted in the Communicty and Day Care Homes of "The Smile of the Child" after a training seminar of 20 teachers and phsychologists.

In total, EAVN trained 93 trainees; 1/3 of them successfully implemented 32 workshops (of 10 hours minimum duration) in different areas of Greece with the participation of more than 480 adolescents!

Congratulations to the adolescents and their teachers! On 27th of June will be held the National Conference of the project where invited speakers will be two teens from each workshop and their teacher who will present their experience from their participation in the workshops.  

Below are stated some of the teachers’ comments after the end of the workshops:

“Many benefits for the children and also for their environment, and mainly their families. Many parents requested to talk to me as they were impressed by the topic of the program and its activities. The program was an opportunity for discussion within the families”
“It was enlightening for children, their families and their social environment in general. They realized that what we have got used to do and to accept as ‘normal’ creates a potentially dangerous environment for women in our society but also difficulties in having decent and equal relationships for both sexes”
“Unbelievable cooperation! I cannot express it in words... Maybe I am influenced by the messages we receive these days saying congratulations to the children. Students were sensitized and made every effort to convey their experience to other young people!”
“Words cannot express my experience. I believe that I helped the children as much as I could during the workshop to realize some things. I saw opinions being expressed with frankness, students cooperating with each other, ‘weak’ students to participate vigorously, established views to be challenged – a society to promote the work of children with joy (a society, that even though it is a rural one, realizes the importance of this action!). What else to say? There are no words to describe this experience...”
“It was a unique experience, I saw children from a different perspective. We think we know how they are thinking -judging by ourselves when we were at their age- but everything has changed since then.... It was a surprise for me that helped me to understand and observe them in a better way and to react differently. Finally, this experience helped me personally, my behavior towards children and my personal relationships”
“I learned a lot for children and the way of their thinking and behaving, that helped me -and will continue to help me- to handle them differently. In addition I discovered a lot for myself and my relationships, a way to reflect my life and I understood why some things had happened to my life”
“it was the permanent topic of discussion at school all the year. Children that were not in the group they were asking for it, parents addressed to me many times with positive comments. I believe that I laid down a good seed that I hope to see it flourish in future”