Association/ Union
Founded in
2004
Address
Τσιμισκή 3, 546 25 Θεσσαλονίκη
Phone number
+30 2311267295
+30 6976840812
Webpage
Organization's page in other social networks
https://www.facebook.com/UNESCO.Youth.Club.Thessaloniki
https://www.instagram.com/thessaloniki.youth.club.unesco/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/
Description of the organization
"Thessaloniki Youth Club for UNESCO is a non-profit local youth NGO that was founded in 2004 in Thessaloniki (Greece). Its establishment was approved by the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO. It has a team of experienced and well-trained persons, who are involved in the various projects according to their relevance with the related subject.
Thessaloniki Youth Club for UNESCO plays a leading role in youth activities in our region, promoting youth participation, inclusion and education initiatives. Youth employment and social inclusion, active citizenship, non-formal education, volunteerism and the EU Youth Strategy are listed among our main priorities when implementing our activities in local, national level & European level.
Recently our Club has been nominated by the United Nations Regional Information Office in Brussels (Communication Office for Greece) as a national promoter of the UN Youth Strategy 2030. In the past, the Club was nominated as the national promoter of the UN International Year of Youth (2010-2011).
In its eighteen years of existence, the Club has implemented various activities: organizing conferences and events; promoting the United Nations International Days; hosting seminars and trainings of formal and non-formal education; implementing regional projects with partner NGOs from the neighboring countries; running actions based on volunteerism; dealing with issues concerning the Monuments of the World Cultural Heritage of the city of Thessaloniki, as well as dealing with all aspects of fundamental human rights protections, boosting diversity and social inclusion, are only some examples of what has been done through the previous years.
Actions that the organisation has organised or in which it has actively participated
Based on the fundamental principles and objectives of UNESCO and UN, as well as the EU and the Council of Europe, the Club’s activities can be classified into four main fields:
1. Empowering, Enabling and Integrating Young People
The Group promotes the priorities for youth, as analysed in the relevant EU, Council of Europe, UN and UNESCO Strategies and implements participatory actions tailored to the needs and priorities of young people in the local community.
- It has contributed to the adoption of policy documents on youth participation processes in the local community (participatory youth budget, youth action plan, good practices), in the context of participation in European strategic cooperation programmes.
- Since 2019 he is a partner of UNRIC (Office for Greece) for the promotion of the United Nations Youth Strategy 2030 in Greece. She has been in charge of the Greek translation of the Strategy and dissemination and awareness-raising activities.
- In 2020 he became coordinator of the ERASMUS+ Jean Monnet Project "Strategies and Policies on Youth in the EU", which foresees the creation of a "Think-Tank" of young researchers on European youth policies and issues.
2. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Local Communities
- In 2019, the Group organised the 1st Balkan Civil Society Forum on the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Thessaloniki. The aim was to gradually network and establish cooperative relationships between civil society actors in the Balkan countries and to establish a working group of young researchers to collect, codify and record information on sustainable development issues.
- In 2020, the research action "Learn, Research, Act for Sustainable Development Goals" was completed in the framework of the European programme "Sustainable Europe for All". The main objective was to record the priorities of secondary school students attending schools in Thessaloniki and Central Macedonia regarding the SDGs.
- In 2021, the "Entrepreneurship Observatory for Sustainable Development" was created to monitor, record and highlight good practices in the field of circular economy, environmental protection and green entrepreneurship in the light of the 17 Goals.
3. Education, Human Rights and Social Inclusion
- With reference to Sustainable Development Goal 4 "Quality Education for All", it implements educational programmes, seminars and experiential non-formal learning workshops for secondary school students, students and young people of Thessaloniki, on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the international and regional conventions for the protection of human rights, fundamental rights and individual freedoms.
- It has developed training manuals to address various issues such as: the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the integration of young people lacking education, training and work experience (NEETs) in the local community, the exchange of examples of good practices related to youth employment in different EU countries, gender and sexual orientation discrimination, LGBTI rights, etc.
- Since 2016, she has been participating in educational activities aimed at young refugees in order to encourage their participation in activities that promote their social integration inside and outside the school environment. It has been a partner of the European ERASMUS+ project "TOGETHER", aiming to raise awareness among the academic community on the integration of refugees and other beneficiaries of international protection in higher education institutions. In 2021, the educational platform "Meet me" was developed, aiming to develop the language skills of refugees in Greek.
4. Culture and Promotion of Intercultural Dialogue
- Our Group develops actions for the monuments of Thessaloniki that are included in the World Heritage List. It deals with specialised topics such as intangible cultural heritage and oral narratives as a means of preserving historical memory with an emphasis on the cultural history of Thessaloniki. In this context, in 2021 the action "Views" was implemented.
- It promotes the strengthening of a sense of common European identity and fosters intercultural dialogue between Balkan civil society organisations. From 2010 to 2020, in cooperation with the Youth Alliance, it developed the "Contacts for the Common Future" initiative to promote dialogue between young people in Greece and North Macedonia, and to encourage active participation and cooperation between young people to address common challenges.
Volunteering opportunities provided by the organization.
The volunteer team formation period for each new year is usually during the autumn.
English 
Greek