For yet another year in a row, KE.S.S.A. DIMITRA participated in the annual River Peneus Festival, which is organized every year in the city of Larissa and this year it lasted from the 16th until the 22nd of June.

KE.S.S.A. DIMITRA participated with the metal sculptures exhibition “Artistic city on a bike”, with statues made by and exhibited to the wide audience by well known artists. The aim of the exhibition was to sensitize and activate the citizens through artistic creation and by using bicycle as the main means of expression. Simultaneously, the visitors of the Festival had the opportunity to participate and experiment with the available materials of the “Open Workshop”, which constituted a collective work of art. 

Following the end of the Festival, the works of art were transferred to central points and squares of the city, where they remained during the summer, being exhibited to the citizens and the city’s visitors.

Accepting an invitation by the Cultural Organisation of the Municipality of Kameiros, KE.S.S.A. DIMITRA participated in the annual cultural exhibition, which is organized on the island of Rhodes in celebration of St Syllas. During the exhibition, hundreds of visitors had the opportunity to admire the handicrafts created by the Palestinian Refugee women within the framework of project "Gateway to self-employment". The exhibition was accompanied by a series of cultural events, which were attended by many people, but also representatives of the local self-government.

KE.S.S.A. DIMITRA participated in the River Peneus annual festival, which was organized by the Municipality of Larissa from the 11th until the 17th of June 2006.

The visitors of the festival had the opportunity to admire the embroideries produced by the Palestinian Refugee women within the framework of project "Gateway to self-employment", but also to become aware of the problems associated with the lack of water, fundamental human right and to become informed about the programs of the European Voluntary Service for Youth.

Within the program "WATER: COMMON GOOD AND BASIC RIGHT OF ALL", KE.S.S.A. DIMITRA together with the Municipality of Larissa Cultural Organisation and the Municipal Water Company of Larissa realized an event for the celebration of the World Water Day. The aim of the event was the awareness raising of the local population with respect to the problems encountered in various developing countries in relation to potable water, as well as the populations suffering due its lack. During the event, volunteers from Larissa distributed relevant informational material. The program is co-financed by Europeaid.

Within the framework of project "Gateway to Self-employment", which is implemented by KE.S.S.A. DIMITRA with co-financing from the International Development Cooperation Department- Hellenic Aid of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the four cooperatives which participate in the project (Lebabon, Jordan, West Bank and the Gaza Strip) participated in the exposition TRADITIONAL CRAFTS 2006, which was organized successfully from the 11th until the 15th of January at the Former Eastern Athens Airport Exhbition Centre and was addressed exclusively to traders.

More specifically, Al Masmya based in Aman, Jordan, participated with local mosaics and embroidery, the Beirut based Najdeh association participated with traditional embroidery, needlework and small embroidered items, the Culture for Development Cooperative from the West Bank with soaps and various edible items and finally, the cooperative Culture and Free Thought from the Gaza Strip with traditional ceramics and woodcrafts. Simultaneously, representatives from the four cooperatives were available to provide relevant information to any interested parties.

Through a representative, KE.S.S.A. DIMITRA participated in the annual meeting of the partners of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office - ECHO, which took place in Brussels on the 8th and 9th of December 2005. This year's focus was on the examination of best practices from the field of humanitarian aid.

Within the farmework of implementation of project "NGO net for Women and Children Rights in Pakistan", KE.S.S.A. DIMITRA organized successfully the first conference specialised on the issue, in Lahore, Pakistan. The aim of the conference was to facilitate networking between the NGOs, give them the opportunity to voice their problems and difficulties, provide them with possible solutions and also give them the opportunity to become informed about local, national, European and international sources of funding.

The conference was further supported through the organizing of a simultaneous NGO fair, with the stands of the 43 participating NGOs, through which they had the opportunity to distribute their promotional materials and inform the public about their activities. A dancing event was organized with the participation of women-dancers from Pakistan and Hellas. Also, awards were presented to people from the field of politics, activism and journalism, who have all excelled in their efforts for the support of human rights, but also children who participated in the national painting competition on the "Rights of the child".

The aim of the exhibition was the sensitization of the public with respect to the role played by Hellenic NGOs in Civil Society. It was the first time that a large number of NGOs, activated both in Hellas and abroad in the field of humanitarian and development interventions, participated jointly in an initiative, which portrayed in a unique way the work they undertake all over the world. The exhibition itself focused on the presentation of snapshots from the humanitarian and development oriented initiatives implemented dynamically by the Hellenic NGOs, in an effort to promote their work but also activate the participation of the citizens, the business world, Local Self-Government and the world of politics.

The exhibition was organized by the Hellenic Centre for the Promotion of Volunteerism "anthropos.gr" and the Municipality of Amarousio Cultural Centre.

The Global Call for Action Against Poverty (GCAP)is the biggest ever campaign implemented in order to combat poverty and so far, using the characteristic white band, it has managed to activate and motivate thousands of organisations and millions of people all over the world, who all demand radical changes in international relations, but also immediate and effective measures to end poverty and create a world that is more just and humane.

In order to achive this ambitious goal, GCAP focuses its attention on three focal points related to the sustainable development of developing countries:

• Adopting of just international transactions
• Increasing of the quantity and quality of developmental assistance
• Immediate debt relief for the developing countries, without any other economic or political exchanges

The Hellenic Forum aims at contributing jointly with the other national networks to the efforts for the creation of a more just and humane world, which is free of poverty and dependence.

Click here to visit the Forum's Website

Within the framework of the Conference of the Youth of New Democracy, 10 NGOs from all over Hellas participated with information kiosks and had the opportunity to inform the participating youth about their programs and activities, and also distribute promotional and visibility material. The Conference also included various panels and speeches by politicians, journalists and academics.

Within the framework of the Regional Conference of the Greek Socialist Party of Thessaly, KE.S.S.A. DIMITRA was invited, among other NGOs, to participate with a kiosk and inform both the participants and the wide public on its activities.

Α KE.S.S.A. DIMITRA representative participated in a seminar organized by the International Development Cooperation Department (Hellenic Aid) of the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the specialised agency of the United Nations "World Food Program", which is the main coordinator of the international food assistance. The seminar was titled "The participation of Hellenic NGOs in the activities of the World Food Program".

The seminar aimed at informing the Hellenic NGOs on the potential and the parameters of becoming involved in the programs run by the World Food Program and its main speakers were the co-chairman of the agency and his colleagues.

For more information on the World Food Program, click here

The 2nd Alternative World Water Forum took place from the 17th to the 20h of March in Geneva and it constituted the result of countless interventions implemented during the last years by social and international organizations from all the continents. The Forum identifies as its priority the elaboration of integrated strategic plans, which are based on the 4 fundamental principles of rational use of the planet's water resources: a.) Water is a fundamental human right, b.) water is a common good, c.) water is a public good and therefore governments should ensure its availability and d.)water must be subject to democratic administration. The Centre of Strategic Planning for Development "DIMITRA" was the only Greek NGO to participate in the Forum, through its participation in the program "Water: Common Good for Humanity and Basic Right for All", funded by the European Commission and coordinated by the Centro di Volontariato Internazionale from Italy.