The project in summary

Art-education activities and workshops for minors and youth with different migration, cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

 

The project in detail

The “Thesaurus” project, which is part of a non-formal educational program developed since 1996 by the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR), aimed to:

  • allow minors and youth with different migration, cultural and linguistic backgrounds to express their emotions and their experiences in a creative way, within a safe, protected and child-friendly environment;
  • improve their self-esteem and increase confidence in themselves and in others;
  • strengthen their artistic-creative skills, their relational and socio-communicative skills.

Beneficiaries during the project period (2021-2025)

  • 1’333 minors and youth (5-20 ages), with different migration, linguistic and cultural backgrounds, participated to diverse creative-artistic and educational activities organized at the Intercultural Center “PYXIDA”, 3 mixed elementary and secondary schools of Athens, 5 NGOs involved in the support and integration of minors with a migration background, and 2 Shelters for Unaccompanied Minors;
  • 54 adults (of which 41 parents) with a migration background participated to several cultural visits of the most important museums of Athens and the Region of Attica;
  • 113 people, including parents, teachers, colleagues, representatives of the school community and partner organizations.

Between January 2021-December 2025, Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) with the support of Alta Mane, has carried out the following activities:

  • developed the digital educative platform “Thesaurus Library” where, subsequently, a total of 2’725 books for children and adolescents, which are part of the “PYXIDA” Center’s book collection, have been catalogued;
  • 60 art-education workshops, during which 296 children (5-17 ages), starting from the reading of different books and through different expressive-artistic modes, had the opportunity to reflect on various themes and produce various drawings, paintings and padlets, successively featured and shared on the “Thesaurus” platform;
  • 47 participatory book workshops, including 19 on the Rights of the Child, reaching 295 minors and youth (6-20 ages), including 30 unaccompanied minors (7-12 ages);
  • 187 theatre workshops reaching 458 minors and youth (6-18 ages), including 39 Greek peers, organized in collaboration with 3 mixed elementary and secondary schools of Athens, 5 NGOs involved in the support and integration of minors with a migration background, and 2 Shelters for Unaccompanied Minors;
  • 2 Festivals on the Rights of the Child reaching 49 minors and youth (7-20 ages), including 9 unaccompanied minors (15-17 ages), 6 teachers, 6 staff/collaborators and 1 parent;
  • 45 cultural visits, coupled with several art education workshops, of the most important museums of Athens and the Region of Attica reaching 231 minors (5-18 ages), 41 parents and 13 adults with a migration background;
  • 1 PYXIDA Summer Camp (July 2025) attended by 44 minors and youth (6-17 ages), including 22 unaccompanied minors (13-17 ages);
  • 2 Theater performances, organized at the 35th Primary School of Athens (June 2025) and at the Theater 104 (Kerameikos, Athens, 16 December 2025), performed by 27 minors and youth (6-17 ages), and reaching 100 people in the audience, including parents, teachers, colleagues, representatives of the school community, and partner organizations;
  • 2 community events, organized at PYXIDA, one at the beginning of the school year (Back-to-School Event, 10.09.2025) and the other one to celebrate the start of the Christmas festivities (Xmas Event, 23.12.2025), reaching 86 minors and youth (6-17 ages).