CIVIL SOCIETY: 276 PRACTICES
EERco is established in 1997 non formally and 1999 formally. EERco main-core was as a Dancetheater group of professional artists. After many years of experimentation, the professional performers became leaders of youth and new talents in arts-related professions. Since 2003, EER has extended its activities and started functioning as a non Governmental Organization with Inclusive Culture and Arts & Innovation Social Activities.
The ultimate goal of the Festival is the development of an INCLUSIVE CULTURE through actions that contribute to the promotion of our cultural heritage. The founders of the Festival are the Cultural Organization of Macedonia - Thrace ESAEI EN ROI (Alexandria, Imathia) and the Club for the Dissemination of Sign Language (Chania - Crete). The association of people with disabilities of Chania supervises the quality of the project. The entire organization of the Festival is based exclusively on the institution of sponsorship and voluntary offer.
This Festival was created by the need for social synergy in favor of the development and reconstruction of our society on fundamental functional and auspicious cultural bases with the main purpose of the ACTIVE CITIZEN, independent of social identity and as individual goals:
the promotion of local cultural and environmental treasures (depending on the city where the festival is hosted),
the hosting of art groups involving the deaf or related to their culture
the enhancement of tourist traffic
the stimulation of commercial products • the prevention of health
non-formal education
the fight against social racism and exclusion through a partnership of the deaf and hard of hearing, the disabled and the non-disabled, including any minority
and the promotion of disabled associations.
The Festival includes recreational outdoor sports activities, art workshops and outdoor events, exhibitions, performances, a day of dialogue between academics, municipal authorities and artists, guided tours, first aid seminars & other health and prevention activities.
This festival also serves the development of a strong cultural network in the Inland, with protagonists, municipal and public authorities. In the Festival, now, we include and invite all the population social minorities with the protagonist but "every user of Semantic or other alternative communication". From 2018 the actions are combined with youth initiatives, partnerships of knowledge of teachers and academics and active action of artistic and sports bodies.
The festival takes place during the European Sports Week and lasts as long as the number of participating cities. Exceptionally, in the newcomer city, the actions last at least two days. Thus, this year, the 10th year that the festival takes place, it will take place in 10 cities, in the 9 pre-festival activities and in the 10th (Corfu) two-day tribute. So, it lasts 10 + 1 days, September 23 to October 2, 2022.
The promotion of our outdoor cultural treasure is the basic nucleus and starting point of building our actions every year and we do what we can best to promote our place. The actions are also of European character (#BeActive & European Solidarity Body). The noticeable difference of this initiative compared to others, concerns mainly our effort, in all cultural -at least- events for the disability to be invisible and for the participation of formal and informal population (population minorities).
A second condition and basic condition between participating artists, trainers, researchers and athletes who structure our actions is that, only the names and names of those involved are mentioned, avoiding references to social differences. Instead, any sporting, educational and artistic imprint of all actions is defined on an equal footing from the outset.
The plan and the goals of the Festival are similar every year (see ref .: http://esai.gr/DHIA_2015.html). Within the framework of the Festival, a symposium is held every year, in collaboration with the Scientific Association for the Promotion of Educational Innovation.
The festival can be utilized and declared by any involved coordinator, organizer, co-organizer or partner body as a tool for disseminating and promoting their work, which their work is distinguished by the central initiative and can be funded.
In other words, the festival is a crossroads of projects, activities and initiatives of the actors, who in this meeting share and announce their achievements, good practices and know-how for the common good: to exemplify, to exemplify, to evolve and evolve. A mutual socio-cultural transaction with beneficiaries all involved.
The previous Festivals [Deaf and Hearing in Action] took place the main actions in 2013 in Chania, in 2014 in Thessaloniki, in 2015 in Athens and in 2016 in Litochoro (Municipality of Dion Olympus), in 2017 in Nafplio, in 2018 in Preveza, in 2019 in Thassos, in 2020 in Maronia and in 2021 in Chios, with remarkable success. A second great achievement of this initiative is that every year more than 100 organizations, non-profit and non-profit, collaborate for the success of the Festival. Every year, pre-festival actions take place in all cities, while welcoming the new member of our network, this year Corfu!
This year the
10th Panhellenic CULTURE Festival
Deaf and Hearing in Action
(23.09 to 02.10.2022 in Chania, Thessaloniki, Athens, Nafplio, Preveza, Litochoro-Olympus, Thessaloniki, Thassos, Maronia-Sapes, Chios and Corfu) with local supporters until 2021 the Municipal and Regional Authorities:
- co-organizers or collaborators of the respective Ephorates of Antiquities, as the case may be and of interest
- and this year, we aspire to add the island of CORFU.
COORDINATORS are the General Secretariat of Sports, the Cultural Organization of Macedonia Thrace EER, the Association of the Disabled of Chania and the Institute of Nutritional Studies and Research.
Fixed pan-Hellenic sponsors: TRAINOSE, Aegean Airlines, ANEK & Blueferries
Fixed Local Sponsors of Chania (for the actions of the artistic start): Nera SAMARIA, TEMENIA, Kentorama, BIOHYM, Traditional Bakeries CHIOTAKI, LAMPAKI & KALOGRIDIS.
The local businesses of the newcomer city are constantly supporting the artistic ending and the interdisciplinary symposium, that is, this year support is expected from the local businesses of the island of Corfu.
The festival is based on the voluntary offer and the kind sponsorship of those involved. Sponsorships and grants do not concern and are not made by the coordinating authority or its members. All the employees at the festival are volunteers, or are part of the regular staff of the involved bodies, who, as regularly as they are now, offer their services, as an induction of partnership and cooperation.
In other words, there is no assignment of work to a specific human resources with a fee that is directly related to the festival of integration culture DEAF AND LISTENING IN ACTION.
There is a free entrance for all the activities. Between 2013-2018 there were published the proceedings of the oral presentations and posters of the symposium. In the annexes were included photos of the festival activities, symposium included. From 2019 onwards, the symposium serves to create educational guides with added value for teachers, parents and guardians of people with communication disorders. The two educational guides created in the years 2019 and 2020 are under publication while the educational guide 2021 concerns cultural paths with reference to Freedom.
2022 is dedicated to the Fall of Smyrna, September 14, 1922, and the year 2022 is an anniversary year of remembrance of Hellenism in Asia Minor.
Every year we encourage exclusively outdoor activities and acquaintance mainly with our outdoor cultural heritage by utilizing green travel (walks, cycling, etc.) and leisure activities (outdoor sports activities), thus encouraging physical exercise for quality of life.
