Awakenings: Parents and Teachers Meet in the Library
The library as a cultural hub to address social isolation issues.
The Local Challenge
The 43rd Primary School is located on the edge of Heraklion, on the island of Crete. The schoolchildrenthere faced difficult times during the pandemic, which has continued. Some have experienced serious problems of social isolation and domestic violence. The library “Bibliodromio” and the school are working together to tackle these problems, by bringing together parents, teachers and children with various activities. The aim is to work on acceptance, dialogue and understanding within the school’s community.
The Initiative
The School’s Parents’ Association and the library are putting on a series of activities: showing movies, creating a student newspaper, establishing a common reading area in the library for parents and students, as well as holding celebrations for important occasions outside the traditional Greek calendar. They are also considering setting up a “Moustaklis’ museum”; their school has taken the name of Spiros Moustaklis, who is known for his efforts in fighting against dictatorship in Greece. Ultimately the project partners want to encourage pupils to become co-organisers and make the library their “own”.
What’s Next?
They have a clear ambition to use the library as the main instrument in bringing parents and families together and to learn from each other. With the enrichment of their multilingual, non-Greek book collection, the library plans to become more sustainable as a safe place, where healing and learning can happen.
Contact theeuropechallenge@culturalfoundation.eu if you have any questions or want to be connected with the team behind the project.
