The Europe Challenge

The Local Challenge 

In the rural Greek town of Filiatra, many migrant children are losing connection to their mother tongues. Their families, believing it will help their children learn Greek faster, avoid using native languages at home. As a result, children often experience speech difficulties, lack reading habits, and risk social isolation. This contributes to school failure, fragmented peer groups, and even antisocial behaviour. In a community where immigrants from over ten countries live alongside local farming families, there is an urgent need to create inclusive spaces that value all languages and cultures, foster empathy, and encourage active citizenship.

The Initiative

The Library of Trifylia is responding by creating a multilingual section featuring books, board games, and above all “silent” wordless books, which transcend linguistic barriers and allow every reader to create and share their own stories. This mobile section travels across the three main towns of the municipality in collaboration with schools and associations. Weekly experimental reading workshops engage both children and adults, while selected books are transformed into theatrical performances in participants’ native languages with the support of the Trifylia Amateur Theatre Group. In this way, migrant families reconnect with their languages and cultures, while Greek children and parents cultivate empathy and intercultural understanding. The initiative positions the library as a dynamic cultural hub and a safe, inclusive space for dialogue, creativity, and mutual respect.

What’s Next?

Looking ahead, the initiative aims to strengthen its network of partners—including schools, cultural associations, museums, and national organisations—and expand its reach across the region. By building sustainable collaborations and encouraging meaningful participation, especially among younger generations, the library will continue to grow as a centre of inclusion and active citizenship. Migrant families will gain confidence and a sense of belonging, Greek families will deepen their curiosity and empathy, and teachers will acquire new tools for promoting literacy and intercultural dialogue. Ultimately, this work will weave together the diverse cultural threads of Trifylia into a more cohesive, open, and engaged community.

Contact theeuropechallenge@culturalfoundation.eu if you have any questions or want to be connected with the team behind the project.