δωρεάν πρόγραμμα δημιουργικής απασχόλησης για παιδιά προσφύγων 0-6 ετών και τους συνοδούς τους

After a great first year, we are very excited to announce the launch of the second year for Baytna Hub.

In 2019 Athens Comics Library joined forces with Refugee Trauma Initiative to create a safe and creative space for refugee and migrant children and their caregivers, hosted at the Athens Comics Library. Athens Comics Library is proud to be selected by RTI as one of the Baytna Hubs in Greece. Since last October, our Hub has served 6 families, whose members participated in two sessions every week. Most of the families had 2-3 children, ages from one year old to 6. During that period of time, we had the chance to create a powerful community, to see children grow, interact and learn.

Baytna, meaning “our home” in Arabic, provides high-quality pre-school education and specialist psychosocial support to children aged 0-6 and their parents. The programme strives to give these children the opportunity to learn and play and to develop healthy and secure relationships. Baytna nurtures the attachment between parents and children to enhance the socio-emotional, cognitive, and physical development of children we work with.  

Baytna facilitates a safe environment to support the development of young refugees who are experiencing a prolonged period of distress and insecurity. A space where children can play and learn, and where families can strengthen relationships and feel empowered.

Engaging parents and caregivers is a key part of the intervention as their capacity to provide care and protection is crucial to building resilience in children.

On Monday 5th October 2020, we will open again our doors – physically and digitally – to our old and new friends with a range of creative activities, story telling, reading and book clubs, music and movement, origami and mindfulness in a safe space of trust and creativity for both children 0-6 years old and their caregivers.

Given the latest COVID-19 government guidelines, we wanted to make sure that we offer the best possible accessible opportunities for all our old and new members to be able to join us and to be able to reach as far and wide as we can to our communities. 

We have designed a series of creative events for the next 3 months: 

 

  • Mondays and Fridays 10:00-14:00 “Baytna Hub” at Athens Comics Library, Karaiskaki 28, Athens 

  • Wednesdays 10:00-14:00 “Pop Up Baytna Hub” at an outdoors location in Athens (to be revealed very soon!)

  • Monthly Creativity Kits delivered to our members accompanied by an online monthly unboxing video presented by our Hub leader Vasileia, explaining how the kit works and introducing all the fun activities!

  • Monthly “Baytna Hub goes” visits to creative spaces across Athens (museums, galleries, sports centres, parks and green spaces)

All our activities are open to all and everyone is welcomed! Participation in the program is free.

According to our guidelines on public safety, the classes will operate with a limited number of 10 children per class, so please do contact us in advance to book a place as soon as possible by emailing [email protected] or calling 697992693 (Hub Leader – Vasileia).

You can also message us on the above number and we will call you back to tell you more about the above activities and how you can join us.

All sessions will be held in Greek and English but we are very lucky to also have with us our Community Carer – Nawid who will be assisting with our activities in Farsi, Dari, Urdu.

Additionally to our members’ activities programme, we will also be offering to our fellow organisations and partners working with refugees and other vulnerable groups, a number of tailored Training workshops and Toolkits enabling and promoting the integration of storytelling and comics into their practice and widening their community engagement programme of activities and strategy. If you are interested in finding out more on those training opportunities please contact our Networks Coordinator – Dina [email protected]

To celebrate the launch of our second year for Baytna Hub, we are also inviting you to join us for our first-ever digital Baytna Hub Fun Palace on Sunday 4th October 2020 at 11:00-13:00

Our launch is inspired and also part of Fun Palaces, a campaign across Europe that brings culture to the heart of the community, and community to the heart of culture. Each Fun Palace celebrates the unique features of each creative endeavour and is organised by local people for their own communities. Our aim is to promote collaboration, creativity and fun, through which bridges of communication and bonds are created within the community. This Fun Palace was created by the members of Baytna Hub community by sharing and celebrating the skills of everyone. Join us and master new skills, share hobbies with friends old and new, and celebrate the passions and enthusiasms of all of us; on Facebook live https://www.facebook.com/athenscomicslibrary Sunday 4th October 11:00-13:00 or register for this event by emailing [email protected]

On Monday 5th October we will also be holding a digital “Meet Baytna Hub” afternoon session 17:00-18:00 where together with our project leader Lida, we will be presenting our educational programme of activities for the next 3 months and discuss any questions with partners and interested stakeholders and organisations. To register for this event please email [email protected]

Lastly, if you wish to work in partnership with Baytna Hub we are looking for partnering organisations who would like to become hosts of Baytna Hub and could invite us for a one-off visit to their location for the programme “Baytna Hub goes…”. To find out more and sign up to host Baytna Hub at your location please visit the registration form.



We look forward to welcoming you all to Baytna Hub this year!

 

Vasileia, Lida, Nawid, Dina & Dimitris

Safety Disclaimer: All activities above are subject to government guidelines on covid19. We will keep you informed on any changes or cancellations. All members of our team are fully trained up to maintain our facilities safe and all activities will be organised according to the government regulations for the protection and prevention of spreading COVID-19.

Further Enquiries: For more information visit https://athenscomicslibrary.gr/baytna-hub-athens-comics-library/ and follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/athenscomicslibrary and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/athens_comics_library/  for all the latest news and updates.