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EACEA National Policies Platform
Greece

Greece

4. Social Inclusion

4.5 Initiatives promoting social inclusion and raising awareness

Last update: 28 November 2023
On this page
  1. Intercultural awareness
  2. Young people's rights
  3. Key initiatives to safeguard democracy and prevent radicalisation leading to violent extremism

 

Intercultural awareness

According to the National Strategy for Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction 2021, following programmes were carried out by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs:

1. Policy Priority: Combating discrimination and preventing social exclusion.

Goals: a. Improving the quality of life of people with disabilities through the promotion of deinstitutionalization, rehabilitation, and support for independent living.

b Promoting vulnerable groups' social inclusion through the expansion, modernization, and upgrading of social and support services; multifaceted interventions; and social innovation.

c. Development of care services.

Measure: Measure 2.6.3. Intercultural Education and Intercultural Mediation Services

Action: Action 2.6.3.1. Intercultural Staff Training and Intercultural Mediation Services in health services

2.Policy Priority: Employment programmes

Goals: a. Promoting active inclusion in order to promote equal opportunities and active participation and improve employability.

b. Enhance adaptability / lifelong learning of adult workers and change management.

c. Strengthening the social economy as a tool for social inclusion and access to employment.

Measure: Measure 3.3.5. Enhancing equal access to quality and sustainable employment for Roma

Action: Action 3.3.5.1. New Entrepreneurship Programme for the Employment of People with Cultural Peculiarities (Roma)

Young people's rights

It is a fact that in modern societies, there are significant differences in the ways young people enjoy a range of social, economic, and political goods. In fact, a significant portion of the young population today experiences severe social exclusion with unequal opportunities in a number of areas, such as education, the labour market, and, more generally, decent living. In general, the term "social exclusion" refers to those processes that prevent individuals, collectives, and communities from accessing rights, opportunities, and resources necessary for social cohesion.

According to the “Youth 17-27, Strategic Framework For The Empowerment of Youth”, one of the goals is the reduction of disparities among young people (goal 6) and the sub goal 6.3 is: Ensuring equal rights for young people with religious or cultural specificities of immigrants and asylum seekers. Special groups of young people examined here are young people belonging to the Muslim community as well as young Roma.

Monitoring Indicators

  • Percentage of young people belonging to vulnerable social groups (immigrants, asylum seekers, Roma).
  • Percentage of young people in the labour force who belong to vulnerable social groups of young refugees and immigrants with a high level of Greek literacy.

Moreover, in the same strategic framework, the following sub goals are also exploring the rights of young people related to social inclusion:

  • Sub goal 3.1.1 discusses the creation of a framework that strengthens and protects the labour rights of young people.
  • Sub goal 4.3.3 refers to the enhancement of young people's knowledge of their fundamental rights, especially with regard to the protection of personal information and data.
  • Goal 5.4.1explores the provision of appropriate and targeted information is important as young people in this category often do not know their rights or the opportunities offered to them for active participation. In the same context, special care should be taken to remove the various barriers that this category of young people often faces in terms of access to information, such as language barriers, inability to use the internet, etc.

Key initiatives to safeguard democracy and prevent radicalisation leading to violent extremism

According to the Strategic Plan for Vocational Education, Training, Lifelong Learning and Youth 2022-2024: The upgrade of the educational infrastructure will be supported by the implementation of a national programme for the functional, aesthetic, and energy upgrade and expansion of the building infrastructure and the classrooms, with significant benefits in terms of operating costs, energy efficiency, and the environmental footprint of the educational units. Adequate space and participation are provided for all young people (strengthening of democratic participation and autonomy of young people).

Therefore, goal 6 of the document Youth 17-27, Strategic Framework For The Empowerment of Youth refers to the reduction of inequality among youth, and goal 6.4 refers to the reduction of the levels of violence, bullying, delinquency, and violent (anti-democratic) radicalization of young people and improving the treatment of delinquent young people.

Specifically, the sub-goal includes the following:

 6.4.1: Supporting school structures and staff to combat school bullying.

 6.4.2: Improving living conditions for young offenders and supporting their reintegration.

 6.4.3: Raising awareness about hate speech on the internet.

 6.4.4: Violent radicalization prevention.

Monitoring Indicators

  • Percentage of young people facing school bullying
  • Percentage of young prisoners
  • Percentage of young people participating in training programmes in detention centres
  • Percentage of young people participating in online hate speech training programmes
  • Percentage of young people who have been victims of hate speech on the internet