CIVIS Open Lab Athens

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) Open Lab 1st call for projects was launched in late June 2021. Five projects have been selected after a process of internal and external evaluation in September 2021. The selected projects will be running within the framework of CIVIS Open Labs in collaboration with various stakeholders (i.e NGOs, municipalities, academics, students etc) in order to develop a “bridge” between society and the university.

The projects focus on four different areas, as follows:

  • Society, Culture and Cultural heritage
  • Cities, territories, and mobilities
  • Climate, environment, and energy
  • Health

These projects are supported by NKUA’s Open Lab seed funding scheme in CIVIS and will be completed by the end of July 2022.

Greening our Neighborhood

The proposed educational activities will focus on the need to connect people, residing in urban areas like Athens, to nature and to offer them opportunities to access environmental educational activities at local level. Connecting to nature is particularly beneficial for all, including people belonging to vulnerable social groups, as it can improve their physical and mental health, and foster social inclusion. The proposed educational activities already exist at local level and will be implemented in Pocket Parks that the NGO Organization Earth has already created in collaboration with the Municipality of Athens and corporate partners. They aim to educate and activate citizens about urban sustainability issues through experiential activities, as well as to develop partnerships between civil society, academic community, and other local stakeholders in order to create initiatives and are beneficial to the local community and contribute to urban sustainability. Activities will be designed by postgraduate students of Museum Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and will be implemented together with moderators of Organization Earth.

Project partners

Association: Organization Earth

Partner associations:

NKUA partners: Postgraduate Students of Museum Studies and their Professor (Module: Museum Education)

Want to learn more or get involved?

If you are a member of one of the CIVIS member universities or a stakeholder in any of the CIVIS territories and would like to find out more about the project, reach us by email or by contacting your CIVIS university.

Project contacts

Gender budgeting at local level: Mapping the needs of women/girls in the area of Kolonos (Athens)

In the context of the Open Laps of CIVIS – NKUA, the project “Gender budgeting at local level: mapping the needs of women/girls in the area of Kolonos” aims at improving the quality of life  of women/girls of diverse social groups and reducing gender inequalities in the area of Kolonos by mapping the needs and challenges of women/girls living in this area, and depicting them in an interactive map. The interactive map will be used in the advocacy activities of the “GREAT budgeting” project, led by ActionAid Hellas since 2020, for the development of a genderresponsive budgeting by the Municipality of Athens. A group of students from the Department of Sociology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in cooperation with ActionAid Hellas and its established local action group of Kolonos citizens and the GREAT budgeting partners will participate in this social project on the field, combining their academic knowledge on gender theories with practical experience, while understanding the challenges faced by women/girls in the area of Kolonos.

Project partners

Association: ActionAid Hellas

Partner associations:

NKUA partners: Department of Sociology 

Want to learn more or get involved?

If you are a member of one of the CIVIS member universities or a stakeholder in any of the CIVIS territories and would like to find out more about the project, reach us by email or by contacting your CIVIS university.

Project contacts

Cultural organizations, museums, dementia and capacity building

The Open Lab "Cultural Organizations, museums, dementia and Capacity Building" will be held within the framework of the European Civic University (CIVIS). Professionals of cultural institutions and graduate and undergraduate students of various specialties from the field of culture will receive training through online seminars and workshops by recognized professionals from the field of health and culture of Greece and the United Kingdom and researchers of NKUA. The aim is to gain knowledge about dementia, to develop and improve their abilities and skills in interacting with this special audience. Also, be informed about the contribution of art and museums in improving the quality of life of people with dementia. Then, in collaboration with cultural and health professionals, the representatives of cultural institutions will develop online actions that will be addressed to people with dementia and their caregivers. The expected benefits from the development of the Open Lab are: cultural professionals have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills and cultural organizations will strengthen their social role and find ways to connect creatively with people living with dementia and their caregivers. People with dementia and their caregivers will be given the opportunity to have access and participate actively in the cultural life of their country and will be improved their quality of life. A toolkit will be developed as a method for dissemination and communication of the laboratory but also as a means of mobilization and inspiration for medical and cultural institutions. It will contain the results and the methodology of the program, the activities developed and their evaluation.

 

Project partners

Association: Alzheimer Athens Association

Partner associations:

NKUA partners: Department of History and Archaeology

Want to learn more or get involved?

If you are a member of one of the CIVIS member universities or a stakeholder in any of the CIVIS territories and would like to find out more about the project, reach us by email or by contacting your CIVIS university.

Project contacts

Cross-sectoral learning in practice: The example of the Hadrian Aqueduct

Objective

The development of a methodology for cross-sectoral cooperation between scientists from different scientific fields who are called to solve a social problem for the benefit of society. This methodology for cross-sectoral cooperation can create a benchmark to be followed by the Νational and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA).

How?

Students from various schools, inside and outside the NKUA will learn (service-learning), in "real-time", how a cross-sectoral, interdisciplinary collaboration works and which methodology is more effective. The project focuses on Hadrian's Aqueduct as a case study of “how the Hadrian as a cultural monument and water resource can relate to local entrepreneurship that benefits citizens”.

Who implements it?

The project is implemented by NKUA and the Social Partner "Ohi Pezoume".

Project partners

Association: «Ohi Pezoume» UrbanDig Project

NKUA partners: Medical School

Want to learn more or get involved?

If you are a member of one of the CIVIS member universities or a stakeholder in any of the CIVIS territories and would like to find out more about the project, reach us by email or by contacting your CIVIS university.

Project contacts

Improving the life of Seniors

Τhe program “Improving the life of seniors” aims at the improvement of the daily life and overall quality of life of seniors residing permanently in non-profit care homes for the elders (NPCHE). In order to achieve this, the NGO Mission ANTHROPOS (www.missionanthropos.com), a non-profit organization experienced in implementing programs and initiatives for seniors, partners with the postgraduate program (PGP) of the Medical School of NKUA, “Physiology of Aging and Geriatric Syndromes”, in the context of the CIVIS Open Labs.

The program is based on two pillars: the mobilization of seniors through regular digital meetings with high school students and the training of their caregivers and staff of the NPCHE on the prevention and treatment of geriatric syndromes, based on the Global Geriatric Assessment, as well as the empowerment of their emotional resilience, by members of the PGP. The involvement of the PGP students will be substantial, implementing the service learning. By the end of the program, a Good Practices Guide will be created and offered online, free of charge.

 The NGO Mission ANTHROPOS is co-funded by TIMA – Charitable Foundation for the implementation of this program.

Project partners

Association: Mission “ANTHROPOS”

NKUA partners: MA Medical School, Aging Physiology and Geriatric Syndromes

Want to learn more or get involved?

If you are a member of one of the CIVIS member universities or a stakeholder in any of the CIVIS territories and would like to find out more about the project, reach us by email or by contacting your CIVIS university.

Project contacts