A place of hope and creativity

NetworkANTHROPIA supports refugee women and children in Lavrio, Greece, on their way to a life far from home. At the “Centre Anthropia” they experience an empowering togetherness, learn new languages and help shape a varied workshop programme.

A place of hope and creativity

NetworkANTHROPIA supports refugee women and children in Lavrio, Greece, on their way to a life far from home. At the “Centre Anthropia” they experience an empowering togetherness, learn new languages and help shape a varied workshop programme.

Our partner organisation networkANTHROPIA works in the city of Lavrio with refugee women and children, mainly Kurds from Syria, Iraq and Turkey. Most of them have experienced a traumatic flight and their future is uncertain. This is where the project sets in: At the “Anthropia Centre”, a flat in the middle of the city, the women and children meet for language lessons and various joint activities. The centre offers them a protected space outside the difficult daily routine of the camp where they can find peace and stability in the group.

At the centre there are weekly lessons in Greek, English and German as well as a reading and writing classes for women without education. The new language skills promote self-confidence and enable communication in different places, such as at the local school and in the target country. The women’s resources are strengthened individually and in a purposeful way. They are encouraged to reflect on their skills and knowledge and they have the opportunity of sharing these with the group. This results in a varied workshop programme in arts and crafts, music and tailoring. For the children, there are creative activities in small groups where they can enjoy carefree moments. 

The holistic approach of networkANTHROPIA convinces us. The project thrives on the participation of the women and actively involves them in the planning and implementation of the programme. The project also consciously seeks incorporation in and networking between the local population and the refugees.

In addition to the humanitarian aid that networkANTHROPIA provides in this context, the work at the centre is about the sustainable empowerment of the people. The experience of encouragement and solidarity in their desperate situation and the practical knowledge they gain in the courses are what the women and children take with them on their further journey. From the joint activities and the good moments, the women draw strength and the courage to face future challenges. The time spent at the centre means not least a break with their own history of flight.

Renata Herger

Project Manager networkANTHROPIA, Greece

„What excites me about our centre is the opportunity of meeting people on a very personal level in different ways, of linking them with each other, of perceiving their resources and accompanying them on part of their journey. The women and children who find a place in the centre have very different, often terrible stories of flight. I want to hear them, share them, inspire confidence and hope in these people and seek and find perspectives together with them! These moments will accompany my memories in the future. This means happiness and confidence for me in my very personal task.“

Global Video Project

In 2013 EcoSolidar initiated the Global Video Project. The aim of the project is the video exchange between youths from different countries and social backgrounds.

Global Video Projekt Austausch Global

Global Video Projekt

In 2013 EcoSolidar initiated the Global Video Project. The aim of the project is the video exchange between youths from different countries and social backgrounds.

Young people from different countries and different social backgrounds exchange ideas on topics that concern them all through the medium of film.

What does “youth” mean in Cambodia and what in Switzerland? Does the relationship to food of young people in Japan differ from that of young people in Peru? So far, youngsters from various backgrounds have explored these questions and recorded their perspectives with cell phone cameras.

In 2021, the Global Video Project has a new topic: Young people from Switzerland, Cambodia, Malawi and Peru will exchange ideas on the topic of „My environment and its changes“. Their occupation with the topic will be recorded by professional filmmakers. The four short films will be made into one film, which all four groups will watch and discuss. What have the young people from the other countries thought about this topic? Does this topic equally concern us? Where do we see similarities, where are the differences? The young people’s thoughts on the film will be recorded again and thus the final product will come into being: a film that shows both the perspectives of the young people from the different countries and their thoughts on the contributions of the other countries (to come November 2021).

The project will promote an actual exchange at eye level which gives the participants insights into other realities and enables them to gain a “new” view of the familiar. It will also enhance the young people’s media skills and they will learn how to present their own ideas on film.

Since 2013, about 200 young people from Peru, Cambodia, Japan, Malawi, the Philippines and Switzerland have taken part in the Global Video Project. The films produced can be found on EcoSolidar’s YouTube channel or at globalvideo.org.

Engagement in Switzerland

We support organisations and political initiatives in Switzerland if they have a goal or a subject matter that is central to our projects and our work. These are, for example, social and ecological goals or, in general, the fight against socially unjust structures in Switzerland and worldwide. By supporting local social organisations with membership fees we also aim at networking within the region.

Engagement in Switzerland

We support organisations and political initiatives in Switzerland if they have a goal or a subject matter that is central to our projects and our work. These are, for example, social and ecological goals or, in general, the fight against socially unjust structures in Switzerland and worldwide. By supporting local social organisations with membership fees we also aim at networking within the region with regard to relevant themes.

Social Economy Association Basel – NetzBon

The Social Economy Association Basel develops life-securing, integrated and grassroots democracy-based forms of economy, work and living at local and regional levels. It promotes local markets with the credo: “local work for local people using local resources” and is guided by the principles of ecology and sustainability. 

EcoSolidar is a member and supports the alternative payment method NetzBon, which has been used as an alternative currency in the region of Basel since 2005. The members of NetzBon, i.e. shops and companies from very different business areas in the region of Basel, accept NetzBon as payment and can use it themselves. We find this idea worthy of support since, on the one hand, a local solidary network is being created and because, on the other hand, money in the form of the NetzBon works directly and independently of the monetary economy.

www.netzbon.ch

Contact point Sans-Papiers Basel

The contact point “Anlaufstelle für Sans-Papiers Basel” is a counselling centre for people without valid identification and residence permission. It offers a place where Sans-Papiers can exchange information and feel safe. The contact point supports people with professional advice, offers assistance in various areas of life and helps them organise their daily routine. At the same time, the Swiss population is encouraged to show solidarity for the situation of the Sans-Papiers. The aim is to create better living conditions for people without the right of residence in Switzerland.

We support the contact point for Sans-Papiers in Basel, because we consider their work for people on the edge of society to be very important. After all, these people work here and contribute a lot economically but have no rights. The help offered at the contact point is low-threshold and based on the needs of the people concerned. Our support is destined for the organisational development sector, because we are convinced that the strength of an organisation is central to doing good and important work in the long term.

www.sans-papiers-basel.ch

SAG – Swiss Alliance GMO-free

The SAG – Swiss Alliance GMO-free is a platform of discussion, information and action for organisations and individual members who are critical of genetic engineering. It is the umbrella organisation for a total of 25 Swiss associations from the fields of environment, nature conservation, animal protection, medicine, development cooperation, organic farming and consumer protection. 

EcoSolidar has been associated with the Swiss Working Group on Genetic Engineering since its beginnings in 1990 and we have supported the Swiss Alliance GMO-free SAG for many years with a membership fee. In our projects, e.g. in Africa, we see what genetically modified seeds mean for smallholder families, namely high costs for fertilisers and pesticides and the risk of the soil becoming infertile. In Switzerland, too, we stand for protection against genetically modified products. 

www.gentechfrei.ch

Biorespect

Biorespect, formerly “Basler Appell gegen Gentechnologie” (Basel Appeal against Genetic Engineering), campaigns for the preservation of biodiversity and a high quality of life in an intact environment free of genetic engineering risks and for a fairer world free of patented natural goods. To this end, the association makes critical and factually sound analyses of genetic, biotechnological and reproductive technologies. The focus is on the effects of these technologies on humans, animals and the environment. We support the work of Biorespect with an annual membership fee. 

www.biorespect.ch

Agrecol Germany

Agrecol is an association for the promotion of site-specific and ecologically sound land use in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. It consists of an association of people who are professionally active in various areas of agricultural development cooperation. The focus is on the exchange of ideas and knowledge, public relations work and networking among themselves and with international organisations. With the new open-source seed license, the association advocates for seeds as common property. We support Agrecol with an annual membership fee. 

www.agrecol.de/en/

Swiss Coalition Right to Seeds

The Swiss Coalition Right to Seeds is committed to ensuring that farmers in countries of the Global South do not lose control over their seeds. The diverse seed systems of farmers guarantee food security and biological diversity. This is why it is essential that rights to seeds are recognised in the long term and are not restricted or destroyed by free trade agreements.

EcoSolidar supports this request because the right to seeds is also an issue in all our organic farming projects. We know from India how great the dependence on seed companies can be and how quickly farmer families can be ruined buying seeds, fertilisers and toxic pesticides. In our organic farming projects in Malawi we can see the alternative: Small farming families use local seeds and can achieve good yields and eat healthier food by means of home-made compost and pest-repellent plants.

www.recht-auf-saatgut.ch

Multiwatch

MultiWatch is a broad coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), trade unions, parties and organisations of the anti-globalisation movement. MultiWatch was founded in March 2005 with the aim of monitoring multinational corporations based in Switzerland, documenting and reporting on human rights violations committed by them and of supporting the struggle for justice of the people who are affected.

We have been supporting MultiWatch because we are convinced that multinational corporations must respect human rights and be held accountable for human rights violations. We are aware of such violations in our project work when, for example, mines of large corporations contaminate rivers in Peru and people no longer have clean drinking water. Or when multinational corporations in Cambodia grab indigenous land for their rubber plantations, land which for the indigenous people is both a source of food and a spiritual place.

www.multiwatch.ch

March Against Bayer & Syngenta

The March Against Bayer & Syngenta is organised by committed people from different organisations in Basel. The participants stand up for a worldwide ecological and small-scale agriculture as well as for food sovereignty without dependence on the power of a few corporations over seeds and pesticides. We support these demands and the March in Basel with a donation for its annual execution. 

www.marchagainstsyngenta.ch

The Climate Alliance

The Climate Alliance is a broad alliance of the civil society consisting of Swiss organisations from different sectors. It supports a fair and sustainable climate policy in Switzerland that agrees with the goals of the international climate agreements. It is committed to the preservation of livelihoods, in Switzerland and worldwide, as well as to the conservation of biodiversity. EcoSolidar supports the work of the Climate Alliance as a member organisation with an annual membership fee. In our project countries, our partner organisations have been feeling the effects of the climate crisis for a long time and have to deal with them in addition to social problems. We believe it is necessary to achieve a climate policy that protects our livelihoods as well as those of the people in the Global South.

www.klima-allianz.ch

Association of Corporate Responsibility

The association consists of various member organisations and campaigns for a responsible and sustainable economy. It requires legal foundations so that corporations based in Switzerland must respect human rights and environmental protection worldwide. The EU’s planned Corporate Responsibility Law should also be implemented in Switzerland. EcoSolidar supports the association as a like-minded organisation with an annual contribution.

www.konzernverantwortung.ch