05/09/2025 –, villa room
Linguaggio: English
English
This workshop shares Lighthouse Relief’s journey from emergency shoreline response on Lesvos to community-based psychosocial support and sports programming for refugee families in camps in mainland Greece. We’ll briefly outline the organisation’s development (2015–2025), then focus on a key current challenge: severe access restrictions to people living in refugee camps, especially for child-focused programming. Through an open discussion, we invite participants to share strategies, reflect on trends in Europe, and explore how NGOs can collaborate to support children and families living in increasingly closed and hostile environments.
Deutsch
Dieser Workshop beleuchtet den Weg von Lighthouse Relief von der Nothilfe an der Küste auf Lesbos bis hin zu gemeindebasierter psychosozialer Unterstützung und Sportprogrammen für Flüchtlingsfamilien in Lagern auf dem griechischen Festland. Wir skizzieren kurz die Entwicklung der Organisation (2015–2025) und konzentrieren uns dann auf eine zentrale aktuelle Herausforderung: die starken Zugangsbeschränkungen für Menschen in Geflüchtetenlagern, insbesondere für kinderorientierte Programme. In einer offenen Diskussion laden wir die Teilnehmer ein, Strategien auszutauschen, Trends in Europa zu reflektieren und zu erörtern, wie NGOs zusammenarbeiten können, um Kinder und Familien in zunehmend geschlossenen und feindseligen Umgebungen zu unterstützen.
This 45-minute workshop will present the evolution of Lighthouse Relief (LHR) from its beginnings in shoreline emergency response on the island of Lesvos, to our current work supporting refugees from Ritsona and Malakasa refugee camps (two of the biggest camps on mainland Greece) through safe spaces and sports activities in Greece.
We will begin with a short overview (5 minutes) of LHR’s development from 2015 to 2025, possibly together with a former staff member or volunteer now based in Berlin. The presentation will outline four main stages:
Stage 1: Shoreline response on Lesvos - founded by volunteers responding to mass arrivals offering search and rescue, emergency aid, and medical support.
Stage 2: MHPSS and Sports for Development in Ritsona camp – activities like football sessions and child-friendly spaces, until access to the camp was revoked for LHR as well as most active NGOs
Stage 3: Emergency response in Athens - support services including food distribution, information helplines, and housing for women and children.
Stage 4: Current programming - community-based sports and safe spaces for refugee women, children, and youth from Ritsona and Malakasa camps.
Next, we will give an overview (10 minutes) of our current work since June 2025 and introduce a key challenge we would like to explore together: the increasing restriction for NGOs to access refugee camps and access to people living in the camps, especially the ability to work with children due to increased security and surveillance measures. This has had a major impact on psychosocial well-being and daily life of the residents.
The main part of the session (30 minutes) will be an open discussion with participants. We hope to hear how others are navigating similar challenges, exchange best practices, and reflect together on:
How we can continue supporting children and families in increasingly closed-off environments?
What trends participants see in the EU or their local context in the coming 12–24 months?
How NGOs can collaborate to amplify refugee voices and push back against far-right and anti-migrant narratives?
Ideas for partnerships, advocacy, or programming that have helped overcome access barriers?
We aim to make this a collaborative and practical session that gathers ideas and insights to strengthen our work on the ground in Greece.
Pauline is a Project Coordinator with Lighthouse Relief Greece, based in Athens. She is a humanitarian worker, holds a Master’s degree in Middle East Studies and has experience in international cooperation, project management, and fieldwork across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. She speaks fluent Arabic, English, and German, with proficiency in Hebrew, Persian, French, and Greek. Pauline believes that sports, creativity, and intercultural initiatives can bridge divides, empower vulnerable populations, and foster stronger, more cohesive communities through shared experiences.