Translation from the original Greek article: Panayiotis Lolos
The Minister of Finance, Mr. Christos Staikouras, met with the disabled employees of the social enterprise “Me Alla Matia”* last Friday, 26th of February.
“To have the Minister of Finance speak with you in person, not just for the formalities but with actual interest in getting to know the work of your enterprise and help with its development institutionally is truly an honor and emotional to see. It also shows that we are doing something well in “Me Alla Matia” and we have to continue with more efforts and drive, against all difficulties”, says the Campaign Manager of meallamatia.gr, Dimitra Kontova.
The Minister conversed for some time with the founder of NPO “Me Alla Matia” and blind lawyer Mr. Vaggelis Avgoulas, for both the operational structure of the enterprise and the need for state intervention to further support companies that employ disabled individuals in the private sector.
“We are a social company that is self-organized by PwD and prioritizes employing other disabled persons. We operate trying to insert the aspect of disability into the philosophy of other companies, municipalities, and, by extension, society. Our team consists mostly of people with motor, visual, or hearing impairments and we are not claiming any charitable assistance. However, we ask the state to equip us with all the necessary tools that will ensure equality in the competitive free market. Stereotypes dictate that disabled people in Greece should be jobless because they’re considered non-productive. Since 2018, in NPO “Me Alla Matia” we have been daily proving the contrary. Our experience and proposals were communicated to the Minister of Finance, not as a means of survival for our company, but to truly reinforce the social economy in the sector and allow initiatives and collaborations of PwD to lead the country’s current entrepreneurial sphere.” Mr. Avgoulas stated during the meeting.
“An interesting visit, an exceptional conversation, insightful conclusions, an invaluable experience through different eyes”, the Minister of Finance Mr. Christos Staikouras mentioned in his post on social media.
*NPO “Me Alla Matia” (=through different eyes) was created by the fully accessible social news portal meallamatia.gr. Today, by implementing various corporate and educational programs, it aims to eliminate the misrepresentation of disabled people in the public, as well as raise social awareness of disability, accessibility, and inclusion.