GR
Translation of the original text in Greek: Panos Lolos
Collaboration Between Pfizer Hellas with the NPO “Me Alla Matia” for the realization of specialized consulting programs, aiming to familiarize employees with the notion and experience of disability.
Pfizer Hellas recently entered into a new collaboration with the non-profit organization “Me Alla Matia”, intending to implement specialized consulting and training programs to improve the experience of disabled visitors and associates in its offices. This action is part of the company’s broader strategy to create conditions that enhance the quality of life of people who belong to vulnerable social groups and contribute to the elimination of inequalities in the workplace.
The scientific team of the NPO “Me Alla Matia” implemented the training programs at the offices of Pfizer in both Athens and Thessaloniki, where employees had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with disability through open dialogue and experiential activities, and to deconstruct stereotypes, so that disabled visitors’ experience is ensured to be improved and treated equally in terms of accessibility and inclusion during their stay in Pfizer buildings.
It is worth noting that Pfizer has remodeled its offices, following detailed suggestions that emerged from a focus group of disabled people of the NPO “Me Alla Matia”, to achieve total accessibility for people with visual, motor, and auditory impairments.
Finally, the collaboration between Pfizer Hellas and the NPO “Me Alla Matia” continues in the context of corporate social responsibility, with the support of the #SpeakUp campaign, which aims to break the stereotypes around disability and eliminate the underrepresentation of disabled people in the public sphere. In short videos, disabled people and professionals in the field present aspects of their daily lives. The goal is to go viral and break stereotypes and prejudices against disability. Sponsored by Pfizer Hellas, the NPO “Me Alla Matia” will strengthen its work by creating eight such videos.
“We are pleased to see in practice for many months that Pfizer Hellas does not consider disabled people objects of pity but active citizens and subjects with rights and obligations. In the design of Pfizer Hellas, disabled people are not absent; on the contrary, they play a leading role in co-shaping a new corporate culture of accessibility and inclusion. On behalf of the NPO “Me Alla Matia” we thank you for the recognition and your trust”, states the blind Lawyer, member of the Board of Directors of the Athens Bar Association, and President of the NPO “Me Alla Matia”, Mr. Vaggelis Avgoulas.
Lia Bertsiadou, Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and of the Department of Inflammation & Immunology in Pfizer Hellas, notes: “Through this collaboration, we now also see inclusion and accessibility from another perspective! In this way, our values and corporate culture for Inclusion, Equal Treatment, and Diversity are translated into practice so that we can truly come close to our fellow human beings with disabilities, gain a deeper understanding of their daily lives and ensure their equal treatment in every aspect of work and social life”.
About Pfizer: We innovate to change the lives of patients
At Pfizer, we use science and our global resources to improve health and wellness at every stage of life. We work to set standards for quality, safety, and value in the discovery, development, and production of medicines. Our diversified portfolio of healthcare products includes innovative drugs and vaccines. Pfizer partners in developed and developing countries are engaged daily in promoting good health, prevention, combating, and treatment of diseases that are challenging for our time. Consistent with our responsibility as a global, leading biopharmaceutical company, we work with health, government, and local agencies to improve access to reliable, affordable healthcare worldwide. For more than 150 years, Pfizer has been working to make a difference for everyone who relies on us.
To learn more about our commitments, please visit www.pfizer.gr.
About the NPO “Me Alla Matia”:
It was founded by a group of disabled young people with the ultimate goal of actively claiming inclusion and accessibility, as a continuation of the fully accessible news portal meallamatia.gr, and with a vision to eliminate the underrepresentation of disabled people. It operates with the advisory support of a focus group of disabled people and specialized scientists. It implements a variety of programs in 3 pillars:
- Training enterprises in strategies of inclusion and offering consulting services
- Breaking stereotypes and promoting inclusivity in schools with permission from the Ministry of Education
- Training in servicing disabled & impaired people to claim a more “Humane Municipality”
So far, it has implemented more than 85 familiarization programs on more than 8.064 employers and employees and 348 school programs in cooperation with 26.671 students.
