NPO “Me Alla Matia” participated in the 1st Circular Economy Exhibition

Translation of the original text in Greek: Panagiotis Seitanidis

The Growthfund (the National Fund of Greece) participated in the Forward Green Expo – Adapting Circular Economy, the 1st Circular Economy Exhibition, organized by TIF Helexpo, with interesting speeches by 25 speakers from its subsidiaries, on market best practices and virtual reality experiences.

On Friday, June 9^th, 2023, the President of “Me Alla Matia” NPO, Vaggelis Avgoulas, was among the speakers.

The blind lawyer and member of the Board of Directors of the Athens Bar Association participated in two panels moderated by CNN journalist Mr. Dimitris Mallas.

Energy saving and accessibility to Public Transport

In the first panel, “Energy saving and accessibility in Public Transport”, Mr. Avgoulas was co-opted with Mr. Athanasios Kottaras, CEO of Urban Rail Transport S.A. NPO “Me Alla Matia” as a strategic partner of the Greek Superfund for accessibility from 2021, undertook the development of a plan with the aim of an inclusive strategy in the subsidiaries of the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations.

Specifically, with the Athens Urban Transport Organization, a survey was carried out among the passenger public for the prioritization of accessibility interventions, the organization’s website was evaluated by a focus group of people with disabilities, a group of staff was trained on a pilot basis in the management of passengers with reduced mobility and the accessibility of the two stations “Kallithea” and “Monastiraki” was assessed. In the context of the development of the “Monastiraki” station in terms of access, under the supervision of our NPO, tactile pavings for blind people were designed and implemented to connect the platforms with the surrounding area of ​​the square.

See the entire discussion here (in Greek): ⇓

Circular Economy and Accessibility at Post Offices

In the second panel, “Circular Economy and Accessibility at Post Offices”, Mr. Lazaros Lazaridis, Communications Director of ELTA (Hellenic Post S.A.), participated. In the context of NPO “Me Alla Matia” collaborating with the Growthrfund and its subsidiaries, a focus group of disabled people implemented a pilot assessment at the ELTA of Nafplio of the accessibility of the store and its surrounding area. A technical report with the necessary interventions was delivered to those in charge so that the store could strengthen the existing access, but also the project to become a pilot for the change of all privately owned ELTA stores nationwide. The interlocutors announced that the pilot accessibility assessment is progressing to another ten selected ELTA stores throughout Greece.

See the entire discussion here (in Greek): ⇓

Both panels highlighted the good practices of the Growthfund and the contemporary need for disabled people to co-shape, co-create, and co-decide.