The John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation supports the Athens Open Schools Programme, an initiative of the Municipality of Athens which has been implemented since 2015 by the Athens Partnership with the founding donation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. A primary goal of the programme is to make use of school buildings outside school hours for the benefit of the local community. Athens Open Schools comprise a place of creation and innovation with culture, education, technology and sports activities for all age groups. These activities are based on innovation, are implemented free of charge and are carried out at school facilities during the evenings throughout the week as well as on weekends.

Activities offered in Athens Open Schools are proposed by civil society institutions or by individuals, are selected after evaluation and are realised by the implementing body with the support of the Municipality of Athens. Through the programme, the doors of school buildings are opened in an organised and secure manner, access to free knowledge and entertainment is provided to citizens of all ages and, as a result, their quality of life is enhanced.

In November 2018, the following activities were launched with funding from the Foundation:

• Creative pastime for children with autism and pervasive developmental disorder. The activity, in which preschool and school-age children as well as adolescents participated, included sports, construction, painting, music and storytelling among other things.
• Within the framework of the “Little builders” activity, children ages 6 to 12 have the opportunity to explore the worlds of sculpture, engraving and painting, to remodel old toys, to build musical instruments, and to understand the importance of recycling through stories and games.
• Christmas gardening and manufacturing of Christmas decorations from recyclable materials. Through the robotics activities “Young engineers” and “Introduction to educational robotics with LEGO WeDo”, children ages 6 to 8 and 9 to 11 years, respectively, have the opportunity to experientially approach the laws of physics and mathematics and gain a first exposure to programming and the logic of automation.
• Through the “Young people’s stage goes to school” programme, qualified theatre professionals meet with the students of the 2^nd General Lyceum “Theodoros Aggelopoulos” on a weekly basis. Students’ contact with theatre techniques the rehearsal process and the preparation of a performance is aimed at getting them to know and love the theatre.
• Yoga lessons for adults. Through the offered activity, yoga classes are provided to participants with the aim of improving their physical condition

Since November 2018, 5 partner organisations implemented 7 different activities in 12 schools, offering 248 hours of education/ technology, sports, entertainment and culture to 308 beneficiaries.

From the commencement of the programme’s implementation until today, 21 schools have opened their doors for the implementation of 521 activities, in which 31,350 people have participated.