In autumn 2022, the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation launched a new collaboration with Ecogenia, a non-profit organisation aiming to introduce the “Active Citizenship” model in Greece through participatory educational programmes. In this context, with the support of the Foundation, a pilot after-school educational programme on sustainable development was implemented in Chania, having a threefold impact: on the team members, on the participating students and on the local community. The 10-week programme was based on the “train-the-trainers” model, training 10 members as part of the “Local Green Heroes” course developed by Ecogenia and subsequently taught to children through hands-on exercises and entertaining activities. Through this interaction, the children learned about sustainability, sustainable development, volunteering and civic engagement, while the team members gained experience, knowledge and professional training. The Programme culminated with the first family and kids-friendly Climathon in Greece, aimed at engaging young people in a brainstorming marathon, proposing sustainable collaborative solutions to address their city’s major environmental challenges: sustainable transportation, sustainable tourism and sustainable waste management.

• 523 children participated in 12 school workshops and 3 special events, implemented with the involvement of 145 community members (parents, teachers, organising partners).
• The 10 members participated in 90 hours of professional development workshops and completed 1,600 hours of community service.

“Our first educational pilot project in Chania exceed my hopes and expectations. The love we received from the children and their eagerness to learn
how to become heroes of the planet and save the environment made every minute of stress, redesigning, and hard work worth it.”

Eleni Antoniadou
Educational Programme Coordinator,
Ecogenia NPO 

“Congratulations to everyone who, with so much love and teamwork, contributed to making my children be more aware of protecting the environment and think about how to make everyone’s life better through sustainable development sources.”

Parent of a participating student