Epikentro is a support centre that has been operating since 2017 in Kolonos district aiming at the empowerment of vulnerable social and economic groups through the provision of programmes and services, free of charge.

Through innovative programmes and workshops, participants have the opportunity to acquire the necessary knowledge and develop their skills, thereby obtaining the tools required to bring about long-lasting and substantial changes to their life and escape the financial and social exclusion they face.

The programmes of Epikentro are implemented in collaboration with pioneering organisations and specialised professionals, and are aimed to students, preschool and school-age children, adolescents and adults. For example, adults are offered services of psychosocial support, accounting and legal counselling, empowerment programmes for women and parents, as well as employment counselling; while adolescents are offered services of psychological support, educational programmes for skills development and vocational guidance.

In 2019, τhe John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation’s funding, on the one hand, covered necessary expenses for the operation of Epikentro, and, on the other hand, was used for the implementation of educational programmes empowering children and teaching them new skills, by utilising technology, art and constructions as learning tools. In this context, children were given the opportunity to familiarise themselves with computers; they became competent and autonomous PC users and learnt to use a programming language to create an online game. Furthermore, through their participation in the theatrical play programme, children cultivated their imagination, developed values such as cooperation and teamwork, and learnt to express their feelings. Finally, in the carpentry workshops, participants built their own objects out of wood, applying the theoretical knowledge of geometry and physics they acquired and developed in depth the concepts of design, construction and collective creation.

• 139 children participated in the educational programmes of Epikentro supported by the Foundation in 2019.
• In its 3 years of operation, Epikentro has supported more than 2,150 people of all ages.