"I Care & Act" - presentation

“I Care & Act” Educational Program

The vision is born From idea to practice

“I Care & Act� is an educational program implemented in schools across Greece with the aim of cultivating the values of volunteerism, civic engagement and solidarity as a way of life in our children, through both academic knowledge and experiential learning.

Our vision is to expand the program to each and every school of the country, investing in the younger generations, our future.

I Care & Act Planting the seeds of change Child of today

Active & Engaged Citizen of Tomorrow

I Care & Act – The Program •

Tailored curriculum material approved by the Greek Ministry of Education, developed by a specialized scientific team, based on international bibliography and best practices from Greece and abroad.

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Adjustable to all school grades and disciplines, including special education, second opportunity schools etc

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“TtT” (Train the Trainers) approach: year-round support & distance learning.

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Experiential learning: Students lead the program, choose the themes & issues that interest them and design projects – metaphorically and literally - outside the classrooms

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Students and schools become change agents in their communities and engage parents, local partners and charities

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End goal: Integration of volunteerism and civic engagement in schools across Greece as a regular course.

How it works •

Multi-faceted educational material, available in printed form for participating schools and in digital form for free at www.noiazomaikaidrw.gr.

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Support of educators through specific goals and framework, guided methodology, intensive training through

workshops, long-distance support and creation of a network of participating schools through the interactive platform www.e-paideia.org.

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Regional coordinators with educational expertise and experience in similar programs acting as mentors and overviewing the implementation of the program.

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Flexibility that allows participation to every school interested in joining the program with varying degrees of support.

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Free dissemination of the program’s materials, free tools and complementary material, results and best practices through www.noiazomaikaidrw.gr.

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External evaluation ensuring objectivity and quality control.

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Joint implementation by Desmos Non Profit Foundation and the Lambrakis Foundation.

I Care & Act - Results 2015-2017 1,323 Teachers & mentors 190 Schools across Greece

>18,000 Students of all ages

Intangible impact: 3 Awards for the connection of schools with the third sector and the society!*

1,053 social partners (charities)

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Students inspired and engaged their parents and local communities and started “movements” of positive change!

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Special education & second chance schools participated in activities as volunteers themselves for the first time, instead of being the beneficiaries of such activities, reporting amazing stories of empowerment and change.

In the second year of the program, results and impact more than doubled surpassing our expectations! *2 Gol den Awards at the Education in Business Awards 2017 a t the categories “Connection with the Society” & “Investing in Volunteerism” 1 Di stinction at the Bravo Sustainability Awards 2017 a t the ca tegory “Bravo Society” for i nitiatives and programs that Create the Greece of the Future

The Future Next steps and goals • Solidify the foundations of the program:

 Increase the number of collaborating schools  Reach more than 14,000 additional students  Optimize the educational process

• Ensure the sustainability of “I Care & Act” from the ground up:

 Past participants to become ambassadors for the program in their local communities  Assist coordinators to create local hubs and organize local information and training workshops to recruit additional schools.

• Invest in strategic communication and promotion of “I Care & Act” brand:

 Create a nation-wide momentum for the program through communication campaigns  Organize an “I Care & Act” week in every school in the country (app. 8,000)

• Optimize the conditions for nationwide integration of the “I Care & Act” program in the official academic curriculum of all schools in Greece:

 Capitalize on positive results from three consecutive years of implementation  Raise national awareness for the program and showcase its value within the educational community itself and society at large

Teachers’ Testimonials

“I Care & Act” Educational Program

THANK YOU! For more information visit www.noiazomaikaidrw.gr www.desmos.org