2 minute read
'Vegan Life Festival' by Nella Giatrakou
After a two year long absence due to the covid-19 emergency, the Athens Vegan Life Festival opened its doors again and we could not have been more delighted.
Two days full of vegan education, delicious vegan food, activities for children and music in an emblematic indoor/outdoor venue in down town Athens – the old gasworks plant that has become a hub of cultural events hosting exhibitions, performances and educational programs. Admission to all events was free and the thousands of visitors had the chance to attend talks and workshops on Animal Rights and Veganism by academics, activists, health professionals, artists and chefs, enjoy delicious vegan food, browse and buy vegan and zero waste products and get acquainted with the vegan way of life. Activist groups were also there ready to discuss the objections and questions of those non-yet vegan and to encourage those already vegan to become active. And those who needed a little more help to make the transition to the vegan way of life, they only had to talk to the Vegan22Greece team and sign up for the three week challenge.
As for us vegans this was a great meet-up. A chance to get together, see old friends, make new ones, celebrate our way of life and get a glimpse of the future we so much long for.
Sounds awesome? It was. Because awesome things happen when people get together and try to find ways to spread the vegan message involving the local community. Especially when these people embrace the true meaning of veganism, the full focus and scope as Dr.Yates would phrase it, seeing the principles of the festival are clear: solidarity with and allyship to anyone, human or non-human, who faces oppression and injustice, recognition of every sentient being’s birthright to a life free of exploitation, and adoption of an environmentally friendly way of life.
The Vegan Life Festival was launched in Athens in 2016, in Thessaloniki in 2017 and in Chania in 2019. Not so long ago we had no vegan festival in Greece and now we have three thanks to the organizers who attempted what at the moment seemed impossible and the dozens of volunteers who embraced the idea. The Vegan Life Festival has become an institution that raises awareness, brings joy and fill us with hope until the day the answer to the question on the banners of the festival “Who the f*ck still eats “meat”? is no one.
