Social Market Economy - Foundation Office Greece and Cyprus
Event Reports
The seminar Social Market Economy: Employees with Agenda 2030 was held on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 February 2022 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Nestorideio Melathro in Rhodes. The seminar was consisted of lectures and experiential activities on the part of the participants.
On the first day of the seminar the participants were given the background of the knowledge they would need to create their projects. In the introductory lecture, the Foundation's research associate, Vassilis Karydas-Yfantis, spoke about the social and economic model of Germany, which has become the model of Europe with the Lisbon Treaty in 2007, the Social Market Economy. Next topic was “what it means to be an entrepreneur”. Koutsouradi Argyro, founder of Myrovolos Organics, presented the life of a young entrepreneur in the region. On the other hand, Melina Taprantzi, founder of the international award-winning Social Enterprise Wise Greece, presented what a social enterprise means and what a social entrepreneur does. The Deputy Mayor of Rhodes, Mr. Konstantinos Taraslias, stressed the importance of the presence and active participation of Rhodian pupils and students of ASTER, in highlighting the future development of their place. In the closing lecture, Konstantinos Macheiras, National Coordinator for the European Climate Pact and member of the Board of the Earth Organization, presented to the participating students the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Subsequently, the students were divided into groups and assigned to find a solution to Rhodian problems according to the Goal for Sustainable Development assigned to them, within the framework of the Social Market Economy. On the second day of the seminar, a variety of Rhodesian mentors * supported the participants in creating their projects. The mentors gave guidance and support to the groups, which presented different projects aiming at changing their daily lives and bringing Rhodian life closer to Europe.
* We would like to thank for their continuous presence and support: Vassilis Karydas-Yfantis, Michalis Kavouklis, Angeliki Nikolaou, Lina Filippaki, Maria Karaisarli, the mentors: Christos Bardos, Manos Technitis, Rafael Koudounis, Hamidis and Chandis who also acted as mentors Argyro Koutsouradis, Melina Taprantzis and Konstantinos Macheiras.
The topics and guidance of the seminar were supervised by Martha Kontodaimon, Scientific Associate of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Greece and Cyprus
