Médecins Du Monde – Greece, having received approval from the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs (Αρ. Πρωτ.: Φ.2.1/ΜΓ/63028/143204/Δ7), implements for the school year 2021 – 2022 to students of Primary and Secondary Education schools throughout the country, informative educational programs with the following titles:
Personal Hygiene & Infection Prevention
Through the presentation of Médecins du Monde entitled: “Personal Hygiene and Infection Prevention”, students have the opportunity to learn the basic rules of personal and social hygiene. The presentation includes simple definitions, rules and guidelines for personal hygiene care, good practices and social behaviors that educate the student to adopt a responsible attitude within the community in relation to the spread of germs and infections. During the introduction, reference is made to the ways of disease transmission related to social behaviours, and students are instructed in hand, oral and respiratory hygiene practices. Good practices regarding food management and cleanliness not only of the body but also of the personal space, are reinforced. The presentation aims to prevent disease and maintain health
First Aid
Informative – educational speech to raise awareness and activate students about first aid, cooperation, the importance of assistance to fellow human beings and the value of human life. Through the presentation, skills are offered to ensure their safety and responsibility towards the safety of others as well as caring for the social environment. With regard to the students, the knowledge gained is an important way to enhance their independence. It generates motivation to comply with the law, humanitarian ideals, impartiality, neutrality and voluntary service. It also strengthens the ability to understand the importance and value of health and first aid.
At the same time, skills are developed in recognizing and preventing accidents, preventing and reacting to dangerous situations, not only for their own lives but also for the lives of their fellow citizens, with the ultimate aim of creating active citizens. Finally, it reinforces a critical approach to the factors that contribute to accidents. The presentations also make use of models to simulate the event.
Volunteering & Active Involvement
Through the proposed MdM-Greece presentation entitled: “Volunteering and Active Involvement”, students have the opportunity to learn and discuss the importance and benefits of individual participation in group – voluntary acts that involve civil society and help people to feel as active members of the community in which they live. The presentation includes definitions, description and explanation of the key topics of Volunteerism and Voluntary Action. Through the presentation of specific good practices and examples of volunteering, an objective picture is given of the selfless efforts of civil society to create better living conditions for people in need and to create a sustainable environment for all.
During the presentation, reference is made to the benefits of voluntary participation, indicatively:
- The individual recognizes and utilizes their personal skills
- Collaborate and work effectively in a team
- Comes into contact with new people and learns about new cultures and civilizations
- Broaden their horizons by learning new things about life and the environment
- Develops social skills, creates new friendships and new partnerships
- Teaches the individual to respect and interact within the community.
Promoting Gender Equality and Preventing Gender Discrimination
Through the proposed MdM-Greece presentation entitled: “Promoting Gender Equality and Preventing Gender Discrimination”, students will have the opportunity to be adequately informed on the issue of gender equality, current issues of gender violence and gender discrimination and the different forms of their expression in contemporary society, in education, at work and in other areas of social activities. The issue of gender-based violence is a major concern for both the Global Health and Human Rights sectors and Médecins du Monde has developed specific action for the protection and care of survivors of gender-based discrimination.
In the same topic, the mechanisms that strengthen the problem will be explained, examples of incidents in different societies will be given to understand its global character and students will be presented with ways and policies to deal with different forms of violence. The presentation will be carried out with full respect for the female gender and the proposed material will be age-appropriate.
Promoting Respect for Diversity, Human Rights and Prevention of Social Discrimination
Through the proposed MdM-Greece presentation entitled: “Promoting Respect, Diversity, Human Rights and Prevention of Social Discrimination. Hate speech as an inhibiting factor for participation in the community”, in a simple and understandable way, will review the first historical examples of humanitarian aid and describe in detail the current reality in the social space of the Promotion and Assertion of Human Rights and Social Solidarity Networks. Emphasis is given to the important concepts of Human Rights, Democracy and Humanitarianism, the planning of actions and relief missions in cases of emergency and crisis management, while reference is made to historical examples of good practices and the necessity of organized voluntary offer for the response to emergency social problems and optimal crisis management is documented. The presentation is made with full respect for the age of the students and the audiovisual material is suitable for all students.
Racism – Xenophobia – Racial Discrimination
The purpose of the presentation is to encourage students to raise awareness and provide appropriate motivation for the development of critical thinking on the concepts of xenophobia and racism. The presentation begins by clarifying the concept of diversity and the importance of respect for it, while reference is made to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Continuing, the phenomenon of migration is analysed, trying to demystify the terms migrant, foreigner, refugee. At this point it is discussed how Greece is a gateway to the European countries and the basic causes of the mass movement of populations are analyzed using the question-answer procedure.
A brief reference is then made to the work of Médecins du Monde, explaining our activity, our rationale and the provision of medical care to vulnerable groups of the population, regardless of origin, colour, religion, political or other beliefs. The concepts of xenophobia and racism are thoroughly listed and students will be asked to express their personal views and experiences on the issue of acceptance of difference. The presentation will conclude by encouraging good practices concerning the acceptance of diversity, the prevention of racist behaviour and the strengthening of social solidarity.
Note: There may be changes/modifications to the material to be presented, as stipulated in paragraph A.5. of the “Approval for the implementation of informative educational programmes by Doctors of the World Greece“, “[…]The necessary adjustments should be made depending on the age, grade and learning needs of the students”. Due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus pandemic and the lifting of preventive measures in the same period, the above educational programs are being implemented for the first time in the 2021-2022 school year. For this reason, the evaluation of the programmes will be carried out at the end of the current school year.