Hello everyone, my name is Themis Papandreou. I am a 23-year-old social worker. For the past three months, I have been volunteering at the Regional Federation of Persons with Disabilities in Western Greece and the Southern Ionian Islands, based in Patras.

The Regional Federation participates in the European program “PR.O.GR.E.S.S.”, which stands for Promoting Opportunities, Growth and Education for Social Success. The project’s mission is simple but powerful: to make education, training, and employment more inclusive and accessible for everyone in both Italy and Greece.

PR.O.GR.E.S.S. addresses significant common territorial challenges faced by people with disabilities in the Greece–Italy area. The main goal is to respond to real challenges that people with disabilities (PWDs) face in their daily lives, such as limited access to training, difficulties in entering the labour market, and a lack of adapted digital tools. These challenges include limited access to inclusive training, disparities in employment rates, and technological barriers that hinder the integration of people with disabilities into the workforce.

The target group that benefits from the program is people with disabilities. The program also benefits employers, employment agencies, the general public, and public authorities, as it contributes to making workplaces and public services more accessible for people with disabilities. The need for this project is underscored by alarming statistics: employment rates for people with disabilities remain significantly lower than those of the general population, while poverty rates are also disproportionately higher for this group.

This collaborative effort involves six main partners:

1. Lead Beneficiary Mestieri Puglia Consortium SCS
2. Cohesion Network 2Gether
3. ELPENDÙ – Consortium of Social Cooperatives
4. Achaia Chamber’s Development Entity – ACHADE
5. IDEA Employment Agency – Consortium of Social Cooperatives
6. Regional Federation of Persons with Disabilities in Western Greece and the Southern Ionian Islands

My role as a volunteer within the framework of the European PR.O.GR.E.S.S. program is multidimensional. I prepare presentations for various meetings, communicate with both local community stakeholders and people with disabilities, study deliverables in order to provide feedback, participate in coordination meetings to define the next steps of the program, and create audiovisual material for social media posts. Depending on the needs of the program and the Federation, I take on corresponding tasks and responsibilities in order to help achieve its objectives.