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On the 5th of May 2023, 8 people met at Hellenic Youth Participation’s office and discussed the intercultural dialogue issue in Athens. Every person participating in this action is related to the issue in a different way. Hellenic Youth Participation truly believes in the value of sharing personal experiences, especially when the organisation has to face social-related subjects.  The participants were residents of Athens, who live and work in this town. They were coming from Greece, Georgia, Afghanistan and Australia. The group brought different qualities and opinions to the discussion, and that’s why this focus group succeeded and was constructed. 

The questions conducted during the focus group were mainly concerned with Athens’ social and political reality and every participant shared their opinions. Specifically, they were asked about what is the meaning of “prejudice” for them, how welcoming is the environment of Athens for people with migrant or refugee backgrounds in Athens and if they believe that they face discrimination in this town. Moreover, they expressed their opinions about what could change in Athens for being more inclusive for people with this background and experience, and what intercultural dialogue needs to be made in a healthy way for every side.

In general, the group agreed that prejudice promotes discrimination. Many different opinions were heard about if the urban environment of Athens is welcoming or not. Some of the participants answered yes without a second thought and others said that it depends on the location of Athens and made it clear that the ethnicity of the person affects the treatment by the locals and the government. It was supported that many things happen for the acceptance of the interculturality in this town, but the problem remains because it is a political issue. They said that the government either does nothing to support these people or it is very selective and for a specific short duration, which is not enough. In general, they agreed that many things have changed since 2015 with the refugee crisis in Greece and some support that the treatment of refugees and migrants differs. They unanimously support that the involvement of refugees and migrants at the political, social and cultural levels in Athens lacks information. 

Their entry into the system of health requires paperwork and it is really hard for them to have access to these. A participant believes that if the person wants to be involved they can, and without difficulties they can have a job, study, graduate etc. The biggest difficulty is the lack of communication because of the language learning. At the same time, it was supported that some people can experience discrimination but in some cases, the people can have a satisfying way of living in Athens. Some participants believe that Athens is a place where intercultural dialogue can be conducted and others said that this town needs more places for interaction between every community of refugees or migrants with locals.

About the issue of what intercultural dialogue needs to be conducted, many thoughts were expressed by the participants. According to them, willingness, respect and time are needed. There was a big conversation about the need of speaking the language of the host country. A participant supported that Greeks can't coexist with every person, but only with those who share common things in their culture. Other participants did not agree with this opinion and they reinforced the idea that many things can be done if people collaborate, as long as they want it.

This focus group is part of KA2 project “DiaLog” co-funded by the European Union.