On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, as part of the 3rd mobility of the European Erasmus Program, we visited the School of Solidarity “Odysseas,” which operates in Thessaloniki at 24 Aisopou Street, near Vardaris Square. For years, the school has been housed in facilities provided by the Macedonian Institute of Labour (MAK.IN.E.).
Since 1997, “Odysseas” has been charting its own course, offering voluntary and free Greek language lessons to adults who do not speak it as their mother tongue, as well as foreign language lessons to migrants, refugees, repatriates, and local citizens.
By 2012, more than 6,500 adult learners had taken classes there, and over 200 volunteer teachers had shared their knowledge and passion for language and humanity.
Today, the school continues to embrace a multicultural mosaic of students with diverse roots, experiences, and social backgrounds—without discrimination. Its main goal remains not only to function as a place of learning but also as a cradle of social bonds, cultural exchange, peaceful coexistence, and creative expression. In addition to language lessons, it organizes city excursions, cultural visits, film screenings, student art exhibitions, dances, and even theatrical performances by a group that was born within the school in 2000.
