PRESS RELEASE
5/12/2021
3nd day of the 4th International Festival
"The Reflection of Disability in Art"
10:00-13:00
The third day of the 4th International Festival "The Reflection of Disability in Art" started musically with the “RoDi Festival Song”. This song was composed exclusively for the Festival by VasiliaStamouli, special educator, musician, and volunteer of the Festival, and was performed by the RoDi Music Orchestra. Then, the song “Kivotos” (“Ark”) by Fivos followed, also performed by the RoDi Music Orchestra in association with KDAP MEA "Access" Perea.
The program continued with the video screening of the thematic section “VOLUNTARY (INTER)ACTIONS”. The screening started with the short film “All different all equal”. The students of the 5th Primary School and 1st Special Primary School of Xanthi combined speech, music, and theater to send their message about diversity. Moreover, the students and the teachers of the Special Vocational Education and Training Laboratory (E.E.E.E.K.) of Veroia wanted to present their idea about street art with the video “Our own trees”.
Furthermore, the students and teachers of the Vocational Training Center for People with Disabilities of Thessaloniki (E.K.E.K. AMEA Thessalonikis) presented their projects “Wish Angels”, “Motion is Life” and “Wish Tree”. Afterwards, the video “Looking through the eyes of the soul” by the Creative Center for People with Disabilities of Neapolis-Sykeon Municipality was screened. In the video, we were able to watch bits and pieces of the life of the disabled people during quarantine in the different structures that the Neapolis-Sykeon Municipality has to offer, especially the art exhibition of the Neapolis-Sykeon Municipality that is currently shown at the Town Hall.
The screening continued with the “Project: Consent” (“Συναίνεση”) by the newly found, volunteer, musical-theatrical team ERODIOS. The volunteers wanted to send their message about what Consent means in every aspect of daily life. This project was then followed by the video of the educational campaign “FAST Heroes 112” and the screening was melodically concluded with the song “Na m’ agapas” (“Love me”), music and lyrics by Andreas Thomopoulos, that was performed by the RoDi Music Orchestra in association with KDAP MEA "Access" Perea.
Thereafter Ms. Harriet Proios, Associate Professor of the Department of Educational and Social Policy of the University of Macedonia, informed the audience about the educational campaign “FAST Heroes 112” and the volunteers’ contribution in the prevention of severe consequences that a stroke can cause, trough the training of young children.
Subsequently, the coordinators of the ERODIOS team, and members of the volunteer team of iRoDi Festival, Ms. Sophia Spanidou, MA, Special Educator, Ms. VasiliaStamouli, Special Educator and Ms. ArhodiaBenazi, Special Educator, talked about the Musical-Theatrical team ERODIOS. ERODIOS team was founded at the begging of 2021 and its goal is to create content, performances, plays, and shows within the iRoDi Festival. The members of ERODIOS are also members of the Festival’s volunteer team. The volunteers are undergraduate and postgraduate students of the University of Macedonia and graduates of the University of Macedonia and other Universities as well as individuals from the arts. For the better function of the team, ERODIOS’s members are divided into sub-teams. These sub-teams are the musicians, the vocalists, the actors/actresses, the dancers, the set/costume designers, the script/play writers, the directors, and the technical support.
Ms. Platsidou, professor at the Department of Educational and Social Policy of the University of Macedonia, welcomed the audience and invited Ms. Diamantis to speak about her own volunteer work. Ms. Diamanti Lena, head of the "SHE" team (Society for Health and Empowerment) mentioned the activities of the women's team, whose goal is to empower women in all aspects of life.
On the occasion of the World Volunteer Day, a discussion followed with Ms. Proiou, Ms. Platsidou, Ms. Kartasidou, and the volunteers of the Festival, Ms. Spanidou, Ms. Stamouli, and Ms. Benazi. The speakers spoke about the offer of volunteering, the difficulties they may face, while at the same time answering the questions of the audience, who enthusiastically supported the event with their comments and attitudes.
(Read the trancript).
18: 00-21: 00
The third day of the 4th International Festival "The Reflection of Disability in Art" continued in the afternoon pleasantly. The program started with the song "Na agapas", music by PantelisThalassinou, and lyrics by Nikos Veliotis, presented by the RoDi Music Orchestra and the choir of KDAP MEA "Access" Perea.
Then followed the screening of the films about "SHADOWS IN THE LIGHT". This thematic section opened with the short film "Root" directed by Vasco André dos Santos and continued with the documentaries "Shade Guzzling" directed by Ulrike Korbach, "I Only See What I Believe" directed by Anissa Bouchra, and "The Contact" directed by K. Sarkyte. Afterwards, the experimental short film "Limit" directed by JavadDaraei and the animated films "Tatata" directed by YiYangSu and "The Uncommons" directed by Tadeusz Kabicz were screened. Finally, the thematic section was completed with the short film "Little Fairy Tree" directed by Frank W. Kelly and the animated film "After the eclipse" directed by Bea R Blankenhorst.
At the end of the screening, the RoDi Music Orchestra and the choir of KDAP MEA "Access" Perea presented the song "A Turk in Paris", music by LavrentiMacharitsa and lyrics by Isaac Soussi.
Then, the moderator of the afternoon discussion, Mrs. PanagiotaStavrousi, Associate Professor of the Pedagogical Department of Special Education of the University of Thessaly thanked all the participants of the Festival and on the occasion of the screening of the films, referred to the support of the people with disabilities by the society but also the importance of understanding the challenges they face, to create an inclusive environment without exclusions. Mrs. Stavrousi stressed the need for designing supportive tools that are based on the dimensions of self-determination and quality of life. She concluded her speech by saying that all efforts for the participation and expression of people with disabilities and their families should have value for themselves and the goal should be to create an inclusive society.
The discussion that followed was moderated by Mr. Costas Konstantinidis, musician and poet, and Ms. Alexandra Lailoglou, member of the Special Teaching Staff of the University of Macedonia. Ms. Lailoglou commented on the films, talked about the value of art for people with disabilities, and referred to the beauty of coexistence and co-creation that occurs through the bridges that art builds. Mr. Konstantinidis spoke about the reflection of art from the view of a disabled artist and spoke about his personal experience, being himself a musician and a poet with a physical disability.
The evening closed with questions from the audience which were quite targeted and were fully answered by the speakers.
(Read the trancript).
