The 4rth day (December 3rd) of the International Festival “Reflection of Disability in Art” started with film screenings for primary and secondary school students of Thessaloniki. The theme of the screenings was “Aspects of Life: Blindness and Deafness”. Following the screenings a discussion with the students of the Special Junior High and High School for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing of Thessaloniki was issued. The students informed the audience about Greek Sign Language (GSL) and the framework of Deaf Education. They also talked about their personal experiences, their needs, and, the problems that they face daily.
Afterward, two performances from the Festival's artistic program were shown. The first one was a dance performance titled “Dance and Movement” by the Special Lab of Kozani. The second -theater- performance, titled “The Happy Meadow” was created by the Special Lab of Ptolemaida. This day came to an end with afternoon and evening film screenings themed “Motor Impairments/Disabilities” and “Mental and Developmental Disabilities” respectively.
The 5th day (December 4th) of the International Festival “Reflection of Disability in Art”, which was devoted to International Volunteer Day, began with a music performance titled “We are going for a stroll” performed by the KDAP MEA UCCESS of Peraia and directed by Lena Karagiannidou. The day’s program continued with the collaboration between the Festival and the Greek Paralympic Committee. Students of primary and secondary schools of Thessaloniki, of EKEK AmeA of Thessaloniki, and KDAP-MEA of Neapolis-Sykies had the opportunity to learn about three different Paralympic Sports:
- First, Blind’s Judo or Parajudo, which was presented by Theoklitos Papachrystos, Blind Paralympic Chumpion and Blind’s Judo coach and, Theodora Pashalidou, bronze Paralympic Winner of Blind’s Judo in J1-70Kg category,
- Second, Parataekwondo, which was presented by Euaggelia Vaggeloglou, coach of Taekwondo and Parataekwondo, Christina Gentzou, bronze Paralympic Winner of Parataekwondo in K44-65Kg category and, Rafael Maretis, European Champion of Taekwondo.
- Last but not least, Goalball which was presented by Meni Kessanopoulou, federal coach of Goalball, the athletes Eulampia Maurovounioti, Eugenia Stamati, Roudina Debrova and their assistant Gogo Hatzipanou.
The presentation of these sports was enhanced by explanations and more details about the basic characteristics of each sport, and experiential activities, in which any of the spectators -child or adult- could participate if they wish to.
The event was hosted by Diria Aretaki, a member of the Organization Committee and an executive of the Greek Paralympic Committee. Anastasia Mparsaki, a member of the Organization Committee provided the commentary on the event. An important participant in the presentation of the Paralympic sports was Orpheas, the robot of the Computer Science Lab of the University of Macedonia. He talked about the history of the Paralympic Games and showed off his dancing skills, during the dance party that followed, at the end of the event.
The day continued with film screenings in the afternoon. The theme of the screenings was “Sports and Disability”.
The 6th day (December 5th) of the Festival started with film screenings themed “Paralympic Sports”. Following, a Round Table Discussion, titled “PARALYMPIC CHAMPIONS”, took place. The speakers of this Discussion were the Bronze Paralympic Winners Christina Gentzou (Parataekwondo) and Theodora Pashalidou (Blind’s Judo). Diria Aretaki, a member of the Organization Committee and an executive of the Greek Paralympic Committee, was the coordinator in charge of the Discussion.
On the morning of the 7th day (December 6th) of the Festival, students of primary and secondary schools of Thessaloniki watched the film screenings, themed “Disability: a State of Being” I and II respectively. In between the screenings, there was a music break. The audience had the opportunity to watch the music video “Music Journey” by the “In the Rhythm of Autism” group.
In the afternoon and evening film screenings titled “Interpersonal Relationships” I and II respectively, were screened online through the electronic platform Zoom.
Below you can find the Press Release attached in Word format.
