Hello all
I'm writing to share some news with you... first the good news: we successfully completed and presented two school projects for the school year 2012-13. The projects were featured in the Wikimedia Global blog post I wrote in February. In the post I had mentioned that we would be holding an outdoor event to engage the locals in our work on Wikimedia Commons: the event was initially planned for mid-March, but the weather was so unpredictable this spring that we had to wait until mid-May to be certain that we would not have to face a storm! Anyway, here is the video I just uploaded : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWffhaJjAcY (in English). In addition, I have submitted the video to the European "generations at school" competition, as it was an intergenerational project both in the making and presentation.
And now for the bad news: this may be the last project I will be running in secondary education in Greece: the "Troika" (IMF-ECB-EU) has demanded that 12.500 people are fired from the public sector, and the government intends to fire around 8000 school teachers. They are looking primarily at ICT teachers (such as myself), as they intend to gradually eliminate ICT from secondary education curriculum (they have already removed a total of 4 hours per week in 1st and 2nd grade of upper secondary since last year). With no evaluation, no forward thinking or planning and no consideration for the quality of work ICT teachers have produced, we may find ourselves jobless in a matter of days.
The crisis in Greece has led many people to despair: with an unemployment rate of nearly 30% (60% for the 18-25 age group), social structures crumbling (schools, hospitals etc. are closing down on a daily basis) and salaries cut by at least 40%, it's not surprising that suicide rates have tripled over the last three years. Anyone interested in an eyewitness account of the situation can read a post I wrote in English on my blog.
Anyway, sorry to convey sadness... hope you all have a nice summer, and keep up the great work:)
Best, Mina (saintfevrier)
Mina, I love the video! You should upload it to Commons as well. :)
I'm sorry to hear about the reduction in teachers; I hope something manages to work out and you can continue your excellent work somehow!
LiAnna
On Sun, Jun 30, 2013 at 1:27 PM, Mina Theofilatou theoth@otenet.gr wrote:
** Hello all
I'm writing to share some news with you... first the good news: we successfully completed and presented two school projects for the school year 2012-13. The projects were featured in the Wikimedia Global blog post http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/02/21/education-program-greece/#more-21982I wrote in February. In the post I had mentioned that we would be holding an outdoor event to engage the locals in our work on Wikimedia Commons: the event was initially planned for mid-March, but the weather was so unpredictable this spring that we had to wait until mid-May to be certain that we would not have to face a storm! Anyway, here is the video I just uploaded : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWffhaJjAcY (in English). In addition, I have submitted the video to the European "generations at school" competition, as it was an intergenerational project both in the making and presentation.
And now for the bad news: this may be the last project I will be running in secondary education in Greece: the "Troika" (IMF-ECB-EU) has demanded that 12.500 people are fired from the public sector, and the government intends to fire around 8000 school teachers. They are looking primarily at ICT teachers (such as myself), as they intend to gradually eliminate ICT from secondary education curriculum (they have already removed a total of 4 hours per week in 1st and 2nd grade of upper secondary since last year). With no evaluation, no forward thinking or planning and no consideration for the quality of work ICT teachers have produced, we may find ourselves jobless in a matter of days.
The crisis in Greece has led many people to despair: with an unemployment rate of nearly 30% (60% for the 18-25 age group), social structures crumbling (schools, hospitals etc. are closing down on a daily basis) and salaries cut by at least 40%, it's not surprising that suicide rates have tripled over the last three years. Anyone interested in an eyewitness account of the situation can read a post I wrote in English on my blog. http://agrypnocoma.blogspot.gr/2013/06/this-was-not-accepted-for-publication.html
Anyway, sorry to convey sadness... hope you all have a nice summer, and keep up the great work:)
Best, Mina (saintfevrier)
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Thanks LiAnna, I'll upload it to Commons at the first opportunity:)
As for the reduction in teachers, I'm sad about it because even if I manage to "escape" being fired, another colleague with similar achievements and difficulties as myself will be in my place. It's not a personal problem, all of Greek society is living under unprecedented conditions, that can be compared only to war... this doesn't get through on the media, it's all being carefully concealed. The one thing that's keeping us afloat is our "kefi", which means "joy for life", and I think that is well conveyed in the video:)
Mina ----- Original Message ----- From: LiAnna Davis To: Wikimedia Education Sent: Monday, July 01, 2013 7:06 PM Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Education] good news... and bad
Mina, I love the video! You should upload it to Commons as well. :)
I'm sorry to hear about the reduction in teachers; I hope something manages to work out and you can continue your excellent work somehow!
LiAnna
On Sun, Jun 30, 2013 at 1:27 PM, Mina Theofilatou theoth@otenet.gr wrote:
Hello all
I'm writing to share some news with you... first the good news: we successfully completed and presented two school projects for the school year 2012-13. The projects were featured in the Wikimedia Global blog post I wrote in February. In the post I had mentioned that we would be holding an outdoor event to engage the locals in our work on Wikimedia Commons: the event was initially planned for mid-March, but the weather was so unpredictable this spring that we had to wait until mid-May to be certain that we would not have to face a storm! Anyway, here is the video I just uploaded : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWffhaJjAcY (in English). In addition, I have submitted the video to the European "generations at school" competition, as it was an intergenerational project both in the making and presentation.
And now for the bad news: this may be the last project I will be running in secondary education in Greece: the "Troika" (IMF-ECB-EU) has demanded that 12.500 people are fired from the public sector, and the government intends to fire around 8000 school teachers. They are looking primarily at ICT teachers (such as myself), as they intend to gradually eliminate ICT from secondary education curriculum (they have already removed a total of 4 hours per week in 1st and 2nd grade of upper secondary since last year). With no evaluation, no forward thinking or planning and no consideration for the quality of work ICT teachers have produced, we may find ourselves jobless in a matter of days.
The crisis in Greece has led many people to despair: with an unemployment rate of nearly 30% (60% for the 18-25 age group), social structures crumbling (schools, hospitals etc. are closing down on a daily basis) and salaries cut by at least 40%, it's not surprising that suicide rates have tripled over the last three years. Anyone interested in an eyewitness account of the situation can read a post I wrote in English on my blog.
Anyway, sorry to convey sadness... hope you all have a nice summer, and keep up the great work:)
Best, Mina (saintfevrier)
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
-- LiAnna Davis Wikipedia Education Program Communications Manager Wikimedia Foundation http://education.wikimedia.org (415) 839-6885 x6649 ldavis@wikimedia.org
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Mina, the video and blog post are great. You do big things. I believe that you will find the way to continue with your excellent work instead of current crisis in Greece. Best regards, Dimce.
On 30.06.2013 22:27, Mina Theofilatou wrote:
Hello all I'm writing to share some news with you... first the good news: we successfully completed and presented two school projects for the school year 2012-13. The projects were featured in the Wikimedia Global blog post http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/02/21/education-program-greece/#more-21982I wrote in February. In the post I had mentioned that we would be holding an outdoor event to engage the locals in our work on Wikimedia Commons: the event was initially planned for mid-March, but the weather was so unpredictable this spring that we had to wait until mid-May to be certain that we would not have to face a storm! Anyway, here is the video I just uploaded : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWffhaJjAcY (in English). In addition, I have submitted the video to the European "generations at school" competition, as it was an intergenerational project both in the making and presentation. And now for the bad news: this may be the last project I will be running in secondary education in Greece: the "Troika" (IMF-ECB-EU) has demanded that 12.500 people are fired from the public sector, and the government intends to fire around 8000 school teachers. They are looking primarily at ICT teachers (such as myself), as they intend to gradually eliminate ICT from secondary education curriculum (they have already removed a total of 4 hours per week in 1st and 2nd grade of upper secondary since last year). With no evaluation, no forward thinking or planning and no consideration for the quality of work ICT teachers have produced, we may find ourselves jobless in a matter of days. The crisis in Greece has led many people to despair: with an unemployment rate of nearly 30% (60% for the 18-25 age group), social structures crumbling (schools, hospitals etc. are closing down on a daily basis) and salaries cut by at least 40%, it's not surprising that suicide rates have tripled over the last three years. Anyone interested in an eyewitness account of the situation can read a post I wrote in English on my blog. http://agrypnocoma.blogspot.gr/2013/06/this-was-not-accepted-for-publication.html Anyway, sorry to convey sadness... hope you all have a nice summer, and keep up the great work:) Best, Mina (saintfevrier)
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Hi Dimce and thank you for your kind words (I also admire the progress your Wikipedia has made over such a short time!)
We are going through difficult times, but we haven't stopped fighting and we haven't given up hope: there's a saying in Greek that goes "hope is the last to die".
All the best, Mina
----- Original Message ----- From: Dimce Grozdanoski To: Wikimedia Education Sent: Tuesday, July 02, 2013 7:59 AM Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Education] good news... and bad
Mina, the video and blog post are great. You do big things. I believe that you will find the way to continue with your excellent work instead of current crisis in Greece. Best regards, Dimce.
On 30.06.2013 22:27, Mina Theofilatou wrote:
Hello all
I'm writing to share some news with you... first the good news: we successfully completed and presented two school projects for the school year 2012-13. The projects were featured in the Wikimedia Global blog post I wrote in February. In the post I had mentioned that we would be holding an outdoor event to engage the locals in our work on Wikimedia Commons: the event was initially planned for mid-March, but the weather was so unpredictable this spring that we had to wait until mid-May to be certain that we would not have to face a storm! Anyway, here is the video I just uploaded : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWffhaJjAcY (in English). In addition, I have submitted the video to the European "generations at school" competition, as it was an intergenerational project both in the making and presentation.
And now for the bad news: this may be the last project I will be running in secondary education in Greece: the "Troika" (IMF-ECB-EU) has demanded that 12.500 people are fired from the public sector, and the government intends to fire around 8000 school teachers. They are looking primarily at ICT teachers (such as myself), as they intend to gradually eliminate ICT from secondary education curriculum (they have already removed a total of 4 hours per week in 1st and 2nd grade of upper secondary since last year). With no evaluation, no forward thinking or planning and no consideration for the quality of work ICT teachers have produced, we may find ourselves jobless in a matter of days.
The crisis in Greece has led many people to despair: with an unemployment rate of nearly 30% (60% for the 18-25 age group), social structures crumbling (schools, hospitals etc. are closing down on a daily basis) and salaries cut by at least 40%, it's not surprising that suicide rates have tripled over the last three years. Anyone interested in an eyewitness account of the situation can read a post I wrote in English on my blog.
Anyway, sorry to convey sadness... hope you all have a nice summer, and keep up the great work:)
Best, Mina (saintfevrier)
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
I can only agree that I'm sorry to hear about the current development and very much admire your work and your strength and future aims.
As in Greek we also in Swedish say that "hope is the last to die", and I very much think that such is the case and it seems to me that you have much hope still which is very positive!
*Be Bold! Sophie Österberg 0733-832670 sophie.osterberg@wikimedia.se*
*Every single contribution to Wikipedia is a gift of free knowledge to humanity. *
2013/7/3 Mina Theofilatou theoth@otenet.gr
** Hi Dimce and thank you for your kind words (I also admire the progress your Wikipedia has made over such a short time!)
We are going through difficult times, but we haven't stopped fighting and we haven't given up hope: there's a saying in Greek that goes "hope is the last to die".
All the best, Mina
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Dimce Grozdanoski dimce.grozdanoski@gmail.com *To:* Wikimedia Education education@lists.wikimedia.org *Sent:* Tuesday, July 02, 2013 7:59 AM *Subject:* Re: [Wikimedia Education] good news... and bad
Mina, the video and blog post are great. You do big things. I believe that you will find the way to continue with your excellent work instead of current crisis in Greece. Best regards, Dimce.
On 30.06.2013 22:27, Mina Theofilatou wrote:
Hello all
I'm writing to share some news with you... first the good news: we successfully completed and presented two school projects for the school year 2012-13. The projects were featured in the Wikimedia Global blog post http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/02/21/education-program-greece/#more-21982I wrote in February. In the post I had mentioned that we would be holding an outdoor event to engage the locals in our work on Wikimedia Commons: the event was initially planned for mid-March, but the weather was so unpredictable this spring that we had to wait until mid-May to be certain that we would not have to face a storm! Anyway, here is the video I just uploaded : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWffhaJjAcY (in English). In addition, I have submitted the video to the European "generations at school" competition, as it was an intergenerational project both in the making and presentation.
And now for the bad news: this may be the last project I will be running in secondary education in Greece: the "Troika" (IMF-ECB-EU) has demanded that 12.500 people are fired from the public sector, and the government intends to fire around 8000 school teachers. They are looking primarily at ICT teachers (such as myself), as they intend to gradually eliminate ICT from secondary education curriculum (they have already removed a total of 4 hours per week in 1st and 2nd grade of upper secondary since last year). With no evaluation, no forward thinking or planning and no consideration for the quality of work ICT teachers have produced, we may find ourselves jobless in a matter of days.
The crisis in Greece has led many people to despair: with an unemployment rate of nearly 30% (60% for the 18-25 age group), social structures crumbling (schools, hospitals etc. are closing down on a daily basis) and salaries cut by at least 40%, it's not surprising that suicide rates have tripled over the last three years. Anyone interested in an eyewitness account of the situation can read a post I wrote in English on my blog. http://agrypnocoma.blogspot.gr/2013/06/this-was-not-accepted-for-publication.html
Anyway, sorry to convey sadness... hope you all have a nice summer, and keep up the great work:)
Best, Mina (saintfevrier)
Education mailing listEducation@lists.wikimedia.orghttps://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
--
Mina, I just watched the video, great! I'm going to share this with biology and natural science teachers here who would most definitely be inspired by this video.
/ sophie
2013/7/6 Sophie Österberg sophie.osterberg@wikimedia.se
I can only agree that I'm sorry to hear about the current development and very much admire your work and your strength and future aims.
As in Greek we also in Swedish say that "hope is the last to die", and I very much think that such is the case and it seems to me that you have much hope still which is very positive!
*Be Bold! Sophie Österberg 0733-832670 sophie.osterberg@wikimedia.se*
*Every single contribution to Wikipedia is a gift of free knowledge to humanity. *
2013/7/3 Mina Theofilatou theoth@otenet.gr
** Hi Dimce and thank you for your kind words (I also admire the progress your Wikipedia has made over such a short time!)
We are going through difficult times, but we haven't stopped fighting and we haven't given up hope: there's a saying in Greek that goes "hope is the last to die".
All the best, Mina
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Dimce Grozdanoski dimce.grozdanoski@gmail.com *To:* Wikimedia Education education@lists.wikimedia.org *Sent:* Tuesday, July 02, 2013 7:59 AM *Subject:* Re: [Wikimedia Education] good news... and bad
Mina, the video and blog post are great. You do big things. I believe that you will find the way to continue with your excellent work instead of current crisis in Greece. Best regards, Dimce.
On 30.06.2013 22:27, Mina Theofilatou wrote:
Hello all
I'm writing to share some news with you... first the good news: we successfully completed and presented two school projects for the school year 2012-13. The projects were featured in the Wikimedia Global blog post http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/02/21/education-program-greece/#more-21982I wrote in February. In the post I had mentioned that we would be holding an outdoor event to engage the locals in our work on Wikimedia Commons: the event was initially planned for mid-March, but the weather was so unpredictable this spring that we had to wait until mid-May to be certain that we would not have to face a storm! Anyway, here is the video I just uploaded : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWffhaJjAcY (in English). In addition, I have submitted the video to the European "generations at school" competition, as it was an intergenerational project both in the making and presentation.
And now for the bad news: this may be the last project I will be running in secondary education in Greece: the "Troika" (IMF-ECB-EU) has demanded that 12.500 people are fired from the public sector, and the government intends to fire around 8000 school teachers. They are looking primarily at ICT teachers (such as myself), as they intend to gradually eliminate ICT from secondary education curriculum (they have already removed a total of 4 hours per week in 1st and 2nd grade of upper secondary since last year). With no evaluation, no forward thinking or planning and no consideration for the quality of work ICT teachers have produced, we may find ourselves jobless in a matter of days.
The crisis in Greece has led many people to despair: with an unemployment rate of nearly 30% (60% for the 18-25 age group), social structures crumbling (schools, hospitals etc. are closing down on a daily basis) and salaries cut by at least 40%, it's not surprising that suicide rates have tripled over the last three years. Anyone interested in an eyewitness account of the situation can read a post I wrote in English on my blog. http://agrypnocoma.blogspot.gr/2013/06/this-was-not-accepted-for-publication.html
Anyway, sorry to convey sadness... hope you all have a nice summer, and keep up the great work:)
Best, Mina (saintfevrier)
Education mailing listEducation@lists.wikimedia.orghttps://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
--
Sophie, I'm happy you liked it and I would be honored if other teachers find it inspiring:)
I just got an email yesterday from the "generations at school" initiative, the project is online and you can view all the material we sent here: http://www.generationsatschool.eu/en/activity/wild-flora-and-villages-our-is...
I also encourage you to have a look at some of the other projects that were submitted from all over Europe by hitting the "Previous-Next" buttons at the bottom of the page (mine seems to be the only Wikimedia-related, but intergenerational projects and active ageing are ideals worthy of support as a whole... I especially liked a rap song that a school from Portugal recorded with elder citizens, and a very emotional Bulgarian video with grandparents talking about something that was obviously very important to them, as they were in tears... just that most projects are not in English so I can't really understand what's going on. In any case, they deserve appreciation:)
Best, Mina ----- Original Message ----- From: Sophie Österberg To: Wikimedia Education Sent: Saturday, July 06, 2013 6:31 PM Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Education] good news... and bad
Mina, I just watched the video, great! I'm going to share this with biology and natural science teachers here who would most definitely be inspired by this video.
/ sophie
2013/7/6 Sophie Österberg sophie.osterberg@wikimedia.se
I can only agree that I'm sorry to hear about the current development and very much admire your work and your strength and future aims.
As in Greek we also in Swedish say that "hope is the last to die", and I very much think that such is the case and it seems to me that you have much hope still which is very positive!
Be Bold! Sophie Österberg 0733-832670 sophie.osterberg@wikimedia.se
Every single contribution to Wikipedia is a gift of free knowledge to humanity.
2013/7/3 Mina Theofilatou theoth@otenet.gr
Hi Dimce and thank you for your kind words (I also admire the progress your Wikipedia has made over such a short time!)
We are going through difficult times, but we haven't stopped fighting and we haven't given up hope: there's a saying in Greek that goes "hope is the last to die".
All the best, Mina
----- Original Message ----- From: Dimce Grozdanoski To: Wikimedia Education Sent: Tuesday, July 02, 2013 7:59 AM Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Education] good news... and bad
Mina, the video and blog post are great. You do big things. I believe that you will find the way to continue with your excellent work instead of current crisis in Greece. Best regards, Dimce.
On 30.06.2013 22:27, Mina Theofilatou wrote:
Hello all
I'm writing to share some news with you... first the good news: we successfully completed and presented two school projects for the school year 2012-13. The projects were featured in the Wikimedia Global blog post I wrote in February. In the post I had mentioned that we would be holding an outdoor event to engage the locals in our work on Wikimedia Commons: the event was initially planned for mid-March, but the weather was so unpredictable this spring that we had to wait until mid-May to be certain that we would not have to face a storm! Anyway, here is the video I just uploaded : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWffhaJjAcY (in English). In addition, I have submitted the video to the European "generations at school" competition, as it was an intergenerational project both in the making and presentation.
And now for the bad news: this may be the last project I will be running in secondary education in Greece: the "Troika" (IMF-ECB-EU) has demanded that 12.500 people are fired from the public sector, and the government intends to fire around 8000 school teachers. They are looking primarily at ICT teachers (such as myself), as they intend to gradually eliminate ICT from secondary education curriculum (they have already removed a total of 4 hours per week in 1st and 2nd grade of upper secondary since last year). With no evaluation, no forward thinking or planning and no consideration for the quality of work ICT teachers have produced, we may find ourselves jobless in a matter of days.
The crisis in Greece has led many people to despair: with an unemployment rate of nearly 30% (60% for the 18-25 age group), social structures crumbling (schools, hospitals etc. are closing down on a daily basis) and salaries cut by at least 40%, it's not surprising that suicide rates have tripled over the last three years. Anyone interested in an eyewitness account of the situation can read a post I wrote in English on my blog.
Anyway, sorry to convey sadness... hope you all have a nice summer, and keep up the great work:)
Best, Mina (saintfevrier)
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
--
--
Be Bold! Sophie Österberg 0733-832670 sophie.osterberg@wikimedia.se
Every single contribution to Wikipedia is a gift of free knowledge to humanity.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Thank you for that Mina! I'll look at that straight away!
/ sophie
2013/7/9 Mina Theofilatou theoth@otenet.gr
** Sophie, I'm happy you liked it and I would be honored if other teachers find it inspiring:)
I just got an email yesterday from the "generations at school" initiative, the project is online and you can view all the material we sent here: http://www.generationsatschool.eu/en/activity/wild-flora-and-villages-our-is...
I also encourage you to have a look at some of the other projects that were submitted from all over Europe by hitting the "Previous-Next" buttons at the bottom of the page (mine seems to be the only Wikimedia-related, but intergenerational projects and active ageing are ideals worthy of support as a whole... I especially liked a rap song that a school from Portugal recorded with elder citizens, and a very emotional Bulgarian video with grandparents talking about something that was obviously very important to them, as they were in tears... just that most projects are not in English so I can't really understand what's going on. In any case, they deserve appreciation:)
Best, Mina
----- Original Message ----- *From:* Sophie Österberg sophie.osterberg@wikimedia.se *To:* Wikimedia Education education@lists.wikimedia.org *Sent:* Saturday, July 06, 2013 6:31 PM *Subject:* Re: [Wikimedia Education] good news... and bad
Mina, I just watched the video, great! I'm going to share this with biology and natural science teachers here who would most definitely be inspired by this video.
/ sophie
2013/7/6 Sophie Österberg sophie.osterberg@wikimedia.se
I can only agree that I'm sorry to hear about the current development and very much admire your work and your strength and future aims.
As in Greek we also in Swedish say that "hope is the last to die", and I very much think that such is the case and it seems to me that you have much hope still which is very positive!
*Be Bold! Sophie Österberg 0733-832670 sophie.osterberg@wikimedia.se*
*Every single contribution to Wikipedia is a gift of free knowledge to humanity. *
2013/7/3 Mina Theofilatou theoth@otenet.gr
** Hi Dimce and thank you for your kind words (I also admire the progress your Wikipedia has made over such a short time!)
We are going through difficult times, but we haven't stopped fighting and we haven't given up hope: there's a saying in Greek that goes "hope is the last to die".
All the best, Mina
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Dimce Grozdanoski dimce.grozdanoski@gmail.com *To:* Wikimedia Education education@lists.wikimedia.org *Sent:* Tuesday, July 02, 2013 7:59 AM *Subject:* Re: [Wikimedia Education] good news... and bad
Mina, the video and blog post are great. You do big things. I believe that you will find the way to continue with your excellent work instead of current crisis in Greece. Best regards, Dimce.
On 30.06.2013 22:27, Mina Theofilatou wrote:
Hello all
I'm writing to share some news with you... first the good news: we successfully completed and presented two school projects for the school year 2012-13. The projects were featured in the Wikimedia Global blog post http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/02/21/education-program-greece/#more-21982I wrote in February. In the post I had mentioned that we would be holding an outdoor event to engage the locals in our work on Wikimedia Commons: the event was initially planned for mid-March, but the weather was so unpredictable this spring that we had to wait until mid-May to be certain that we would not have to face a storm! Anyway, here is the video I just uploaded : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWffhaJjAcY (in English). In addition, I have submitted the video to the European "generations at school" competition, as it was an intergenerational project both in the making and presentation.
And now for the bad news: this may be the last project I will be running in secondary education in Greece: the "Troika" (IMF-ECB-EU) has demanded that 12.500 people are fired from the public sector, and the government intends to fire around 8000 school teachers. They are looking primarily at ICT teachers (such as myself), as they intend to gradually eliminate ICT from secondary education curriculum (they have already removed a total of 4 hours per week in 1st and 2nd grade of upper secondary since last year). With no evaluation, no forward thinking or planning and no consideration for the quality of work ICT teachers have produced, we may find ourselves jobless in a matter of days.
The crisis in Greece has led many people to despair: with an unemployment rate of nearly 30% (60% for the 18-25 age group), social structures crumbling (schools, hospitals etc. are closing down on a daily basis) and salaries cut by at least 40%, it's not surprising that suicide rates have tripled over the last three years. Anyone interested in an eyewitness account of the situation can read a post I wrote in English on my blog. http://agrypnocoma.blogspot.gr/2013/06/this-was-not-accepted-for-publication.html
Anyway, sorry to convey sadness... hope you all have a nice summer, and keep up the great work:)
Best, Mina (saintfevrier)
Education mailing listEducation@lists.wikimedia.orghttps://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
--
-- *Be Bold! Sophie Österberg 0733-832670 sophie.osterberg@wikimedia.se*
*Every single contribution to Wikipedia is a gift of free knowledge to humanity. *
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education