On Friday, 26 June 2026, the HELIOS+ Centre of YMCA Thessaloniki organised an awareness-raising event at the Vafopoulio Cultural Center titled “Building Trust, Safety and Protection: Local Responses for Inclusive Communities,” with the participation of 32 professionals and representatives of organisations from the Region of Central Macedonia.

The activity was implemented within the framework of the HELIOS+ project and aimed to strengthen cooperation among local authorities, protection services, and civil society organisations, as well as to enhance participants’ knowledge and skills on protection issues, trust-building, and the effective support of refugees and migrants at the local level.

The event opened with brief welcoming remarks from representatives of YMCA Thessaloniki and the HELIOS+ project, followed by an overview of the objectives of the session and the importance of building trust-based relationships between institutions, services, and communities as a fundamental prerequisite for social inclusion.

During the first thematic session, issues related to hate crime, the institutional protection framework, and the challenges faced by third-country nationals in accessing competent authorities were presented. The Head of the Department for Combating Racist Violence of the Hellenic Police in Thessaloniki presented the existing legal framework and the operational experience of the service, while the Protection Officer and the Lawyer of the Irida Women’s Center highlighted the daily difficulties faced by third-country nationals when seeking protection, emphasising both existing barriers and the importance of continuous strengthening of cooperation between public services and civil society organisations.

The second thematic session focused on the prevention of discrimination and social tensions at the local level, highlighting the importance of early intervention, interdisciplinary cooperation, and the protection of vulnerable groups.

In the interactive part of the event, participants were presented with audiovisual awareness-raising material and engaged in a discussion on stereotypes, discrimination, and practices that can strengthen social cohesion in local communities. This was followed by a case-study workshop, where professionals from different organisations worked in mixed groups, analysing real-life scenarios related to trust-building, incident reporting, inter-agency cooperation, and the management of vulnerability cases.

The event brought together representatives from local government and municipal social services, the National Centre for Social Solidarity (EKKA), Migrant Integration Centres, the Hellenic Police, educational institutions, and civil society organisations. The multisectoral composition of participants contributed to a meaningful exchange of experiences and fostered dialogue among actors working on the frontline of protection and social inclusion.

The action highlighted the importance of cross-sectoral cooperation and the development of trust-based relationships between public services and civil society organisations for the more effective support of refugees and migrants. At the same time, it strengthened networking among participants, creating conditions for closer collaboration, more efficient referral pathways, and coordinated responses to vulnerability cases. The conclusions of the activity will be used to inform the design of future targeted awareness-raising and capacity-building actions within the framework of the HELIOS+ project.

The Event is carried out with funding from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mission Greece, for the implementation of the project “Helios+: Comprehensive actions for the integration of third-country nationals in the labor market” in the Region of Central Macedonia, with MIS Code 6018682 for the Regional Program “Central Macedonia 2021-2027”.