The HELIOS+ Centre of YMCA Thessaloniki organised on Friday, 22nd May 2026 its 4th Social Cohesion Activity entitled Urban Walk & Shared Stories – “Discovering Thessaloniki Together”, aiming to strengthen intercultural dialogue and interaction between programme beneficiaries and members of the local community.

The activity started at the HELIOS+ Centre and brought together 22 participants from different countries and cultural backgrounds, including programme beneficiaries as well as members of the local community from Greece, Ukraine, Spain, Denmark, and Afghanistan. The multicultural composition of the group contributed to a particularly rich and meaningful intercultural exchange.

The event opened with a welcome and a brief presentation of the activity’s objectives. This was followed by interactive icebreaker activities, during which participants were invited to share personal stories and memories connected to places and identity. Participants were then divided into four mixed groups, with careful attention to ensuring that each group included members from different cultural backgrounds.

The central element of the activity was a guided walk through the city centre of Thessaloniki, during which the groups discovered important landmarks of the city — the White Tower, the Palace of Galerius, Kamara, the Rotunda, and the Roman Market — while completing creative challenges around concepts such as belonging, identity, and community. The atmosphere throughout the walk was particularly enjoyable, relaxed, and participatory.

At the end of the activity, each group presented the results of their challenges and shared the photographs they had taken, creating an environment of open and creative exchange of experiences.

A particularly moving moment was the contribution of a beneficiary from Burkina Faso, who, inspired by the intercultural exchanges of the evening, spontaneously offered to visit the Centre on another occasion to share with others the story, history, and culture of her country — a proposal that was received with great enthusiasm.

The activity proved to be a highly successful social cohesion experience, fostering mutual understanding, empathy, and the building of new social bonds among people from different cultural and social backgrounds. A testament to its success was the fact that many participants stayed together well into the evening, continuing their conversations in a warm and relaxed atmosphere.

The Helios+ Project is implemented in cooperation with IOM Greece and funded by ΕΣΠΑ through ΕΥΣΥΔ – ΜΕΥ of Ministry of Migration and Asylum (Υπουργείο Μετανάστευσης & Ασύλου) and with the co-financing of the European Union.