Celebrating Culture & Building Community in Lagadikia – Annual Village Fair

Every summer, many Greek villages host an annual village fair (panigyri).  At IHA, one of the main goals of all of our activities in Lagadikia is to bring the refugee and local communities closer together. It is vital for refugees as newcomers to a country to feel a sense of belonging in a secure local network where they can build safe relationships and a better perspective on life. We were therefore very excited to be able to attend and support the village fair in a neighbouring village in July as part of the Erasmus+ project “young people from different backgrounds working together at a community level to build an inclusive and supportive Europe”.  

More than 300 people attend the event, including fifteen of our young community centre visitors and IHA’s team. To support the event, we assisted in the set-up and served local sweets. It was an evening full of traditional music, dancing, food and celebration, and an excellent opportunity for cross-cultural interactions and community building.

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Thank you for having us, and thank you to our visitors and team who supported in the running of the event. We are already looking forward to next summer’s celebration!