Association of Social Responsibility for Children and Youth (SKEP) President Athena Kritikou takes the podium of the TEDx Athens 2014 stage at the Onassis Cultural Centre on November 15 to talk about a society of equal rights and opportunties, where all people feel accepted and useful without discriminations. For most Greeks this sounds like utopia, but for Ms. Kritikou it’s a daily battle and the lofty goal that her organization has undertaken to fulfil.

The organization aims to fight social stigma and the exclusion of young people with disabilities. SKEP achieves this by using an innovative experiential methodology and unconventional education it connects young people with disabilities, or living under adverse conditions, with Primary and Secondary Education students.

Through SKEP’s panhellenic interactive programs, Athena has reached more than 20,000 young people (general and special education), teachers, parents and the wider public. She collaborates with more than 250 institutional, public and private bodies and schools.

For the last seven years, she has focused on how society can tear down the stereotypes and prejudice that lead to the isolation and social exclusion of “different” people.

The Onassis Cultural Centre is at 107-109 Syngrou Avenue, Athens. Telepone 210 9005800.

Who is Athena Kritikou?

She grew up in France, from where she came back in 1990. She studied Economics at the Assas – Paris II University. She has worked in advertising and communication consulting until the organization was established.

Here’s a video of an ordinary SKEP visit to a primary school: