Thermi: A city of learning and transformation
Introduction sentence
Thermi is located on the outskirts of Thessaloniki, Greece. The city is set in a distinctive semi-urban and rural landscape. It also has a unique learning geography and is host to a large number of research and educational institutions.
Vision and motivation
Our vision is to create the necessary conditions to build a new identity for the city based on a recognition of the value of learning. We believe that more communication, interaction and cooperation among different entities of learning and innovation will benefit not only our citizens but also our region in general.
Challenges and goals
We aim to build an interactive learning city with active learning citizens by promoting and facilitating a shared commitment to sustainable local and regional development. This joint action will benefit our citizens who will be encouraged to appreciate the necessity of lifelong learning at all levels (individual and collective) and recognize the importance of education and research to the improvement of the economic and social life of our community.
Plan and implementation
We created a Lifelong Learning Committee, which proposed and is currently overseeing the creation of a centre for environmental education in one of the mountainous villages of our municipality. Moreover, a community of volunteer trainers has implemented several learning circles to foster the critical thinking and empowerment of our citizens.
We created the Thermi Learning City Blog and plan to organize a learning festival. Two projects to promote employment of young people in the agricultural sector have been implemented, including ‘Parallel Languages’, an innovative language teaching programme for immigrant and refugee families.
A new round of environmental education for recycling has started in the primary and secondary schools of our city. The aim is to inform, raise awareness and motivate students, parents and teachers to participate actively in our recycling initiatives.
Lifelong learning is a crucial factor in creating active citizens whose participation in public life will contribute to our goal of being a city of high social cohesion and sustainable growth.
Mr Theodoros Papadopoulos
Alcalde
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