Maro Tzoumerkioti

I live in Chalkida and I am a mother of four children. I have studied economics and business administration and later I did pedagogical studies. The last four years I am not working therefore I devote my time to my children and to volunteering. I believe that each and every one of us, apart from dealing with his/her personal, family and social life, must devote time and energy to a purpose that is generally aimed at improving the world we will inherit to the younger.

For me that purpose is education, especially for minors. I have been actively involved in educational matters in my country and abroad on the parent’s side for many years. I am a member of parents’ associations in my children’s schools, a member of the board of the EUDEC Greek chapter and a member of the Sympraxis team. I was on the organizing committee of the European Conference on Democratic Education held in Crete in 2018. I am one of the founding members of the association Synpedia and I currently serve the purposes of the association as president of the board.

 

Maria Geraki

Maria Geraki

I am an educator, radio producer, and founding member of the EducationPlus Association. I have a strong intrinsic motivation to fight for the substantial reform of the educational system and the qualitative upgrade of the school daily life of all students.

The reality of the Greek public school forced me to remove my child from the neighborhood school, an institution that I strongly defend as a mother and teacher.

I believe in the power of information and communication as a means for the Co-Education to unite those who wish to transform the educational process into a pedagogical work that “contributes to the comprehensive, harmonious and balanced mental and psychosomatic strengths development of children, regardless of gender and origin, to have the opportunity to develop into integrated personalities and to live creatively “(Law 1566/1985 Structure and operation of primary and secondary education, art.1, par.1). Through EducationPlus, I want to support the vision of a learning environment where teachers and children will love to be part of it.


Ilektra Koutsiviti

I’m Electra Koutsiviti, mom of Joyce (born 2009) and Vassilis (born 2019). I was one of those pupils who were (very) bored at school which seemed like a waste of time, so I decided to become an teacher to, maybe, be able to offer something more to my children … About 15 years ago I started to be interested in Attachment parenting and from there I went to homeschooling, to alternative forms of education, etc.

15 years and 2 kids later, I know now what I want to offer my kids (even if my daughter might miss some days from school to go to the various events we co-organize) and what I believe all Greek (and not only Greek) children deserve.

Through various groups and ventures I fight for freedom of choice. I believe that Education+ is the legal entity that was missing. So, I wish us a good start and I believe with all my heart that everything will go well!


Evangelos Vlachakis

Cinematographer, cineliteracy educator and education activist. I have been running a blog on democratic schools since 2019. I work to connect and network Greek initiatives for empowering education, inviting, hosting and promoting dialogue with families following self-directed learning methods. I am looking for companions for the creation of a pluralistic eco-community in order to explore our potential for harmonious coexistence and cooperation towards a healthy society.

I believe that this association will be a good opportunity to lay the foundations of such a community. The conscious citizens of the future are the children of the present, and I believe that our contribution as members of this association would be important in spreading democratic education to the new generation.

 

 

 


Aphrodite Milovianou

My name is Aphrodite Milovianou, I live and work in Thessaloniki. I’m a self-employed psychologist and trainer, and I’m involved in non-formal adolescent and adult education. I have worked in higher education as a lecturer, in lifelong learning centers, in European programs and in an alternative school.

My contact with education and especially with alternative education systems has shown me how important and effective it is for every child to be educated in the way and the means that best suit her, at the pace and in the space that suits her best. I think that most people recognize that in our country, the education system needs to be improved, to assist children in becoming citizens with democratic principles, critical thinking, creativity and emotionally capable of doing what we cannot achieve.

 
 

Zoe Valerie

I grew up in Corfu. I completed my postgraduate degree in Choreological Studies, Choreography and Education in 2002 at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London.
I have lived, taught, danced and studied in Holland, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Greece, the Ukraine, Thailand and Israel.
For over twenty years Ι perform, choreograph and teach with people of all ages.
I am the originator of ‘Ensoma’, an amalgam of therapeutic methods, movement techniques, improvisation and choreological study which cultivates the wisdom we embody.
I am convinced that emdodied learning, where the body is fully involved, can reinforce the ability to think, feel and therefore act autonomously and critically.
I am committed to educational reform, protecting the freedom of choice in education and safeguarding environments where human development is allowed and facilitated.
I am a founding member of Spring Academy, Eudec Greece, a regional chapter of the European Community for democratic education and Education Plus, the Greek Association for the support of Alternative and Emancipatory forms of education.


Katerina Tranouli

Katerina Tranouli has been trained, active for many years and also constantly further educated, academically and experientially, in the fields of counseling, adult education, psychology, psychotherapy, kinesiology, complementary medicine and yoga. She is a mother of two children, 11.5 and 10 years old.
She is interested in non-directiveness in our relationships with others and the freedom to be where we truly love to be, recognizing its value, but also that it is perhaps the most difficult thing in our world.
In recent years, she has been systematically informing parents and teachers about the idea of ​​libertarian pedagogy and upbringing, about how to follow children, with respect, how to understand their needs and desires, which are very different from our own, planning personalized, individual, family, or school care strategies.
She participates in groups, associations, schools, institutions that promote free thought and democratic, libertarian pedagogy because she is very deeply and consciously interested in changing our pedagogical intelligence (upbringing – education).