When Hello Greece started in May 2019, the program team set out to do an in-depth examination of the initiatives, services, organizations, and projects in Greece's refugee and migration sector. It quickly became clear that Greece had become a focal point of innovation and activity in the migration context in response to its growing refugee crisis since 2015. At the same time, however, it became apparent that some important systemic problems greatly impaired the effectiveness and efficiency of any attempted response to the crisis.

 

In essence, the refugee and migration sector in Greece is characterized by a significant lack of coordination, cooperation, and participation between all relevant actors in the public, social, civil, academic, philanthropic and private sectors. As a result, there is no coherent collective strategy to effectively address the complex challenges of the Greek migration / refugee crisis. Furthermore, key stakeholders seemed to compete for funding and legitimacy, leading to a dramatically fragmented, unsustainable, and “competitive” project landscape.

 

In response, Hello Greece worked with MTS to develop a strategic plan to understand and work on the systemic dimension stated above. Together, with all stakeholders, it is important to design, test, repeat, and implement effective solutions. Organizations and decision-makers from the public sector, social, philanthropic, and academic areas are intensively involved and worked with them, as well as with the private sector, but above all with the refugees themselves.