By Aspasia Zontanou
We have to support the recent influx of our countrymen to Germany in search of work and a better future. We willingly accept the challenge. At the same time this new wave of immigration offers Germany the chance of finding urgently needed personnel and integrating them successfully into their companies . . . ” This is what Phedon Codjampopoulo, President of the DHW, the German Hellenic Economic Association pointed out in the beginning of his interview in April 2012 in Köln.
The first get-together of a social network, named “Griechische Akteure NRW,” started on November 8th 2011. Ioanna Zacharaki from the EKIR (Protestant Church of the Rhineland), Georgios Rougas President of the Greek Community in Düsseldorf and Christina Patelkos member of the DHW in Köln invited several Greek representatives working in social services, communities, and the church. The meeting was held in order to get information surrounding the challenges Greek immigrants are going to face and what kind of information could be useful. Zacharaki said that in 2011 almost 10.000 Greeks came to Germany looking for a better future. 2754 are in (NRW) North-Rhine Westphalia, 320 in Düsseldorf, 221 in Köln 134 in Dortmund, 101 in Duisburg etc.
A guidebook in two languages, Greek and German, was the outcome of this meeting which was released shortly after and can be downloaded: (www.diakonie-rwl.de/cms/media///pdf/aktuelles/2012-pdf/2012-04-16-wegweiser-griechen.pdf). The guidebook provides important addresses and information on the issues that could be of interest to newly arrived immigrants: education, work, housing, medical services, insurance, cultural and political news, free-time activities etc. The social network “Griechische Akteuere NRW” has already held its second meeting at the beginning of June 2012, strengthened by new Greek members of various areas seeking to support their compatriots.
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