Mayor: Dimitrios Karamanis
Livadia is the capital of Viotia prefecture in the region of Central Greece. Its geographical location is attracting migrants who come to the area to work in various agricultural jobs with the aim of finding a job and temporary housing. For many years, the social policy of Municipality of Livadia has been promoting social equality for all citizens, including vulnerable ones, irrespective of whether they live permanently or not in the area. In recent years and after the initiative of the Municipality of Livadia to assist in the management of the refugee crisis by hosting asylum seekers and refugees in apartments, the social structures for vulnerable groups have been further strengthened, so that there is a balance between the rights of migrants/refugees and the local population.
Municipality of Livadia in collaboration with its municipal structures, such as the Public Benefit Organization of the Municipality of Livadia (K.E.DH.L.) and the Community Center, attempts to implement integration actions and take initiatives aiming at informing the refugees and third-country nationals, handling issues related to their legal documents, raising local awareness, providing advice on employment issues and access to educational and health institutions.
Our goal is to offer safe living conditions for those citizens who choose to stay and work in the town. In addition, we have succeeded in cultivating the value of multiculturalism and humanism in our citizens through the implementation of various housing and support programs for refugees and asylum seekers. The acceptance of diversity in the conscience of citizens fights against any form of discrimination and defends equal rights for refugees and asylum-seekers to housing, education, health, employment and promotes their participation in the social life of the local communities.
General Population
29,379
*ELSTAT (2021 Census)
See below Social Services and Programs by the Municipality of Livadeia.
Since November 2019, the Public Benefit Organization of the Municipality of Livadeia (K.E.DH.L.) in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration has been implementing the integration program HELIOS through the operation of the integration learning centre for beneficiaries of international protection with the ultimate goal of providing Greek language integration courses, accommodation support, employability support, integration monitoring and raising awareness of the local community.
MOREThe Community Centre of the Municipality of Livadeia was established in 2016 within the framework of the Regional Operational Programs of the NSRF 2014-2020 and is the first point of contact for the citizen with the Social Service of the Municipality in order to be informed about local integration programs and services provided. In Livadeia, along with the establishment of the Community Centre, other structures were established, such as the social pharmacy, social clinic, social grocery store and soup kitchen. All vulnerable groups living permanently in the Municipality of Livadeia have access to these structures.
MOREThe Municipality of Livadeia participates in the European program IncluCities (2020-2022), an initiative of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, which aims at the social and economic integration of migrants and refugees in the participating cities. Livadeia cooperates with the Spanish city of Fuenlabrada.
Fuenlabrada, as a Mediterranean city facing similar issues and having more experience in managing migration issues, can be an important help for the Municipality of Livadeia to improve reception conditions and integration of third-country nationals. Fuenlabrada as the mentor city for Livadeia offers feasible proposals for the full integration of third-country nationals into the city and will guide us step by step to implement these proposals.
MORE“Help at Home” is a social welfare protection program that aims to provide organized and systematic care to the Elderly and People with Disabilities, i.e., people with physical disabilities, mental illness, mental retardation. It ensures a dignified and autonomous living within the family environment, as well as the upgrading of the beneficiaries’ quality of life.
The services are provided free of charge in the citizen’s house. The aim of the services is for people to remain in their own social environment and to improve their quality of life.
MORE (Greek)The Job Centre is an initiative of the Municipality of Livadeia undertaken in collaboration with the Chamber of Viotia for the support of employment. The Municipality of Livadeia has created an electronic job search service for prospective employees, as well as the registration of data and ads of local companies to find employees.
MOREThe Municipality of Livadeia, through its Public Benefit Enterprise (K.E.DH.L.), participates in the European Program “Multi-STakeholder Labs for migrants and stakeholders (MUST-a-Lab): Multi-stakeholder labs for migrants and stakeholders”, lasting three (3) years (2022-2024), financed 90% by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund of the European Commission and 10% by the Municipality of Levadea. The amount of funding from the EU for the Municipality of Livadeia amounts to €131,064.30.
The project is led by the city of Mechelen (Belgium) and the following European cities and institutions participate: Modena (Italy), University of Modena (Italy), International Institute of Humanitarian Law (San Remo, Italy), Fuenlabrada (Spain), University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Karel de Grote) in Antwerp (Belgium), European Institute for Research and Education (FREREF) – (Brussels, Belgium), Neubau (Vienna, Austria) and the Public Benefit Enterprise of the Municipality of Livadeia (Greece).
The aim of the program is the socio-economic integration of immigrants and third-country nationals residing in the city and facilitating their access to basic services. Cooperation with other consortium partners will contribute to the exchange of good practices and knowledge across the EU and improving transnational cooperation between stakeholders in the development and implementation of local integration strategies.
