Passion Project teammates Zoe Kostitsi-Papastathopoulou (MPA ’16), Chia-You Kuo (MPA ’16), and Mariyana Petrova (MPA ’16) travelled to Athens to meet with their client, the Greek Forum of Refugees (GFR), for the first time. “It was important to get to know the organizational structure, how it operates, and who works there,” commented Petrova.
In Athens, the Passion Project team had the opportunity to solidify their understanding of GFR’s mission and meet with all members of the GFR team. “Discussing issues in person helped us adjust parts of our plan to better meet the needs of GFR,” said Kostitsi-Papastathopoulou. “We’re now a very strong team united around a clear set of goals.”
The Passion Project team will work to identify cases of the non-implementation of laws and directives concerning refugee rights and entitlements in Greece. The mission is to leverage this research to pressure decision makers toward fair and ethical treatment of refugees and migrants in accordance with the law. One way the team will help GFR achieve this end goal is through a presentation of relevant legal research on World Refugee Day 2015 in June.
“We feel like we’re part of a great community,” highlighted Kuo. “It was inspiring to speak with such passionate and motivated people at GFR.”