WP2
WP2
WP2
Larissa Pilot
CURRENT SITUATION
The Municipality of Larissa plays a coordinating role between various local authorities, public bodies, social organizations, and volunteers managing immigrants welfare. The city is the designated coordinator of a local network of volunteers including both organizations (public and NGOs) and individuals approved by the relative national ministry. With the High Commission for Refugees it has taken steps for the education of the staff that manages the affairs relative with the refugee center.
Services and activities that the Municipality provides for the refugees include: Nursery school for refugees in Koutsochero, lessons in Greek language, creative activities for the children (arts and crafts projects, museum visits, theater play,..), football academy in cooperation with local gymnasts, taking steps towards refugee children attending local schools, promoting the connections between the refugees and the residents of the village Koutsochero, encouraging elderly residents to get involved in different activities within the center, urban accommodation for refugees via the ESTIA program in cooperation with the UN Refugee Agency, funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid – for the Municipality of Larissa. Few services are digital.
EASYRIGHTS SERVICE FOCUS
Service 1: Residence Permit
Description of the service: All non-Greek citizens that want to stay over 6 months in Greece have to obtain a Residence Permit. They must address the Municipality and make a request to obtain the Residence Permit. The person interested should go to the Municipality with his/her id card or passport, tax number etc.
Obtaining the Residence Permit is not a simple process as it completely lacks automation. There are only hardcopy records, a total absence of IT software, and a lack of knowledge of another language than Greek from the Municipality's side.
Service 2: Birth Certificate
Description of the service: The service identified for the hackathon challenge was to support migrants in the necessary procedure to obtain the birth declaration document, working mainly with those who arrive at the Refugee Camp or those who come from the ESTIA project (Emergency Support for Integration and Development Accommodation) in the Municipality of Larissa.
The process of registering the birth of a child presents different barriers and obstacles for them. The language, the bureaucratic process, the lack of organisation and protocols prevent them from carrying out the process easily. As a consequence, other actors in the procedure are also affected. Among them, are municipal employees, language interpreters, hospital employees, and even social workers in the case of migrants from refugee camps.