How can we understand citizenship beyond the state? How do people build the city, collectively and creatively? How are different citizenship struggles shared and related?

SGYF was invited by Onassis Stegi to co-curate the latest video discussion in the ‘Society Uncensored‘ series, published online in January 2022. The discussion breaks the borders of citizenship, reflecting the realities of everyday urban life and showcasing street-level practices of city making.

It brings together a variety of grassroots organisations engaged in practices of active citizenship. Different knowledges gather from multiple perspectives: community art, refugee-led activism, sex work, Black studies, asylum law, environmental sustainability, education, and more. The discussion moves through the needs, ideas, and methods of citizenship, the challenges faced and the ways to collectively overcome them. From everyday actions to creative ways of being in the world. As a result, forms of Athenian citizenship emerge that are lively and disruptive, joyful and rebellious. You can watch the full discussion here.

The discussion features Ayman and Tom from SGYF, alongside friends and colleagues from different movements in the city (full list below). It was curated by the SGYF team with Pasqua Vorgia from Onassis Stegi.

The city and its citizenships are never fixed or finished, but always being reimagined and remade. By shifting focus away from citizenship as defined by the state, Athens becomes a testing ground of ideas, a song of solidarities, an amplifier of demands, an abundance of languages.

With:

Michael Afolayan, ANASA African Cultural Center
Ayman Alkalaa, Syrian and Greek Youth Forum (SGYF)
Keira Dignan, ECHO Mobile Library
Elena Karagianni, Artist-Refugee Education Coordinator of the Greek Ministry of Education at Schisto camp, Founder of the association: Art and Action Network
Vaggelis Manolopoulos, Organization Earth
Chryssa Mela, Khora Asylum Support Team (KAST)
Niovi Zarampouka-Chatzimanou, Victoria Square Project (VSP)

Moderator: Tom Western (UCL and SGYF)
Curation: Tom Western, Pasqua Vorgia
Heads of Production: Pasqua Vorgia, Smaragda Dogani