Every year on 20 June, the world observes World Refugee Day. But why is this day
celebrated?
Originally known as African Refugee Day, it was later expanded by the United
Nations to become a global observance, as forced displacement is an issue that
affects the entire international community, not just one specific region. In 2001, the
United Nations officially established 20 June as World Refugee Day to recognize the strength, resilience and courage of millions of people who have been forced to leave their homes because of war, violence, persecution, humanitarian crises and conflict.
According to UNHCR, there were approximately 41.6 million refugees worldwide in
2025. The largest refugee populations originate from Sudan and Syria, due to
ongoing civil wars; Afghanistan, because of conflict, persecution and political
instability; Ukraine, following Russia's invasion and the continuing war; Myanmar, as a result of persecution, the military coup and internal conflict; and Palestine, due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has become one of the most abberrant genocide in history and has led to one of the most severe humanitarian crises of recent times in the Gaza Strip.
This year's campaign focused on the theme "Until Everyone Is Safe", aiming to raise awareness about the importance of protecting human rights. Behind every refugee's journey, there is a human story worth listening to. This also reflects one of the objectives promoted by the United Nations through SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, because without safety it is impossible to guarantee physical and
mental health, especially for people who have been forced to flee.
One very important thing to remember is that not every foreign person we meet is a refugee. It is essential to understand what being a refugee means, because this
status is different from that of a migrant.
A migrant is someone who chooses to move to another country in search of better
opportunities for work, education or a better quality of life. A refugee, on the other
hand, is forced to leave everything behind and, most importantly, cannot freely
choose where to go.
Understanding this distinction is essential to overcoming stereotypes and
discrimination. This is exactly the principle promoted by SDGs 10: Reduced Inequalities, which encourages social inclusion and the protection of vulnerable
people, regardless of their origin.
Many Europeans believe that refugees come to take advantage of the host country, to compete for jobs or for other reasons often fuelled by stereotypes and
misinformation. There is also a common belief that refugees deliberately choose to seek protection in Europe or North America. What is often overlooked is that
refugees, by definition, do not have that choice. In most cases, they are hosted by
neighbouring countries, as close as possible to their homes. They are not moving to "take someone else's job"; they are simply trying to survive.
Another important point to remember is that many refugees hope to return home
one day, because no one would willingly choose a life in exile. In the meantime, they actively contribute to the societies that host them and should not be seen as a burden, but as people who participate in and enrich their communities.
To protect people forced to flee, the United Nations adopted the 1951 Refugee
Convention, later expanded by the 1967 Protocol, which extended its application
worldwide. This international treaty defines who can be recognised as a refugee and guarantees fundamental rights, including access to education, employment,
healthcare and the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning a person to a country where their life or freedom would be at serious risk.
This commitment is closely linked to SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong
Institutions, which promotes the protection of human rights, access to justice and
institutions capable of safeguarding the world's most vulnerable people.
There are different categories of people forced to flee. One of the main ones is
asylum seekers: people who apply for refugee status and wait for their application
to be assessed by the relevant authorities.
Another category is Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). These are people who have been forced to leave their homes but remain within the borders of their own country.
According to UNHCR, there are around 123.2 million forcibly displaced people
worldwide, and 39% of them are children.
Finally, there are stateless people, who are not recognised as citizens by any
country, and returnees, former refugees who are able to return to their country or
region of origin.

Giulia Danelli is an Italian volunteer who writes about the World Refugee Day.

Some say that Gay Pride is a carnival, a farce, just an excuse to party. And I completely agree. It is an opportunity to celebrate diversity, inclusion, and above all, Freedom. The
freedom to choose whom to love and how to love them. The freedom to choose how we dress and how we express ourselves through our appearance.
Pride is a celebration of everyone's freedom: lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people, asexuals, non-binary people, intersex people, queer people, and also heterosexuals.
But let's start with a bit of history, because things only make sense when we understand their context.
Don't worry, we won't go all the way back to the Palaeolithic era; we'll stay within the last 100 years.
Not many people remember that homosexuals were also among those sent to Auschwitz, persecuted and then murdered like dogs in the nightmare that was the Holocaust. This was perhaps the most terrible horror, but there were many others. Suffice it to say that until 1990, homosexuality was classified by the WHO (World Health Organization) as a mental illness, effectively labelling all homosexual people as deviants and madmen who needed to be cured, and if they could not be cured, then they had to be suppressed. The mindset of institutions at the time (I'm talking about the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s) was that the homosexual community was harmful to society; it was seen as a contagious agent. When the HIV epidemic broke out in the 1980s, this belief was reinforced even further.
On the evening of Friday, June 28, 1969, a raid was carried out on a famous gay bar in New York, the Stonewall Inn, and many gay men and women, drag queens, transgender people, and cross-dressers were arrested. The bar was run by the Mafia, and the police justified the raid and arrests by claiming that the establishment was involved in criminal activities.
But there was something unusual about all of this that LGBTQ+ activists and journalists were quick to notice. Police raids on Mafia-run establishments were usually carried out on
weekdays, in order to limit the number of customers arrested, people who might have been there for shady dealings but were certainly not members of the Mafia. This raid, however,
took place on a Friday night, when the bar was packed. Not only that, but the Mafia was often warned about these police raids in advance by the police themselves, yet this did not
happen on this occasion.
It quickly became clear to activists that the raid on Stonewall was first and foremost an act of repression against the queer community, aimed at limiting its spaces and places of
gathering.
The result was a wave of rebellion that set Lower Manhattan ablaze for three days.
From this event, the following year it was felt that the time had come to reclaim the squares
and the streets. "If they try to repress us, then we will make ourselves visible in the streets."
Pride is celebrated in June precisely to commemorate this change in strategy within the queer community: enough of keeping our heads down and gathering in hidden venues;
instead, we would take to the streets filled with color. A celebration of freedom, of pride, and of never hiding again, but showing ourselves to everyone with pride.
One question has probably come to mind while reading this: "But why all this repression?" It is not a simple question, and I cannot avoid giving a complex answer, but I will try to make it
as simple as possible.
The simple answer is that there is something ugly called homophobia, but where does it come from?
To answer that, we need to draw on cultural anthropology and the concepts of clean (pure) and dirty (impure), as well as disgust. Get ready, because this is a rather complex discussion.
Every society develops a series of boundaries, labels, and norms defining what is acceptable and what is not. We feel comfortable within those boundaries; we feel uncomfortable and experience disgust when we step outside them. Let me give a very simple example. I am Italian. When we eat, everyone has their own plate and their own cutlery. Once, I found myself in a restaurant serving traditional Moroccan food. The first thing that unsettled me was that the food was on the table rather than on individual plates. The second was eating with my hands. The third was that the food was shared by everyone at the table. Needless to say, I felt uncomfortable and perceived the whole experience as
unclean. Then I came to love Moroccan cuisine, and that feeling quickly disappeared.
I hope the concept is clear: I was outside what I culturally consider clean, and therefore pure.
Another even more obvious example is pineapple on pizza—a sacrilege! But why is it considered such a terrible offense by us Italians? Because it mixes two things that (according to us Italians) should never be together. That disgusts us and makes us perceive pineapple pizza as dirty and therefore impure.
Now I hope this culinary detour has not distracted you from the topic, which was homophobia. Homophobia follows the same mental process as pineapple on pizza (which I actually tried once, and it wasn't that bad). Two people of the same sex loving each other fall outside the boundaries of what is considered acceptable and normalized, so they are perceived as impure and provoke disgust in homophobes. The same process is applied to the entire queer community.
Returning to the main topic of this article, Gay Pride is a celebration because people are no longer willing to hide. It is a celebration of diversity that challenges the boundaries of what is considered acceptable, and for that reason it is also revolutionary.
Happy Pride to everyone!

Every year on 11 June, people around the world celebrate the International Day of Play, a day that reminds us how important play is in the lives of children and communities. Play is not only about having fun; it is also a way for children to learn, explore, create, and connect with others.
From a young age, play helps children understand the world around them. Through games, creativity, movement, and imagination, children develop important skills such as teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and confidence. While they are playing, children are also learning and discovering new things in a natural and enjoyable way.
To celebrate this special day, we visited a school and organized different activities with the students. Through creative games, group activities, and fun challenges, we created a space where children could express themselves, use their imagination, and enjoy learning through play. The activities encouraged teamwork, creativity, and positive interaction between the children.
The International Day of Play also reminds us that every child should have the opportunity to play in a safe and welcoming environment. However, many children around the world still face challenges that prevent them from having enough time or space to play.
Play is closely connected with creativity and imagination. Drawing, storytelling, building, and different games help children express their ideas and develop their own way of thinking. These experiences help them become more confident and curious about the world around them.
Play is important not only for children but for everyone. It brings people together, creates happiness, reduces stress, and helps build stronger connections. Simple moments of playing and creating together can have a big impact on how we learn, communicate, and grow.
​The International Day of Play is a reminder to protect the time and space children need to explore, create, and enjoy their childhood. By supporting play, we help create happier, more creative, and more connected communities.

The power of dialogue and communication are essential tools to overcome war. For this reason, being a volunteer means being empathetic and available to those who need to be heard. I chose to be a volunteer because I know this experience will guide me toward becoming a better person as someone who learns to listen without judging in order to realize my future dream of becoming ambassador. I believe that cooperation and the team work trough developing the projects and carrying out the activities that MEDIART offers can be very important for me to improve my ability
to solve problems and conflicts with creativity and flexibility. From this experience, I expect to challenge myself in an international environment, allowing me to grow both personally and professionally to build a solid foundation for my future diplomatic career. For this reason, there is a deep motivation to follow this path. This perspective is rooted in a strong belief in communication, viewed as a powerful tool capable of creating bonds and relationships to foster better coexistence among nations.
This experience represents a major opportunity where young people from different European countries can share ideas and implement initiatives to contribute to improving the Greek community in Serres, through the headquarters of Praxis that has made all of this possible. Praxis Greece is the perfect stepping stone to enhance my personal skills and linguistic competence, helping me become an open-minded individual capable of engaging in constructive debates with other young
volunteers.
As a recent graduate, there is a strong sense of privilege to be part of such an important and ambitious project. Furthermore, the beauty of Greece and its magnificent cultural history make this journey even more remarkable. This deep-rooted cultural charm has always been fascinating, fostering a true sense of integration as an active member of MEDIART. I think that Praxis Greece is viewed as an excellent stepping stone to enhance personal skills and linguistic competence, guiding
the path toward becoming an open-minded individual capable of understanding and engaging in constructive ideas and debates with other young volunteers.
As a new member of the volunteer my goal is to channel my positive spirit into MEDIART, combining empathy and communication skills to transform misunderstandings into opportunities for cooperative problem-solving. So, I am deeply proud to be a part of this ambitious project and I
look change forward to exchanging ideas and growing together!

Smoking is a normalized poison, a plague of our society that claims millions of victims, yet nobody does anything about it. Every year it causes just under 10 million deaths. Ten million is the population of Greece—imagine that every year, as if by magic, the entire population of Greece disappeared. That is what smoking does every year. 
In 1988, forty years after the founding of the World Health Organization, smoking and tobacco use were recognized as one of the most serious threats to human health. It was therefore established that May 31 would be “World No Tobacco Day.” 
The number of diseases attributable to smoking is incalculable: cardiovascular problems, obesity, arterial obstruction, stroke, and a thousand different types of cancer. There is no need for me to tell you that in this article. What I believe is far more interesting to discuss is who makes money from this poison. Big Tobacco—that is what the entire tobacco industry is called. 
We will therefore talk about how this industry works, but above all about its marketing, and how it manages to expand its market by continually involving young people through new strategies. 
Let us look at a couple of figures before diving into the subject. It is estimated that the market value of all smoking-related products is around one trillion dollars. This astronomical figure is the result of careful investment strategies aimed at diversifying their market offerings. In fact, since the early 2000s, new products such as IQOS, electronic cigarettes, and nicotine patches have multiplied—products with a cleaner image, detached from all the diseases that afflict smokers. 
This is precisely the first marketing strategy used by Big Tobacco: new products that are perceived by the public as healthier. Obviously, there is no independent research supporting this claim. Smoking is harmful and slowly kills you; it matters little whether it tastes like strawberry. This is called the harm reduction strategy. Nobody wants to get cancer, so these products are presented as carrying a lower risk of disease. 
IQOS, electronic cigarettes, and similar products are also linked to another phenomenon, less well known but one to which we are all exposed: premiumization. The product is presented as being of superior quality and therefore more expensive. But it is not just that. Vaping and IQOS become status symbols; they shape the image we want to project of ourselves. They become ornamental objects, no different from a handbag or a necklace. In fact, they are highly customizable, with inscriptions or attractive designs. 
Smoking therefore ceases to be merely a way of consuming nicotine; it becomes one of our characteristics, part of the vibe we want to project to the world. 
A second tactic that the tobacco industry has used since the dawn of time is infiltrating medical research. In the past they were more shameless, paying doctors or sponsoring studies that explicitly claimed smoking was not harmful and was even beneficial. Fortunately, they can no longer do this so openly. But that does not mean they have abandoned their old
habits. They now sponsor medical research so that studies are conducted on vaping or nicotine patches, and then claim these are less harmful. These studies have no credibility; the conflict of interest is far too obvious. However, they are very useful for creating noise in public opinion, which sees conflicting viewpoints and therefore does not know whom to believe. Creating confusion weakens the position of those conducting respectable research. 
We cannot forget politics. Unfortunately, money can work miracles and make anyone forget their morals. I am not talking about simple corruption; usually the strategy is much subtler and pays off far more in the long run. It consists of pushing former employees into a political party, sponsoring their electoral campaigns, and helping them enter politics. This former employee, now a politician, becomes the communication bridge between the company and the party, an internal facilitator and influence. The phenomenon also works in reverse: when a politician’s career ends, they reinvent themselves within a company. Their value lies not so much in their skills as in their network within the political world. 
Big Tobacco also has another significant lever of pressure at its disposal: it brings new jobs, opens factories, and stimulates economic growth, especially in the case of electronic cigarettes, which are complex products requiring many surrounding companies to manufacture the necessary components. Now imagine a politician launching an aggressive anti-smoking campaign. The tobacco industry could simply relocate its factory to a more accommodating region or country, thereby harming not only the factory workers but also the entire productive network that revolved around the industry. 
Now we need to talk a little about anti-smoking policies. Why am I talking about policies rather than ways to quit smoking? Because this is a widespread social plague, and it must therefore be addressed with appropriate tools: laws and regulations. 
The first model that comes to mind is New Zealand, which in 2021 declared the sale of tobacco products illegal to anyone born in or after 2008. By doing so, within two or three generations there will no longer be any smokers. 
For those who consider this measure too extreme, I would like to propose another fairly successful model: that of the United States. In the early 2000s, the U.S. government launched a very intelligent awareness campaign aimed at young people called TRUTH. The message was not simply “don’t smoke because it is bad for you,” but rather “don’t let tobacco companies manipulate you.” It conveyed almost a spirit of rebellion against smoking and Big Tobacco. The numbers speak for themselves: the campaign was a success. The percentage of young smokers fell from 25% to 18% in just three years. 
Of course, awareness campaigns alone can achieve little. Support networks are needed, such as smoking cessation centers and support communities. Medications that alleviate the symptoms of nicotine addiction should be made free of charge, and, more generally, all these services should be advertised, because they are often unknown. 
The Sustainable Development Goals (STDs) are a starting point, especially points 3, 12, and 16. Point 3 advocates for healthcare and accountability for all; people's lives come before profit. Point 12 advocates for a shift toward more ethical and responsible production and business. We are all part of a single ecosystem; an industry that sells cancer is neither sustainable nor viable. Finally, point 16, Justice, Peace, and Strong Institutions, emphasizes that only with cross-country collaboration and a cross-sectional distribution of Wellfare across the population will we one day be able to eradicate this carcinogenic poison.
To quit smoking in Greece, you can call 1135 (EODY service) for support and guidance from healthcare professionals. Open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
Alternatively, you can call 1145 (KETHEA) for information on smoking cessation centers. Open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

​

Every year on 20 May, the world celebrates World Bee Day, an international observance dedicated to raising awareness about the essential role that bees and other pollinators play in sustaining ecosystems, agriculture, and global food security. Despite their small size, bees are among the most valuable species on Earth, contributing significantly to biodiversity and supporting the production of many of the foods consumed by people worldwide.
World Bee Day was officially proclaimed by the United Nations in 2017 and is observed annually on 20 May. The date was chosen to commemorate the birth anniversary of Anton Janša, a pioneer of modern beekeeping from Slovenia. The observance aims to highlight the importance of protecting pollinators and promoting sustainable practices that support their survival.
Bees perform one of nature's most important ecological services: pollination. Pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred from one flower to another, enabling plants to reproduce and produce fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts. Approximately three-quarters of the world's flowering plants and more than one-third of global food crops depend, at least in part, on pollinators. Crops such as apples, strawberries, almonds, cucumbers, pumpkins, tomatoes, and blueberries rely heavily on bee pollination to achieve successful yields.
The contribution of bees extends far beyond agriculture. By pollinating wild plants, bees help maintain healthy ecosystems that provide habitats and food sources for countless species of animals, birds, and insects. Their work supports biodiversity, strengthens ecological resilience, and contributes to the overall health of natural environments. Without pollinators, many plant species would decline, leading to significant disruptions throughout food chains and ecosystems.
Despite their critical importance, bee populations are facing numerous challenges across the globe. Habitat loss caused by urbanization, intensive agriculture, and deforestation has reduced the availability of flowering plants and nesting sites. Climate change has altered weather patterns and flowering seasons, making it more difficult for bees to access consistent food sources. In addition, the widespread use of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals can negatively affect bee health, reproduction, and navigation abilities. Diseases, parasites, and environmental pollution further threaten bee populations in many regions.
For the end, World Bee Day serves as an important reminder of the important role that bees play in maintaining healthy ecosystems and supporting global food production. Protecting bees and other pollinators is essential for preserving biodiversity and ensuring food security. Through collective awareness and  action, we can help save these  insects for future generations.