Aetoi Thessalonikis

The main objectives of AETOI Thessalonikis (AETOI) is supporting people with disabilities. Our organization works directly with about 80 children and adults with disabilities, together for the common goal of social participation and inclusion. The main staff in our organization are physical trainers and we collaborate with psychologists, social workers, educators etc. Besides the managing board, a number of people are offering their voluntary work. Our goal for our staff is to learn further informal and non-formal educational techniques and to improve their techniques for promoting volunteering and supporting social inclusion. Therefore, our activities are divided on three sectors:
1. Sports: AETOI is operating 3 teams in athletics, 2 teams in basketball, 1 team in swimming, and 1 team in table tennis. Annually, all teams participate in the national championships. In 2017, AETOI was the club with the most athletes in the national championships among about 80 athletic clubs for disabled. In addition, as part of our dissemination strategy, our club annually organizes basketball tournament for schools from special education.
2. Educational programs: AETOI participates and develops occasionally educational programs for people with disabilities as a part of their overall education. Moreover, the staff, the board, and the athletes participate in European programs such as Erasmus+.
3. Training programs: AETOI organizes/participates in seminars and conferences for professionals connected to sports disability and disability in general. In addition, we accept and guide/mentoring students from universities that are willing to have an internship/practice in our structures.