The Self-Help Promotion Program is a program of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (A.P.Th), it operates with the funding of the Ministry of Health and the cooperation of OKANA and is housed in the Vardari area.
The main axis of the Program's operation is the support of people who face a problem of addiction to legal and illegal substances as well as their family and friends. The Program is open and all its services are provided free of charge. The main goal of the Program is to support people with an addiction problem based on the principles of self-help/mutual help.
The issue of speeding up the procedures for the creation of the Holocaust Museum in western Thessaloniki was discussed on 1.02.2021, in their meeting in the Region of Central Macedonia, by the regional governor Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the mayor of Thessaloniki Konstantinos Zervas and the president of the Central Jewish Council of Greece and Israelite Community of Thessaloniki David Saltiel.
"The Holocaust Museum is moving forward and we are jointly investigating the possibilities of financing and the contribution of the Region of Central Macedonia with European funds from the new NSRF. In the last year, despite the difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic, with the personal effort of the mayor of Thessaloniki, Constantinos Zervas, many of the issues that have been "pooling" for a long time have been resolved," said Mr. Tzitzikostas. At the same time, he estimated that "with the close cooperation of everyone, the last pending issues will be resolved and the construction part will begin, in order to implement a great project, intertwined with the History of Thessaloniki".
On January 31, 2021, the Region of Central Macedonia and the Israelite Community of Thessaloniki presented an online tribute honoring the National Day of Remembrance of the Greek Jewish Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust (see here is the video).
The tribute started with a statement by the Prime Minister of Greece, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, made during his visit to Auschwitz in 2020, followed by messages from:
-Vice President of the Government, Mr. Panagiotis Pikrammeno
-Ambassador of the State of Israel, Mr. Yossi Amrani
-Deputy Minister of Interior (Macedonia – Thrace), Mr. Stavros Kalafati
-Regional Governor of Central Macedonia, President of the Union of Regions of Greece and President of the Committee of the Regions of the EU, Mr. Apostle Tzitzikosta
- Mayor of Thessaloniki, Mr. Constantino Zerva
More: ONLINE TRIBUTE OF THE REGION OF K.MACEDONIA & I.K.TH. FOR HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY...
The resounding message "Never Again" and the phrase "We Remember" were sent on 27.01.2021 during the laying of wreaths at the Holocaust Memorial in Eleftherias Square, in the center of Thessaloniki, as part of the Remembrance Day events Greek Jewish Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust.
Due to the measures to limit the coronavirus pandemic, this year's events took place without the presence of the public and a delegation of officers of the XNUMXrd Army Corps, with only the participation of the absolutely necessary institutional actors.
Ο Deputy Minister of the Interior (Macedonia - Thrace sector), Stavros Kalafatis, representing the government at the event, stated that "the events that we bring to our memory today cause awe and shock" and added: "they have already been recorded in the blackest colors in world history and are an integral part not only of the history of Jews everywhere, but also of our own history. It is the story of our Jewish brothers. The story that reminds what fascism, Nazism, totalitarianism means. And unites the voice in a single phrase: Never Again".
More: THESSALONIKI HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2021: WREATH LAYING & POLICY STATEMENTS
The White Tower wears the yellow star today, January 27, 2021, just like 78 years ago and the 50.000 Jews of Thessaloniki, the 67.000 Jews of Greece and the 6.000.000 Jews of Europe. The White Tower wears the piece of cloth that became the stigma that would lead to millions of innocents being displaced and exterminated during the Holocaust.
The city of Thessaloniki remembers and mourns the 20% of the city's population that was persecuted. A dynamic and living part of society that disappeared when hatred and inhumanity prevailed.
The yellow star on the White Tower is a promise of the city, to turn the pain of loss into a stentorian, unwavering, single, clear voice for freedom, respect, solidarity, justice…. against those few, who even today strive for the prevalence of hatred and racism.
More: PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE WHITE TOWER FOR HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2021