Where experience... becomes a lesson... | Greece

Alli Meria is a village in the municipality of Volos, in Greece. It has approximately nine hundred inhabitants and is built at the foothills of Mount Pelion. It has been designated a traditional settlement.

Since February 2022, passengers of the city bus that connects the settlement of Alli Meria with the city of Volos have had the opportunity to "fill" their waiting time… by reading!

With the assistance of a group of students from Junior High School and their teacher, Mrs. Evangelia Pourgianou, several architectural and artistic, primarily, interventions were carried out so that the already sheltered bus stop area would be transformed into a warm and welcoming reading "corner."

The books in this small lending library were donated by the students and their families, as well as the teachers of the educational team of "PROMITHEAS" Schools.

Residents of the area—and not only—can freely borrow the books of their choice or even enrich the library's shelves with their own books, newspapers, or other informative and cultural publications.

This was a pioneering initiative by their school, with which they wanted to send a strong message of culture to our younger and older fellow citizens. After all, the goal is for books... to change hands!

This initiative received the First National Award at the 6th YouSmile Awards, held in July 2022 in Athens by the European Student Volunteer Network “YouSmile” and “The Smile of the Child.” It was a volunteer effort with a positive impact on the local community and beyond.

They are happy that people have embraced their effort with love and continue to ensure that both the space and the books are well-maintained to this day.