MELISSA NETWORK OF MIGRANT WOMEN IN GREECE - Feron 18

Melissa is a network for migrant and refugee women living in Greece. It aims to promote empowerment and active citizenship, to create and sustain bonds, and to build a bridge of communication with the host society. 

Founded in September 2014 with the direct involvement of migrant women leaders, it has members from 45 countries who live and work in Greece. It operates on the basis of a common platform, a hub where networks and individuals can meet, share their concerns and ideas, and support each other in the pursuit of their common goals.

‘Melissa’ means:

The name 'Melissa' stems from the Greek word for honey-bee. It stands for the women who have come here from all over the world, bringing along skills and talents, dreams and ideas, unique stories and extraordinary strengths. They are agents of change for their own lives, their families, their societies, as well as for the society that hosts them.

Vision:

Melissa's vision of society is not as a collection of isolated cells, but as a beehive of creativity, communication and exchange. Our aim is to motivate migrant and refugee women and engage them in the public sphere, in order to be the change they wish to see. Despite the adversities that they have faced and continue to face in the current crisis, migrant and refugee women are multipliers and integrators. They are capable of making something out of almost nothing, multiplying their scarce resources in order to feed, nurture and care. What they create with their work, their dedication, their talents, their efforts and ambitions, promotes social cohesion and contributes to the host society in countless visible and invisible ways.

Mission:

Melissa’s mission is to contribute to the empowerment of migrant and refugee woman, making their voices heard and supporting them in becoming agents of change. We do this by providing a safe space of sharing and learning, where they can access support, information and opportunities, pursue their own initiatives and build their life strategies.

Melissa Network aims to:

• Support migrant and refugee women’s rights.
• Promote migrant and refugee women’s empowerment and make their voices heard.
• Facilitate networking among groups of diverse ethnic origins, creating an effective structure to enable their networking capacity and their inclusive attitudes promoting tolerance, mutual understanding and solidarity.
• Create a bridge of communication with the host society.
• Introduce new actors into the social sphere, drawing upon their grassroots experience, and encouraging participation and active citizenship.
• Create a space where migrant and refugee women can express their own aspirations and concerns.
• Support and encourage their initiatives.
• Empower migrant and refugee women to find the means to support themselves.
• Record and encourage their ‘informal strategies’ as practiced, in a process of creating rights from below.
• Address the issues confronted by crisis-ridden Greece in creative ways, informed by the women’s own, diverse experiences.
• Widen the advocacy pool and the participation in the public sphere by developing media and communication skills.
• Raise awareness.
• Promote positive role-models.