EUROPEAN ELECTIONS 2019 CAMPAIGN REPORT EPLO September 2018 - May 2019

This was an extraordinary year not only because of the European Elections 2019, but also due to the well-known unforeseen turbulent situation the EPLO Athens had to face. This led to a reshuffle of tasks assigned to EPLO officials and to the original campaign strategy being redesigned.

It is worth mentioning that, in light of these developments, the strategic decision was taken to delocalise the campaign regarding both Air Game and Ground Game. We pursued synergies with the EDICs, local authorities and pro-European partners/ stakeholders. For every informative session, media seminar or TTIV event, we also organised a media tour, thus multiplying our presence in the region each time.

The results of our efforts justified our choice in terms of media coverage, citizens’ mobilisation and an overall revamp of EPLO's image in . The elections turnout was 58,76%, slightly below 2014 -in absolute numbers 21.232 less voters, however quite satisfying, given the fact that due to the economic crisis, circa half a million Greeks are estimated to have migrated the past five years.

Turnout and results in EE2019, Greece - Source: Ministry of interior

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PILLARS

 MEDIA

From September 2018 to May 2019 there was a clear -and often enormous- increase of media interest about the Elections, the legislative work and the role of the EP. This was translated in numbers on one hand and in a positive coverage of our work on the other hand, not only in Athens but also, and more importantly, in literally every corner of our country. The reinforcement of our media team with one press officer and one trainee definitely played a significant role in achieving this impressive outcome.

Plenaries/Seminars  Invitations to Strasbourg 2018-2019: 144 journalists  The increase of plenary’s media coverage is visible in every month’s review with the unprecedented record of September 2018 (SOTEU, Tsipras FoE debate) with 2.344 press clippings.  The selection of new and more specialised journalists for our central seminars created an increased and of higher quality media coverage.  Regional seminars, along with a media tour boosted our appearance in local and regional media as well as their interest in European Elections and the EU in general.

It is worth mentioning that all high-level products and events exceeded our forecasts in terms of media interest and coverage.

ThisTimeI’mVoting media launch  51 press clippings in total, 13 in AV media, 5 in print and 33 in online media  13 interviews of the Press Officer: 4 live interviews 3 radio, 1 TV and 9 recorded

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100 days event  Covered by both national and regional media of all types -especially AV, highlighting the importance of the vote and the growing support of the TTIV volunteers to the campaign. Indicatively: extensive videos by RISE TV (youth TV/web TV station -Watch here the full reportage), AMNA (the national news agency), two state TV stations, several radio stations.

RISE TV video on 100 days event at EPLO premises

Media covering the 100 days event at EPLO premises

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Presidential Debate Full streaming:  2 national TV stations (with panels and comments before and after)  6 national core online media  6 non-core/regional online media

Full streaming ERT1 Public TV Full streaming news247.gr

Watch here the full debate and discussion on the studio on VOULI TV

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Mentions:  125 in core national TV and radio  30 in core print media  45 in core online media  60 in non-core online media (national and local/regional)

SKAI TV (prime time news bulletin - 46:17) OPEN TV (prime time news bulletin - 47:44)

TO VIMA_print_19.05.19 protothema.gr_online_15.05.19

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 MEDIA BUYING / SOCIAL MEDIA BUYING

A. Media buying - CYF spot After consulting with the Greek national team, the decision was taken to proceed to media buying with the central Framework Contract with Havas Media. The Greek branch brought to the table an excellent, solid and resourceful media plan. In parallel, we used our media relations to expand the free transmission of CYF spot and create a buzz in online media. Focused on 3 target groups and more specifically to the 17-24 (est. 986.000 people in Greece), the numbers fully justify this strategy. During the launch days:  more than 32 press clippings in total (11 in AV, 2 in print and 19 in online media) from EARNED media  Programmatic and native ads: approx. 45 sites and Spotify (media buying via HAVAS) In total:  206 cinema rooms, 3.240 spots in the three biggest cities in Greece- Athens, Thessaloniki, , approx. 253.000 admissions (media buying via HAVAS).  1.384 times our radio spot was on air : 965 spots in the top 5 radio stations in Attica region (tot.est. : 1.012.000 listeners, majority our 3 key target groups 15-24, students, professionals) (media buying via HAVAS) 419 spots for free through the local and regional radios reproducing their programme. ΝΟΤΕ: reg. radios don't air central commercial breaks during the program reproduction. HAVAS made a special deal for our spot, by exception.  Our negotiations led to placing the 30’’ subtitled video FOR FREE at the monitors of the central intercity bus station in Athens and at the monitors at the gates of Athens International Airport (AIA), as well as an election’s ad in their respective magazines. (If print paid, est. cost: more than 18.000€. For AIA, no cost. est. since commercial spots are not allowed to be placed in the gates monitors -it was a first!)  The TV version received the permission from the National RadioTelevision Council to be broadcasted as a social message. TV channels (10 countrywide, 7 in Attica region/pay TV) played it FOR FREE for 13 days (13/05-25/05) (targ. group coverage: 53%, no of spots: 515, if paid, est. cost: 160.000€).

Frontpage on 25.04.2019 at core online news site zougla.gr

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B. Social media buying

On the last two weeks before the elections, the social media final push was orchestrated in Facebook, Instagram and Youtube, using the Central Framework Contract with SocialLab, for 13 days (14-26/05).

Paid promotion [by SocialLab]:

Themes and Concepts: ‘This time I’m voting’ (TTIV) and ‘Choose your future’ (CYF). Audience: TTIV:  18-35 years old  Interest targeting – 9 topics (Erasmus, Plastics, LBGTI, Rights, Passenger rights, Food & well-being, Research & Technology, Pet passport and Space-Gallileo satellite) CYF: • 35-55 years old (no additional criteria for YouTube) • Demographics: parents • Interests: parenting, pregnancy etc. Totals and Average Rates:  Link clicks: 22.868  CTR: 0.50%  CPC: 1.86

Most successful ad placed on Facebook & Instagram: TTIV - topic: LGBTI rights

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Most successful Instagram Story ad: TTIV

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 SOCIAL MEDIA

The reorganisation of the Social Media / Ground Game team, along with the addition of one contract agent and one trainee gave a fresh approach and an added value to the EPLO’s social media campaign.

Hundreds of images, video and links were published through the Athens EPLO accounts, as well as the ones of our partners and our volunteers. In order to spread the central message, we used various multipliers, as well as paid promotion. All these efforts were demonstrated in the EL section of the live blog during the election period.

Organic content:

Types:  Images, links and videos, Live videos, Cross-posted videos and Event Pages on Facebook  Images, videos, stories and IGTV videos on Instagram  Tweets, live videos, threads and moments on Twitter  Videos on YouTube  LinkedIn post (by the central EP profile)

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This content is comprised of:

 videos and images from the EP central social media team,  content related to our TTIV events (promotion, real time and post-event),  videos and articles created by the media (especially the ones that received the EE19 media grants)  content created by the EC Rep and the EDICs in Greece  user generated content from EPAS students and our volunteers (The amount of user-generated content was particularly large due to a social media content competition amongst our volunteers. Volunteers were competing in teams, by creating high quality content, in order to win the management of the volunteers Facebook Group and the social media accounts of EPS in Greece.)  stakeholders and influencers that decided to voluntarily partner up with the campaign (eg. famous writer Petros Markaris, Greece’s most followed YouTuber - Mikeius -, Greek rapper - Ypohthonios -, Athens’ graffiti artist community that supported - Yiakou - the artist who created a mural for EU elections, the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises, the Greek League for Women’s Rights and more).

Highlights:

FACEBOOK:  Feb. - May: total impressions by 250 FB posts: 6.808.542; organic: 1.296.449.  Average weekly engagement increased by 14 times  Average weekly reach increased by 44 times! Most successful post (in terms of organic reach):

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TWITTER:  EU elections related Tweets: over half a million impressions  Average monthly impressions 10 times higher as of February. Most successful post (in terms of organic impressions):

INSTAGRAM:  Mostly real-time Instagram stories  Doubled our fans  Gathered around half a million impressions in total.  Engagement rate higher than the other 2 channels with comments and messages on Instagram far more positive. Most successful post (in terms of organic reach & engagement):

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 GROUND GAME

The Ground Game was one of the many elements of this election campaign that were implemented for the first time. This time we did not just ask from the citizens to go vote, but to convince others too. We urged them to get actively involved and talk about the issues of their interest, shaping together the agenda of the public discussion and actions, during the past months. In Greece, we had a total of 7.351 supporters, 367 recruiters and 1.103 volunteers, reaching 92.18% of the set target in volunteers for our country, ranking sixth in EU28 at target completion and at the top ten of member states with the highest number of volunteers in absolute numbers.

Ground game actions involved supporters and volunteers. During the first months of the campaign, several welcome meetings were held in major Greek cities (Athens, Thessaloniki, ) in order to meet interested volunteers, explain the concept of the campaign and help them get organised. Volunteers started participating actively in the events organised by our Office and our external partners, informing people about the This Time I’m Voting initiative and helping them register in the platform using tablets, laptops and smartphones.

In the next phase, we identified our most active volunteers and their particular skills, interests and outreach potential. We started inviting volunteers to make short speeches at each of our events and share their experience and views, while also gaining visibility, which they appreciated deeply, fuelling their motivation. At the same time, our volunteers became more and more active on social media, mainly Facebook and Instagram, sharing posts, creating their own content and keeping in touch with each other through the volunteers Facebook group that kept growing in numbers.

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Recruiting volunteers at EPLO - EC REP event

Getting closer to the go-to-vote phase, we focused on inspiring autonomous action among our top volunteers. After identifying our lead volunteers, we held many private or group meetings, as well as a special workshop on how to host TTIV events. Most lead volunteers created their own groups, usually of five to ten volunteers, which planned their own actions and hosted their own events with the support of EPLO Athens.

TTIV workshop on “How to host your own event” at EPLO premises

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During the last weeks of the campaign, we encouraged all our volunteers to spread the message by sending TTIV promotional material to our volunteers all over Greece, who in their turn used it to raise awareness and motivate people to vote. On Election Day, and on the days just before, many volunteer groups, as well as individual volunteers, gave out leaflets and set up information stands in central spots to remind people to vote.

TTIV volunteers at street informative action

Last but not least, at an early stage of the campaign, we identified the volunteers who were able and suitable to act as Media Ambassadors of the TTIV movement. Starting with the interviews booked for them by EPLO’s press officers in TV, radio, online and print media, gradually media’s interest kept growing and our volunteers became of high demand, even for media outside Greece.

Read the story of our volunteer Stavroula in El Pais

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 GRANTS

MEDIA GRANTS

1) amna.gr (Athens - Macedonian News Agency): the national news agency -and the only one- in Greece (230.000 visitors at their page per month, over 200 subscribers – TV and radio stations across Greece) Project: What has the EP ever done for me?

Video on Citizens App

Objective: communicate EP’s active involvement in important fields of European citizens’ life; disseminate information and promote dialogue on EP’s activities; show the impact and relevance on daily life; promote and multiply a better understanding of the identity, role and political nature of the EP as the only directly democratically elected institution. Activities: daily production of radio programmes and videos regarding the legislative work of EP, interviews with MEPs, coverage of EPLO’s actions, TTIV activities, information on the EU elections etc. All the footage is also disseminated to their subscribers -more than 100 local/regional TV stations and 100 local/regional radio stations.

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2) athensvoice.gr: core online site (3.600.000 visitors per month)- free weekly press - radio station Project: EUROVOICE Objective: raise awareness within the Greek audience about the EP’s active role and further enhance its profile by promoting its agenda functions, priorities, milestones and strategic aims in the context of 2019 EU elections. Activities: 1) presentation of EP as the only directly democratically elected EU institution 2) interviews with MEPs 3) presentation of milestones with articles and interviews about current actions and activities relevant to the EP decisions and debates 4) special radio mentions to EU elections 5) free airing of the CYF radio spot 6) photo reportage on specific EPLO’s events (TTIV activities, Party at Thessaloniki, mural in Athens)

www.athensvoice.gr/eurovoice

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EVENT GRANT

Read here an article on the actions implemented at gr.euronews.com

Journalism School of Thessaloniki (Aristotelion University of Thessaloniki) Project: #pressEU_NextGen Objective: enhance information, interest and knowledge by Greek citizens of the importance of the European elections and of the key benefits of taking part in the democratic process by voting. Activities: 1) 6 debates in the region of Thessaloniki, with 15 specialised speakers on issues like EU: Universities and Youth, EU policies on Arts and Civilisation, EU: Human Rights and Values etc. 2) 20 flash mobs (young people - first time voters - Erasmus students involved) 3) 5 seminars for journalists (in cooperation with EPLO Athens) 4) publication of 2 beginner’s guides on what you should know about EU elections -one for first time voters and one for journalists 5) one monitoring report on traditional media coverage on EU elections 6) strong presence at the city’s media with interviews and stories (6 TV, 10 radio, 30 online/print) 7) in parallel, continuous social media posts and LIVE coverage of main events (FB, Instagram, Twitter)

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Mobility fair, Thessaloniki Street party, Thessaloniki Informational material at city buses

Mobility fair, Flash mob, Thessaloniki, 21.04.2019

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 EUROSCOLA

Yet another year the EUROSCOLA program was implemented in Greece under the auspices of the Ministry of Education. The EUROSCOLA Sessions which took place at Strasbourg during 2018-2019, gave the opportunity to the European youth to meet and exchange opinions and experiences, share their thoughts and concerns and above all, to receive information and knowledge for the legislative role and functions of the EP.

Euroscola event, EPLO premises, March 2019 General High School, Chalkida, 10.04.2019

 INFORMATIVE SESSIONS FOR STUDENTS

The Liaison Office in Greece organised during the school year 2018-2019, a considerable amount of informative sessions for pupils, academic students and teachers from primary and secondary education

More than 40 sessions were held at the main hall of the EPLO in Athens, together with multiple visits of officials of the Office directly to the educational institutions all over Greece.

A. Kapetanidis at a scool informative session

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SEPTEMBER 2018

We take September as the beginning of the actions of our Office for the EE2019 campaign. Although September was a hard month for us, we did our best to handle the situation.

The first plenary session of the season received cataclysmic coverage by the Greek media (2.344 clips) (SOTEU, Tsipras FoE debate). On September 12, 45 people attended the annual State of the European Union (SOTEU), with live broadcast at EPLO Athens, in an event coorganised by EPLO Athens and EC Rep. in Greece. After that, a discussion took place among the attendees.

PM Tsipras LIVE FoE debate on EP in Strasbourg - naftemporiki.gr

President Juncker's SOTEU LIVE on EP in Strasbourg - cnn.gr

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On September 19, the first- from a series of three- public dialogues (European Public Space - EPS) was held on the youth entrepreneurship and start-ups businesses in Greece. EPLO Athens organised this event at “Ianos” bookshop, in Athens (19/09/2018), with the support of the EC Rep. in Greece and the Embassies of France and the Netherlands. Start uppers, young entrepreneurs, academics, students, journalists and stakeholders were our target groups. More than 40 people participated, while we promoted the EU agenda to citizens not quite familiar with the European institutions.

RDF, Patra, Western Greece On September 21-22 EPLO organised two Regional Discussion Fora, one in Patra and one in Agrinio, titled ”Discussion about the future of Europe - Greece-Europe: Challenges and perspectives”. The response and the results are deemed excellent in both cities, reached a total number of 400 participants (250 in Patras and 150 in Agrinio). MEPs M. KEFALOGIANNIS, M. SPYRAKI, M. KYRKOS, N. ANDROULAKIS participated. AV Interviews local and regional: 10 - Total local and regional media clippings: 31

On September 26, another big event took place at our Office. It was our first volunteers meeting for the TTIV campaign. More than 30 volunteers, individuals and stakeholders, participated on recruiting and coordination event with regard to the EE2019.

Continuing the actions of EPAS, EPLO Athens organised an informative session for EPAS teachers as well as University Professors and academics on EU issues and the EE 2019, on the September 28. About 50 teachers attended the session.

The next day, we welcomed a delegation of 11 people of the Lithuanian EDICs. They had a meeting with the press officers, exchanged views on the experience of communicating the EU idea in both countries. At the same day, EPIONI, a non-profit Organization, with the support of EPLO Athens organised the conference "Caring for Carers" focusing on caregivers of people with chronic illnesses. More than 65 people attended the conference and were also informed about the EE 2019 and the TTIV initiative.

No of interviews in September: 18

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OCTOBER 2018

As the campaign activities continued, our events doubled on October, increasing the visibility of the campaign. We focused on young people, trying to inform them more and more about the EU in general and remind them what the European Parliament is, what it does, how it affects their lives and why engaging in European elections is subsequently important.

In this context, on October 5, the Polish Embassy in Greece with the support of EPLO Athens organised a workshop with English-speaking high-school students and experts from Poland and Greece on the topic of human rights. More than 70 students, teachers and experts participated, raising their awareness about the importance of human rights and increasing their knowledge about international laws and institutions related to human rights. They were also briefed on EE 2019 and the TTIV campaign.

As every year, the European Citizen’s Prize award ceremony took place in EPLO premises, on the same afternoon. The three winners was “Kivotos tou kosmou” (Non- governmental organization), “HOPEgenesis” (Non- governmental organization) and “Anemos Ananeosis” (Social Cooperative European Citizen’s Prize award ceremony, EPLO main hall Enterprise), voted by the members of the MEP’s Jury Dimitris PAPADIMOULIS, Elissavet VOZENBERG-VRYONIDIS and Miltiadis KYRKOS. About 30 journalists and citizens attended the ceremony and the event received coverage by mostly online media.

More than 50 participants discussed about “European Elections 2019: The next day: challenges and opportunities”, an event organised by Vouliwatch, a non-partisan parliamentary monitoring organisation, with the support of EPLO Athens, on the 8th of October at Impact HUB, Athens. On the frame of the “Rights, equality and citizenship programme 2014-2020”, in collaboration with four organisations from Italy, Belgium and Poland there was a presentation of the European Elections platform “YOU vote EU”. MEPs Stelios KOULOGLOU and participated.

For two days (11-12/10/2018), the 19 managers of the Greek EDICs attended a training seminar in Brussels on the European Elections 2019. All the attendees found this seminar very helpful and enlightening about the EE2019 campaign strategy.

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Training seminar for EDICs, Greek team, Brussels

On October 12, the European Citizens’ Initiative organised with the support of EPLO Athens an event entitled “End the Cage Age” to raise awareness on the campaign against keeping farm animals in cages throughout the EU and sensitize the Greek public to end this inhumane treatment. In this context, the Press Officer of EPLO informed the audience about the European legislation and underlined the importance of voting on the EE2019. More than 100 citizens attended the conference. MEP Stelios KOULOGLOU participated.

This month, EPLO Athens hosted and supported many other events in collaboration with third parties and with the aim to communicate the EE2019 and the TTIV initiative. On October 15, the EPLO Athens hosted an anniversary event of the Initiative “The citizens' speech”, titled “Discussion between 20 citizens”, with 57 participants.

In addition, on October 19, on the frame of the European Coding Week, the NGO KEAN with the support of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology and EPLO Athens organised the Girls Coding’ Event to kick-start a series of coding seminars for students age 12-17, with an emphasis on the participation of girls. More than 30 journalists and citizens participated. MEP participated too.

On October 23, an informative session was held at the High School of Pierce-The American College of Greece, Athens about the role and activities of the European Union and the European Parliament. Circa 70 students were informed about the EE2019 and the TTIV initiative.

The second -from a series of four- public dialogue for “Europe and Youth” took place at “Public” bookshop in Athens, in the frame of the EPS Dialogues, organised by EPLO Athens, with the support of the EC Rep., on the 26th of October. We talked to more than

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40 young people, aged 16-35, about the opportunities offered by the EU through the ERASMUS, MEDIA & HORIZON 2020 programs.

This month we launched the EE2019 ground game campaign and media launch in Thessaloniki in a series of actions that took place from October 29 to November 1rst.

Watch the video on the Media seminar by amna.gr

The launch involved:  Media seminar in the City Townhall  Discussion on Democracy and the EE2019 in the` University of Macedonia  Discussion on Fake News in the American Agricultural School  Newsroom briefings in the major TV channels, radio and online media  Briefing at the Secretariat General for Youth  Multiple media appearances (TV, Radio, online and print) on EE2019 by MEPs, participating speakers and the EPLO press officer  Welcome event for ground game volunteers We co-organised the launch with the two EDICs of the city. The combined air and ground game actions created a buzz over the TTIV campaign, which translated in high media coverage and an increase of interest for the EE2019 among the citizens, especially first time voters, students and educated professionals. The media worked as a multiplier, since other journalists form central media got interested in the campaign.

University of Macedonia, Fake news and Democracy

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Interviews of the Press Officer, C. Tsoutsoplides,Thessaloniki  51 press clippings in total, 13 in AV media, 5 in print and 33 in online media  4 live interviews of Press Officer (3 in radio, 1 in TV) and 9 recorded  FB live streaming of 2 interviews and 1 event, various posts and tweets #thistimeimvoting #aftitiforapsifizw  2 MEPs involved (, Sotiris ZARIANOPOULOS)  co-organisation with EC Delegation in Greece (one action)  co-organisation with two EDICs

Approx. participants: 250

Meeting at the Secretariat General for Youth, Thessaloniki

No of interviews in October: 15

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NOVEMBER 2018

November was dedicated to pupils, first time voters and their teachers, so all our forces were streamed to this end. During this month we informed approximately 890 pupils and teachers, who participate in the Euroscola Network. They learned useful information about the role and the activities of the European Union and the European Parliament. Concerning the first time voters, we informed them about the electoral process, the EE2019 in general and gave them practical advices for the day of the elections. We also encouraged them to register on the TTIV platform, to become active volunteers and to organise their own events.

Discussion on Fake News in the American Agricultural School, Thessaloniki with MEP M. Spyraki

Informative sessions:  10 schools of the Municipality of Domokos (01-02/11/2018)  4th Middle School of Alimos, in Attica (06/11/2018)  Institute for Vocational Training (IEK) “Aigaleo” of Athens (08/11/2018)  High School of Pierce-The American College of Greece, Athens (13/11/2018)  3rd High School of Gerakas, in Attica (20/11/2018)  3rd High School of Glyfada, in Attica (21/11/2018)  2nd High School of Kaissariani, in Attica (28/11/2018)  High School of Gerakas, in Attica (29/11/2018)

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Two informative sessions took place for the Greek Delegation for Euroscola Day of 27th and 29th November in Strasbourg (15/11/2018 and 22/11/2018) about the role and activities of the European Union and the European Parliament, focused on the role and the legislative process of the EP.

A. Kapetanidis at an informative session in a high school

Apart from the above, the media coverage of plenaries and the interviews of the officials of the EPLO Athens continued to media across Greece, explaining the legislative work and the institutional role of the EP, as well as the context of the EU Elections of May 2019.

Live interview H. Kountouros at ERT3 Public TV - Watch here the full video - 01:02:03

No of interviews in November: 7

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DECEMBER 2018

Six months before the elections, our Office became even more active and boosted the campaign. The EPLO Athens supported the 3rd European Job & Mobility Roadshow Event, organised by several EDICs in six cities (, , Nea Moudania, Thessaloniki, , Patra) across Greece. An official from our Office participated as a keynote speaker, presenting the EE2019 campaign. The target groups were students, young graduates, long-term unemployed, as well as academics, social partners and journalists. In Komotini and Kavala, there was a presentation of the Euroscola and EPAS programmes.

3rd European Job & Mobility Roadshow Event, Patra On December 3rd, the EC Rep. in Greece organised a workshop for 40 journalists of Regional Media entitled “The road to the European Elections”. The EE2019 Campaign Coordinator of EPLO presented the TTIV campaign. MEPs D. PAPADIMOULIS and M. KEFALOGIANNIS also participated.

Radio Interview of C. Tsoutsoplides at national core radio station, SKAI Radio

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As every year, our EPLO organised the “Sakharov Prize & European Parliament School Ambassadors“ event, on the 14th of December. More than 220 Senior and Junior EP Ambassadors who successfully took action during 2018, teachers, journalists and stakeholders attended the event. Vice President, Dimitris Papadimoulis and MEP, Miltiadis Kyrkos participated.

Our EPLO welcomed the EP's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) delegation, this month. From 17th to 19th of November, the delegation met Government Representatives and visited Greek Parliament, other government bodies, as well as EU’s agencies, in the frame of IMCO’s effort to discuss issues in the field of internal market and consumer protection. MEP Inese VAIDERE, Maria GRAPINI, Jasenko SELIMOVIC and Tilly METZ participated.

The launch of our TTIV campaign in Athens started with a welcome meeting of TTIV network of volunteers, been held in our office on December 19. We discussed the progress of the initiative in Greece and planned future actions with our volunteers. Some 50 volunteers attended the event and gave us many different and fresh ideas for future actions and events.

Welcome meeting of TTIV volunteers, Athens

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Welcome meeting of TTIV volunteers, Athens Six informative sessions took place during this month involving circa 320 students, pupils and teachers, who will vote for the first time on the EE2019. They discussed about the political stakes of the European Elections 2019, as well as the TTIV campaign.

Informative sessions:  University of the Peloponnese, Nafplio (07/12/2018)  High School of Pierce-The American College of Greece, Athens (11/12/2018)  6th High School of Acharnes, in Attica (13/12/2018)  3rd High School of Chalandri, in Attica (14/12/2018)  4th High School of Korinthos (17/12/2018)  High School of Anavissos, in Attica (18/12/2018)

A. Kapetanidis at a school informative session

December was also the month of setting the ground for the Media and Social Media Buying, with all preparatory work, briefings and administrative tasks taking place.

No of interviews in December: 8

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JANUARY 2019

On January 14, a preparatory simulation meeting by IRTEA took place in our Office. This preparatory event comprised 40 students and 10 teachers and one of its parts was dedicated to the next European elections. An official of our EPLO made a presentation and answered all the questions about the EU, EP and EE2019.

A second meeting of TTIV network of volunteers took place in Thessaloniki (17/01/2019) to reorganise our actions in the second largest city of Greece, to discuss the progress of the initiative and plan the future actions. 15 volunteers participated.

Involving high schools from Welcome meeting of TTIV volunteers, Thessaloniki and implementing the EPAS Programme for 2019 was ongoing, so the EPLO organised a Training Day for the EP Senior Ambassadors and the Award Ceremony for Senior and Junior EP Ambassadors who successfully took action during 2018. About 100 teachers and pupils attended the event. MEPs Costas CHRYSOGONOS (in person), Dimitris PAPADIMOULIS (video-message) participated.

On January 21, we had the pleasure to welcome 17 students from the New York University of Abu Dhabi and brief them on the EE2019. The reception was enthusiastic, with many questions about the EP role and priorities. We also performed a presentation of TTIV initiative that they found original and creative.

In addition, three informative sessions were held in EPLO Athens, one for Euroscola (30 participants - 22/01/2019), another one for the 4th High School of Heraklion, in Attica (approx. 100 participants - 24/01/2019) and the last one for the 1st High School of Glyfada, in Attica (28 participants - 28/01/2019).

As a big media action, the EPLO Athens organised a mission of 24 journalists to the central seminar “The EU budget and the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021- 2027” organised in Brussels 22-24/01/2019. The journalists represented major national media and important regional ones -from all types of media: TV, radio, print and online. A national programme with Greek MEPs was included, focused on “What Europe does for me”. MEPs Jan OLBRYCHT (EPP, PL), Isabelle THOMAS (S&D, FR), Bernt KÖLMEL (ECR, DE), Gérard DEPREZ (ALDE, BE), Liadh NÍ RIADA (GUE/NGL, IE), Jordi SOLÉ (GREENS/EFA, ES), Marco VALLI (EFDD, IT), Jean ARTHUIS (ALDE, FR), Dimitris

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PAPADIMOULIS (, GUE). Manolis KEFALOGIANNIS (NEA DIMOKRATIA, EPP), (ELIA, S&D), Miltiadis KYRKOS (TO POTAMI, S&D), MEP Konstantinos PAPADAKIS (KKE, Non-aligned) participated.

Journalists' discussion with Greek MEPs for MMF 2021-2017, Brussels The journalists had the opportunity to learn how the MMF 2021-2027 will be shaped and to have a discussion with Greek MEPs, from several political groups, about the political priorities for the next EU long-term budget. They also found very helpful the opportunity to know about countering fake news, the EP Press Service, the AV Services and the EP online presence by our Greek colleagues in EP’s respective Units in Brussels.

Colleagues of the Greek national team in Brussels

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Indicative links with stories on this seminar efsyn.gr athensvoice.gr news247.gr economistas.gr

Another Training Day for the EP Senior Ambassadors and Award Ceremony for Senior and Junior EP Ambassadors took place in Athens, at our premises, on the 25th of January, involving high schools from Attica. More than 70 teachers attended.

As Crete is the biggest Greek island, we organised a big media tour combined other GG actions to spread the EE2019 and TTIV message. For three days, from Thursday 31/01/2019 until Saturday 02/02/2019, the EPLO Athens in cooperation with the EDIC Crete had a dynamic presence in Crete and created a real buzz in media and social media. On January 31, the TTIV volunteers welcome event took place in Heraklion. Five volunteers participated and shared their ideas, thoughts and concerns with our GG team.

Interviews of the EPLO Athens Press Officer, C. Tsoutsoplides, Crete

No of interviews in January: 22

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FEBRUARY 2019

Continuing our actions in Crete, EPLO Athens organised the EPAS Training Day and Award Ceremony in Heraklion, on February 1rst. About 80 teachers attended the event.

At the same day, EPLO Athens and EDIC Crete organised a public debate on the “Future of Europe”. The event was a huge success.

 3 MEPs involved (Dimitris PAPADIMOULIS (SYRIZA, GUE) with a video-message, Manolis KEFALOGIANNIS (NEA DIMOKRATIA, EPP), Eva KAILI (ELIA, S&D)  Governor of Crete  Rector of the University of Crete EPAS Training Day and Award Ceremony, Heraklion Crete  over 250 attendants  20 press clippings in regional media, 9 of them in AV media  9 interviews of the Press Officer (5 in TV, 4 in radio)  multiple social media posts, stories, shares and tweets with #thistimeimvoting (EDIC, MEPs, EPhellas, media)

Live presence at the central evening news bulletin of Crete TV, the biggest regional TV station in Greece

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Media tour (02/02/2019):  3 days, 2 cities  6 media groups  14 media (3 print, 3 TV, 3 Radio and 5 online media)  more than 45 journalists, chief editors, News Directors briefed on EE2019

“Future of Europe” open debate, Heraklion Crete During the whole month, we kept informing pupils and first time voters, with sessions about the role and activities of the European Union and the European Parliament, the EE2019 and the TTIV initiative. More than 300 people attended our informative sessions.

Informative sessions:  32nd High School of Thessaloniki (05/02/2019)  3rd High School of Halandri (07/02/2019)  Primary School of Korinthos (12/02/2019)  38th High School of Athens (14/02/2019)  2nd High School of Giannitsa (19/02/2019)  2nd High School of Gerakas (26/02/2019)

On February 11, EPLO Athens organised a meeting with 13 TTIV volunteers, who were eager to take action. We discussed their plans and gave them our support to proceed and implement their ideas into actions and events.

Our Office supported the “European Cultural Heritage” event (15/02/2019, an action organised by MEP Giorgos GRAMMATIKAKIS (TO POTAMI, S&D). During the event, there was a discussion about the importance of the EE2019, in the context of culture.

A hundred days before the EE2019, on 15/02/2019, the EPLO Athens organised a big event to celebrate the upcoming elections, entitled “100 days to the European

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Elections of the 26th May 2019”. More than 300 citizens, volunteers, politicians, journalists and stakeholders participated at this successful event. Volunteers of the TTIV platform contributed hugely to the organisation and implementation of the event with great enthusiasm.

"100 days event": opening remarks, Athens During the event, the Press Officer gave an overview of the election-related websites and tools available to journalists and citizens and presented the TTIV online platform, encouraging the attendants to register.

"100 days event": volunteers team, Athens Greeting speeches were given by MEPs, former MEPs, a representative of the Hellenic Parliament and a representative of the Greek government.

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“100 days event”: New volunteers are joining our TTIV initiative

"100 days event": playing on photobooth To enhance the visibility of the campaign and to further spread the message of the EE2019, there was a photobooth where the participants could take photos and videos, holding props of “thistimeimvoting.eu”, in both English and Greek, as well as an Instagram board and pledge-to-vote cards. Volunteers distributed leaflets and stickers, gave information about the EE2019 and registered new volunteers on the TTIV platform. In addition, the event hosted kiosks by the National Institute of Scholarships, responsible of

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the Erasmus 18-30, Horizon2020 and the European Commission Representation in Greece. As all actions and events, this one too attracted considerable attention by media (mostly AV and online media) and social media as well.

“This time I’m voting for a better quality of life” event was the first from a series of eight TTIV events in eight different municipalities in the region of Attica, where expert speakers and volunteers discussed with the public how the EU has benefited its citizens in specific issues, with its policies, legislation and actions. On February 20, the EPLO Athens and the Municipality of Kallithea co-organised this open public debate concerning the quality of life of the European citizens.

“This time I’m voting for a better quality of life”, Kallithea

“This time I’m voting for a better quality of life”, Kallithea

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The speakers presented the EU’s initiatives as well as the EU’s resolutions concerning topics such as public transportation, water and air standards, consumer rights and safety and the end of geo-blocking. Some 70 citizens attended the event, made remarks and raised many interesting questions. Our TTIV volunteers participated as well, presenting the TTIV platform and informing the citizens about the EE2019.

On February 23, Anavryta Model Lyceum organised the 2nd Model United Nations Conference (AMLMUN) and asked the support of EPLO. We took that great opportunity to participate at this conference, which hosted pupils of more than 300 public and private schools all over Greece, with accompanying teachers. The administrative and financial supervisor of EPLO participated as a keynote speaker, presenting the TTIV initiative in view of the EE2019.

Live interview K. Klosidis at ERT3 Public TV - Watch here the full video - 01:16:45

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Our media seminar for the coverage of the EE2019 in Komotini was another successful action during this month. The EPLO Athens, the EDIC of Komotini and the Department of Journalism and Mass Media Communication of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki co-organised it on 23/02/2019. The 40 journalists who attended the seminar found it very helpful on the road to EE2019, as they learned about the tools, facilities, key dates and material for the elections’ coverage.

E. Zamba, Seminar on media - social media, Komotini Interviews, C. Tsoutsoplides, Komotini

TTIV volunteers, Xanthi

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From 28/02 to 03/03/2019, the EPLO Athens in cooperation with the EC Representation in Greece participated in Delphi Economic Forum (DEF). DEF is mutatis mutandis the Davos of the wider Mediterranean region. Every major stakeholder of business and journalism is present, thus numerous and significant factors of the EE2019 campaign target group “middle managers - opinion leaders”. The EC Rep. and the EPLO Athens co-organised two panels entitled “European Elections, Fake News and Democracy” and “The road to Sibiu and beyond”.

Delphi Economic Forum (DEF) DEF in numbers:  4 days, 2 venues  approx. 2.500 participants  more than 90 sessions  over 600 speakers  circa 200 journalists  32 meetings with media representatives and briefings on EE2019 media products and timeline  27 top journalists covering politics and EU affairs briefed at an off-the-record meeting  4 high-level non-paid synergies discussed, including Proto Thema (top Greek news site)

Apart from our planned actions, there were several other panels of European interest, with the participation of Commissioners, MEPs and other EU officials (C. Stylianides, D. Avramopoulos, E. Kaili, T. Christophidou), which attracted relevant journalists.

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Delphi Economic Forum (DEF)

Off-the-record meeting with top journalists covering EU affairs

More importantly, at the side of the main event, we set the ground for several important synergies, with zero cost for the EP and of considerable multiplying impact.

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Indicatively, we mention Proto Thema, that created a dedicated category to news on EE2019 (core online, no. 1 news site in Greece, 39 mil. visitors per month)

protothema.gr - european elections 2019

Another major synergy achieved that month was with Open TV, a new national TV station that, apart from continuously reporting on EE2019, created a series of videos with well- known Greeks from various sectors (business, art, science, economy, sports etc.) explaining what Europe means for them. These videos were aired 3 times per day on May and they are available in their web tv.

The full series of videos here

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Moreover, a special 45’ program “It’s Europe time” was aired on Tuesday before the elections, where political experts, journalists etc. from Greece and EU explained the stakes and challenges of EE2019. Shootings took place in several EU countries and in our EPLO premises in Athens. You can watch the full show here

Interview of C. Tsoutsoplides for Open TV, “It’s Europe time”, EPLO premises, Athens

On February 28, EDIC of the University of and MEP Professor Joachim Starbatty co-organised the Symposium “Greece, the Euro, and the EU”. H. Kountouros, participated in a panel for “The importance of the European elections”. More than 100 people attended and had an enlightening overview of the EE2019 and TTIV. MEPs Manolis KEFALOGIANNIS, Eva KAILI and Ulrike TREBESIUS participated.

No of interviews: 26

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MARCH 2019

March has been another busy month in Greece, with numerous actions promoting the EE2019 campaign.

More than 650 pupils and teachers were informed by our EPLO, during this month. They learned useful information about the role and activities of the European Union and the European Parliament, the EE2019 and the TTIV initiative.

Informative sessions:  High School of Axion, in Xanthi (01/03/2019)  youth and student organisations of Thessaloniki (02/03/2019)  Arsakeio School of Thessaloniki (04/03/2019)  High School of Oraiokastro, Thessaloniki (04/03/2019)  High School of Pierce-The American College of Greece, Athens (07/03/2019)  Erasmeios Greek-German School, Attica (08/03/2019)  Hellenic College of Thessaloniki (14/03/2019)

Our EPLO aimed at communicating with our volunteers frequently, in order to help them carry out their projects and ideas, in the frame of the EE2019. In this scope, on March 1rst, we organised a workshop for the volunteers of TTIV initiative in Attica. We discussed with the 20 participants the progress of our campaign in Greece and made a list full of interesting ideas for the next weeks.

On March 5, the EPLO Athens and the Municipality of Kifissia co-organised the second TTIV event, entitled “This time I’m voting for our planet”. As the environment and the climate change are becoming more and more prominent topics, especially between young people, and being one of the EU’s top priorities, the EPLO started this discussion in Kifissia. About 50 participants joined the Workshop for TTIV volunteers conversation with great enthusiasm, in a debate enriched by the in-depth information provided by our high-level speakers. Our TTIV volunteers were present as well at the event.

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“This time I’m voting for our planet”, Kifissia The third TTIV event took place in Aigaleo, Attica, on March 6th. The EPLO Athens and the Municipality of Aigaleo co-organised the “This time I’m voting for opportunities for youth” open public debate on the opportunities for young people. The speakers presented the EU’s initiatives, such as Erasmus 18-30 and Youth Guarantee. The target group of this session was first time voters, students and young people in general and we achieved to inform about 50 of them at this event. Five TTIV volunteers participated, informing the attendees about the EE2019.

“This time I’m voting for opportunities for youth”, Aigaleo

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“This time I’m voting for opportunities for youth”, Aigaleo This year, since it was an election year, our Office chose to celebrate the IWD in a different way and link it with the TTIV campaign. “This time I’m voting for gender equality” was the title of an event organised with the support of the Municipality of Zografos, with a woman mayor. The speakers presented the EU’s initiatives, the actions of the Greek General Secretariat for Gender Equality and they stressed the role of women in politics and in decision-making centres. MEP Georgios KYRTSOS participated. The event took place on March 8th and it was a major success, with more than 250 citizens attending. As always, our TTIV volunteers were there too with enthusiasm and passion.

“This time I’m voting for gender equality”, IWD, Zografos

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For five days, 4-8 March, our TTIV volunteer community took over an informational stand in Syntagma Square, the central square in the city of Athens. They handed out leaflets, encouraged passers-by to register in the TTIV platform and to take photos to promote the campaign. This action is estimated to have reached more than 20.000 people of different ages and socio-economic backgrounds. In addition, it gained significant attention from national and European media.

You can take a look at this video, created by Athens-Macedonian News Agency.

Informational stand in Syntagma Square

Photoreportage and story at athensvoice.gr

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On March 16, the EDIC of Western Macedonia and the Association of Active Youths of co-organised with the support of the EPLO Athens an open discussion for the youth perspectives, the challenges for Europe and the European Elections of May 26th. H. Kountouros participated as a keynote speaker, talking about the EE2019 and presenting the TTIV initiative. The event took place at “Koventarios” Municipal Library of and circa 50 citizens participated.

Live interview C. Tartampouka at ERT3 Public TV - Watch here the full video - 01:03:13

The American College of Thessaloniki organised with the support of the EPLO Athens an Intercollegiate Workshop on the European Union 2019 (17/03/2019), addressed to high school and college students, and young professionals. Approximately 150 students, members of the key target groups of our campaign, were informed about the importance of voting in the EE2019 and were introduced to the TTIV initiative.

Statements E. Patra at TTIV event of EPLO

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One of the synergies developed by EPLO, that we are really proud of, is our cooperation with Cineuropa, a cinema-themed magazine. We organised the “This time I’m voting for European Cinema - LUX film festival”, a two-day (18-19/03/2019) film festival with screenings of six LUX Prize finalists and laureates. It was two evenings full of European cinema. On March 18th, a panel composed by experts and renowned film critics was set up to hold a discussion on European cinema and values, underlining the aspects, which differentiate the European cultural production globally. Our TTIV volunteers with an interest in cinema participated introducing the films, distributing material on the EE2019 and informing the attendees about the TTIV initiative. The entrance was free for the audience. Finally, the two-days event draw significant media attention, mainly in online (Proto Thema) and AV (Rise TV), while the social media activity was impressive as well.

“This time I’m voting for European Cinema - LUX film festival”, Athens

“This time I’m voting for European Cinema - LUX film festival”, Athens

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“This time I’m voting for my rights” was our fourth TTIV event, in cooperation with the EDIC of the Municipality of Athens. On March 20, we co-organised this open public debate on the subject of human rights, with the participation of academics and representatives of human rights institutions. In particular, the event was focused on the rights of vulnerable groups of the population, such as children, the LGBTQ community and people with mental issues. The Representation of the European Commission in Greece and TTIV volunteers also participated. More than 40 citizens attended the event, which was interpretated in sign language.

“This time I’m voting for my rights”, Athens

E. Zamba at rise.gr reportage in "This time I'm voting for my rights" event

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In cooperation with the Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspaper, we organised a very successful hands-on media seminar on European Elections 2019 for journalists employed at national media. The seminar under the title “Finding content in the EP’s online platforms” took place on the 21st of March, at the Union’s premises. The 85 attendees became familiar with the EP’s platforms for the EE2019. Our Press Officers showed them how to find content and presented to them all the useful tools, material and key dates and events for the elections’ coverage.

Press Officer E. Forte at Seminar at Journalists’ Union, Athens

A two-day convention (26-27/03/2019) was held at EPLO Athens premises on the frame of “BRIDGE”, an EU funded initiative (Horizon 2020 call SwafS-26-2017: Science4Refugees- Support to highly skilled refugee scientists). The Press Officer made a speech on the upcoming EU elections. More than 30 people participated.

Fifteen students from the “Panteion University for Social and Political Sciences” visited our Office on March 29. H. Kountouros made a presentation about the EP role and priorities and the TTIV initiative, encouraging them to participate actively.

Another Citizens’ Dialogue took place in Ioannina (30/03/2019), in cooperation with the EDIC of the city. Around 60 citizens participated and shared their ideas for the future of the European Union.

No of interviews: 12

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APRIL 2019

European Elections were just around the corner and this was the time to give an even stronger boost to EE2019 campaign, in view of the launch of the Choose Your Future video as well.

During April, more than 650 pupils and teachers were informed by EPLO and learned useful information about the role and activities of the European Union and the European Parliament, the importance of voting in the EE2019 and the TTIV initiative.

Informative sessions:  1st High School of Athens (01/04/2019)  Middle School “Palladion” (02/04/2019)  “Ant1 Media lab” Journalism school (03/04/2019)  2nd High School of Kalyvia (03/04/2019)  High Schools of Giannitsa (04-05/04/2019)  1st High School of Komotini (05/04/2019)  4th High School of (11/04/2019)  Experimental High School of the University of Patras (12/04/2019)  5th High School of Petropolis (17/04/2019)

The first day of April, CSR Hellas and the Global Compact Network Hellas organised, with the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and EPLO Athens, an event on the occasion of the visit of Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. Some 20 people participated. The event caught the attention of journalists in core and non-core media as always.

Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus at EPLO premises

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Following the success of past month’s “Finding content in the EP’s online platforms” seminar, and given the expressed interest by regional journalists we hosted a live webinar on the same subject on April 4. More than 40 journalists attended online the seminar and became familiar with the EP’s platforms for the EE2019, the media toolkit, the dates and events to mark in the final straight.

On the same day, the fifth TTIV event took place in the Municipality of Argyroupolis- Elliniko, titled “This time I’m voting for our future”. Over 100 citizens participated, in their vast majority young people. The EPLO Athens, the Municipality of Argyroupolis- Elliniko and the TTIV volunteers co-organised this open public debate concerning the future of young people in Europe. The speakers presented the EU’s initiatives for young people with an emphasis on entrepreneurship and sports.

P. Kamaris at TTIV event, Athens

On April 6, the EDIC of Komotini, in cooperation with the Region of West Macedonia and Thrace, the Municipality of Komotini and with the support of the University of the Democritian University of Thrace and the EPLO Athens co-organised the 2nd Regional Youth Meet in Komotini, involving a structured dialogue on the EE2019 and citizens’ active participation.

On April 9-10, one Greek journalist from a young TV station and one TTIV volunteer participated in the centrally organised Press Seminar on the Go-To-Vote phase and the launch of the “Choose your future” in Brussels. They were enthusiastic about participating, reporting and networking. There was an excellent interaction during their trip, with multiple social media posts, sharing their experience.

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As EU supports the equality between genders, the EPLO supported the Greek Delegation of the European Women's Lobby on the organisation of the “Women for Europe - Europe for Women” event, which was a big success. An official from EPLO Athens participated as a keynote speaker, underlining the importance of structuring an equal society. Almost 120 women participated.

Apart from strengthening our presence in the capital, we kept on delocalising the campaign to the entire Greek territory, thus on April 10, the EDIC of Epirus with the support of EPLO Athens organised another Citizens’ Dialogue event in the city of Arta, with more than 100 people participated.

Among many other events and actions, the EPLO in Greece supported a book presentation that had a European angle. Visiting Professor on European Integration University of Bonn, Dr.Theodoros Kallianos, presented his new book “WITHOUT COMPASS? 30+…Steps for Europe”, on April 12. MEPs Giorgos GRAMMATIKAKIS and Manolis KEFALOGIANNIS participated. 100 people circa attended the event.

Another synergy that increased the visibility of the EE2019 was the one organised by the Student Association for International Affairs (SAFIA), the German Embassy in Greece, the Goethe Institute and DAAD, with the support of EPLO Athens. This debate, under the title “Europe 2024” (12/04/2019) gained the participation of more than 160 young journalists, TTIV volunteers and university students, as well as MEPs Dimitris PAPADIMOULIS, Nikos ANDROULAKIS and Giorgos GRAMMATIKAKIS.

Debate “Europe 2024”, Athens

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More than 80 citizens participated at the open discussion entitled “European Elections and the Future of Europe: From Euroscepticism to Nationalism and Populism?”. The event organised by the Centre of International & European Political Economy & Governance – CIEPEG of the University of Peloponnese (Department of Political Science and International Relations) with the support of EPLO Athens, took place on April 15.

The challenges and dilemmas facing Europe in the lead-up to the European Elections in May formed the basis of a discussion for Stavros Niarchos Foundation Dialogues event, on the 17th of April. SNF is one of the most prominent, world-renowned non- profit organisations, that organises a series of debates under the title Dialogues every month on current issues. In April event, speakers addressed the issues that have created a multi-speed reality among EU member states, political turbulence, and the forthcoming withdrawal of the UK from the EU. The Press Officer, C. Tsoutsoplides, made an intervention via Skype from Strasbourg, as a keynote speaker. This was the beginning of a more standard collaboration between EPLO and SNF beyond EE2019.

Dialogues event, Athens

On April 21, the EPLO supported the Europe Conference of the European Students Network in Thessaloniki. H. Kountouros was one of the keynote speakers. More than 800 conventioneers took part and shared their concerns about the future challenges in Europe.

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On this month (20/04/2019) we organised one more combined Regional Media Seminar for Journalists and Media Tour in , the capital city of the Region of Thessaly, the third biggest region in Greece in terms of population. In this area several important media hold their basis; among others, STAR of Central Greece (a major regional TV station) and Eleftheria newspaper (one of the oldest and most influential regional newspapers in Greece). The Seminar “European Elections 26 May 2019: Everything you need to know for their coverage” was another successful synergy with the Journalism School of Thessaloniki, the Press Union of the region and the State Region of Thessaly. Some 40 journalists participated, while MEP D. PAPADIMOULIS sent a video message.

You can watch the full seminar here

Press Officers, C. Tsoutsoplides and E. Forte at interviews at STAR Central Greece and Eleftheria newspaper

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E. Forte introducing the EP tools and services to journalists, Larissa

E. Patra presenting TTIV initiative, Larissa

Professor at Journalism School of Thessaloniki, N. Panagiotou, hands-on workshop, Larissa

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Finally yet importantly, in April 25 there was the Pan-European launch of the Choose Your Future online video. With a carefully designed online and offline media strategy, EPLO achieved impressive numbers and a major buzz that continued the following weeks until the elections. It is worth mentioning that ERT1 public TV was the first TV station in Europe that aired the entire video live on 8:04 am CET, followed by a panel discussing the video and the elections campaign and dilemmas, with main guest the Campaign Coordinator, C. Tsoutsoplides. See more detailed report on CYF launch on page 6 above and in Annex 1.

Watch here the full video at ERT Public TV - 03:03:30

Live interview E. Arvaniti at ERT3 Public TV - Watch here the full video - 54:38

No of interviews: 20

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MAY 2019

Our sixth TTIV event, “This time I’m voting for web safety” took place on May 6, in Peristeri. It was a youth driven event, where a specialised lawyer, a blogger/tech journalist and the president of Greek internet users interacted with an audience of some 30 youngsters in a vivid and interesting discussion.

TTIV event on Web safety, Peristeri

EPLO Athens celebrated Europe day on May 9, in an unexpected, artistic way. We added a beautiful graffiti in a wall downtown Athens; a graffiti that embraces the European Union and its values, the importance of voting and togetherness. The artist, Yiakou, inspired by Picasso's Guernica, combined various elements that remind us of different EU member states in an eye catching and fun way. Because of the central location of the mural (with 7.000 people passing by every day), the amount of posts and engagement on Instagram surpassed our KPIs. Hundreds of ‘posts’ and ‘stories’ were published by our main target audience (17-25 year olds) with positive messages about the sense of unity this mural portrays. Finally, the mural draw the attention of several core online media; it even made the cover of Athens’ most popular free press, Athens Voice (print in 136.000 copies every week). It was accompanied by an interview of Yiakou, both hosted at the online version of Athens Voice (more than 3.6 million visitors per month)

Read here Yiakou's interview in Athens Voice

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Europe Day mural, Athens

Video on amna.gr news247.gr

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We celebrated the closure of the campaign in Northern Greece with an unconventional, youth oriented massive Party for Europe in Thessaloniki. This Youth Event on Sunday May 12, turned into one of the biggest electronic music parties the city can remember. According to the estimations, it attracted up to 3.500 people.

Party for Europe, Thessaloniki

Party for Europe, TTIV interactive action, Thessaloniki

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Exhibition with TTIV photo and informational material Discussion on EU programs for culture

The event started with a discussion on the contribution of the European Union on culture at 16:00 and the party ended at 4:00 am the next morning. During the party, the CYF video, as well as a number of #EUandME films were projected inside the venue. This action allowed us to encourage to go vote a tough audience to reach (young, extroverts, lovers of dance music and travelling, who benefit from EU’s opportunities to enjoy their lifestyle, but are reluctant to vote). Our main event in Thessaloniki was reinforced with the live interviews of the Press Officers, C. Tsoutsoplides in the local public TV ERT3 and E. Forte in SKAI radio, and the appearance of EDIC Director, Ch. Antoniou in two local TV channels.

Director of EDIC Thessaloniki C. Antoniou LIVE at ERT3 Public TV_01:01:45

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The events in Thessaloniki started on Saturday May 11, with street work of our local partners, the EDIC of Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Journalism School of Thessaloniki. EPLO co-organised with them an informative action at the busiest pedestrian street of the city’s centre, where volunteers and EPLO employees handed out leaflets and talked to passers-by about the EE2019, used props to take selfies and post on social media, concluding with a big flashmob and a live concert by a local band.

Flashmob at central pedestrian street, Thessaloniki, 11.05.2019 On Sunday morning, the EPLO Athens shared a kiosk with the EDIC of Central Macedonia in the May Day open event held in the American Farm School of Thessaloniki. Several volunteers participated, informing people about the EE2019, while a number of EU interactive games for children and parents were carried out. The event was attended by 7.500 people.

May Day open event in the American Farm School of Thessaloniki 12.05.2019

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Interactive game for children, American Farm School, May Day

This series of events concluded on Monday 13, with H. Kountouros and C. Tsoutsoplides delivering a presentation to first time voters in the American Farm School.

All the three-days events were covered by several national and local media, AV, online and print. Indicative coverage by Athens Voice here: Photoreportage: 30 moments of the great party for Europe at Thessaloniki

Party for Europe, Thessaloniki

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As the campaign entered its last week, a press conference of the leadership of Greek businesses for the presentation of their positions for the European Elections 2019 was held in the EPLO on Wednesday 15 May. T. FESSAS, President of SEV (Association of Enterprises and Industries, the social partner representing big businesses in Greece) and E. MYTILINAIOS, vice President of SEV, sent a loud and clear message in favour of participation in the EE2019 underlining the crucial and positive role of the EU to a full- house press conference. All media sources monitored in our Press Review covered the event, that was also reported in national TV’s prime time news bulletins. Overall, the event generated 43 media mentions (niche (business), core print, online, and AV prime time). More than 120 journalists attended the press conference. In Greece, business and professionals are one of our target groups. Therefore, the message from SEV is of utmost importance for the targeting of our campaign.

Press conference of SEV, EPLO premises

It is worth noting that SEV ran until the last day of the elections a complete campaign in favour of the European Union, urging people to participate, including interviews of their president and vice-president, videos, publications, social media posts and mobilisation of the business community, under the name #SEV4Europe.

You can watch here one of SEV's videos promoting participation in EE2019

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Using the hashtag #Thanks2Europe SEV produced and published in their YouTube Channel a series of videos presenting specific examples of successful Greek companies that have made it through the financial crisis thanks to the European Union support.

#Thanks2Europe SEV campaign in YouTube

The Europe Direct City of Athens, the Europe Direct ELIAMEP and the European Parliament Liaison Office in Greece co-organised an open public debate “European Elections 2019: Challenges and Dilemmas for Europe” about the future of the European Union. The speakers and the audience discussed the challenges and the dilemmas rising in view of the upcoming European Elections. The event took place at Serafeio Complex on May 5. Around 35 people attended the debate.

The OffLine Post and the Europe Direct ELIAMEP organised with the support of EPLO Athens an open public debate about European Union and its future entitled “The society and the role of young people in the European elections”. The aim was to encourage the young people share their concerns and widen their field of knowledge on the EU issues. Approximately 120 people attended the debate on the 17th of May.

Live interview G. Sventzidou at ERT3 Public TV - Watch here the full video - 54:30

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The last big event of the campaign took place in Athens on Friday May 17, at the Athens Conservatory and it was our Party for Europe. Well-known Athenians discussed on what Europe means for them in terms of sports organisations, Erasmus, clubbing etc., street artists created projects especially for Europe, while relevant AV material was projected and all culminated in a party with DJ sets and live bands. The event was well-attended, ran until 5 am, and received a good TV, radio, online and social media coverage before and after the event. Watch here Rise TV video for the Party in Athens

Creating for EU, Athens

Party for Europe, Athens

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Press Officer E. Forte at Rise TV

One TV reporting LIVE form Athens Conservatoire Street artists who created for Europe

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Kavala Youth Dialogue organisation with the support of EPLO Athens organised an everyday information point at the centre of the city, communicating the messages of the EE2019, the EU and the importance of voting to the citizens. The information point was open during the week 20-26/05. During the Election Day it was open all day long remind people to go to vote.

Our last action before the elections was a screening of the documentary film “Citizen Europe” and an open dialogue about the challenges for Europe. The event was organised by the incubator for Media Education and Development of Stavros Niarchos Foundation with the support of EPLO Athens, on May 22. The Campaign Coordinator, C. Tsoutsoplides was at the discussion panel that was held after the screening.

Open dialogue about the challenges for Europe, Athens During this month, more than 150 pupils and teachers were informed by our EPLO and learned useful information about the role and activities of the European Union and the European Parliament, the EE2019 and the TTIV initiative.

Informative sessions:  13th High School of Kallithea (13/05/2019)  Zanneio Experimental High School of Piraeus (14/05/2019)  Elementary School of Kapandriti (22/05/2019)

No of interviews: 25

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