From the 25th of June to 4th of July 2026, we had the pleasure of welcoming 25 volunteers from across Europe in Kryoneri Corinthians, Greece, for the ASF Summer-camp team volunteering project, which FILOXENIA, Intercultural-Environmental Organization had the honor to host and to be partners of. This program was funded by the European Union’s ‘Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values’ (CERV) program that supports projects on the topics of equality, participation and violence prevention, among others.
Over 10 days, participants from diverse countries and backgrounds worked together to restore and maintain historical trails, learning how to collaborate, respect each other, and live as a team. The project combined environmental action with cultural exchange and historical input: the volunteers participated in informational workshops and events concerning the local community and the history of Greece, shared their traditions, cooked traditional dishes, and presented their countries through music, dance, and storytelling.
The program began with an “on arrival” seminar, where the participants had the chance to get to know each-other, to create connections and to explore their home for the next 10 days called Kryoneri. Later the participants got to participate in an interactive workshop that introduced the discussion topics of the week like civil courage, memory preservation and racism / fascism / exclusion. One of the main focuses of the program was the history of the village during the German Occupation of Greece from 1941 to 1944 and more specifically the survival of one Jewish family that found refuge in our village during the Holocaust. The volunteers had the chance to learn more about that history by doing the memory walk, which is a guided walking tour to the cave where the family along with partisan hid during the German army's raids. They also watch a related documentary concerning the visit to Kryoneri of the sole living member of that family, Rivka Kamhi, followed by a deep conversation about what drives ordinary people to risk everything during troubling times to show civil courage.
The rest of the program consisted of hard work, clearing the footpaths leading to that historical cave, maintaining the trail and creating makeshift stairs to facilitate the access to it, workshops and a study visit to Kalavryta and to the museum of the Kalavrytan Holocaust. The team participated in two interactive workshops. The first was related to memory and the preservation of it and the second was related to the history of German Occupation in Greece (1941 - 1944). Through these workshops the volunteers had the chance to come in close contact with the atrocities that took place during these painful years, the ways that people resisted and organized themselves, the aftermath and the duty we have nowadays to carry the memory on and to make sure that ideologies that served as the fertile ground for this humanitarian crisis perish. The program also included periods relaxation and leisure time so as not to overbear the participants with these heavy topics. This mix of work, learning, and leisure fostered friendship, teamwork, and intercultural understanding.
Here you can read testimonies of some of our participants:
Article written by Laura Weise
Spending two weeks at the ASF International Summer Camp in Greece gave me the chance to meet inspiring people from all over the world while learning about the moving story of Rivka and her family, as well as the history of the German occupation of Greece during World War II.
Working together to restore and maintain the historic paths was especially meaningful. Knowing that our work will help future visitors access these places and keep their stories alive made every step worthwhile.
I'm leaving with new friendships, unforgettable memories, and a deeper understanding of why remembrance matters. Thank you to everyone who made this experience so special.
Article written by Isabel de Oliveira
Before coming to the summer camp in Kryoneri I was a bit anxious about the group and about the experience in general. But after participating I just have to say that I'm so glad that I had the chance to be part of this ASF-summer camp. We were a group of about 20 people from different European countries and our teamers from Filoxenia helped us with their workshops to really get to know each other. Part of the program was to learn about the history of the Kimhi family who was hidden by the villagers of Kryoneri while Greece was occupied by Germany during World War II. We also learned about the Greek history during the German occupation and what harm German soldiers did to the Greek population. Another important part of our program was the work on the footpath to the cave where the Kimhi family was hidden. As a German participant it was especially important to me to learn about those things and to talk to the others about what civil courage meant back then and means to us nowadays. Overall I made experiences I wouldn't have made otherwise: hitchhiking to the beach with new friends, helping nuns to collect lime blossoms at a monastery, enjoying the beautiful landscape of the Greek mountains and many more. I would do it again if I could.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
The project is funded by CERV. The European Union’s ‘Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values’ (CERV) programme supports projects on the topics of equality, participation and violence prevention, among others.
