Father Antonios wins European Citizen Prize

These are the "Ark of the World", active in the care and protection of mother and child, whose heart and soul is father Antonios, NGO "HOPEgenesis", which deals with the issue of inferiority in Greece and the Social Cooperative Society "Wind of Renewal", active in the field of supporting and integrating particularly vulnerable refugees into society.

The three NGOs were awarded respectively on a proposal by SYRIZA MEP and EP Deputy Speaker Dimitris Papadimoulis, ND MEP Elisa Wozenberg and POTAMI MEP, Miltiadis Kyrkos.

The European Citizens' Prize is an institution established by the European Parliament in 2008, rewarding the activities or actions of citizens, groups, unions or organizations that have shown great dedication to promoting better mutual understanding and closer integration between the citizens of the Member States -members. For the year 2018, a total of 50 prizes were awarded to bodies and citizens in 26 EU Member States.

Father Antonios Papanikolaou served as a priest in Agios Georgios Akadimia Platonos, Kolonos, one of the most degraded areas in Athens. He saw children every day who, while they were supposed to have been in school, frequented  squares or children who were members of high-risk groups, while their  families were in need.

Over time he gained acceptance and gradually their confidence. 

The residents of the area began to come and volunteer to provide their services. Teachers started to come and teach children, housewives in the area began to bring things from their homes, food and clothes that were no longer needed by their own families.

So, with the help of volunteers, the Ark of the World was created, an organization designed to get as many children as possible out of poverty and abandonment and to offer them the opportunity to "stand on their feet".