Athens home for all. A global campaign for acceptance and inclusivity

Athens. A city of inclusivity, visibility, and acceptance. Democracy, as a political system and as a way of life, was created here, in this city where each and every person – no matter their color, creed, nationality, age, sexual orientation, weight, or political beliefs – live together, coexisting with everyone else.

Onassis Stegi is joining forces with Technopolis | City of Athens, Google and Athens Pride to spread an important message. It is the message of a city that embraces everyone, creating the conditions we all need to feel safe and free to be ourselves.

Athens Home For All

This message is set to travel the world thanks to a very short film shot in Athens’ neighborhoods. It stars regular people, the kind who live next door. People who love without fear: falling in love, forming families, walking freely on the city’s streets, and choosing openly to be themselves.

A family from the Congo that sought asylum in Greece and managed to find a home to live in through an open call to volunteers and campaigners. A Greek-African trans woman who lives in Athens with her spouse. Two women who got married and set up a restaurant business together. A nurse who works shifts at a hospital in the morning, and transforms into a drag queen at night.

People with real-life stories are brought together on the streets of Athens for a few seconds – as long as the film lasts – to show us that racism, violence, and social exclusion have no place here anymore. And there’s no-one better to tell us this than the city itself – Athens – voiced by Maria Nafpliotou. The video will premiere on the Onassis Foundation YouTube Channel on September 11.

The city of Athens is being filled with the colors that make people human. And this is just the beginning.

Starring (in alphabetical order): Belvie Baku, Ceprevi Baku, Jolie Viangu Baku, Anna Ivankova, Panos Malactos, Habibur Rahman, Christos Tzovaras, Aria Di Vine, Alkistis Alexandratou, Demi Georgiou, Costis Kopanas, Antigone Panta-Charva, Constantinos Polychronopoulos, Georgia Tsekoura

The Voice of Athens: Maria Nafpliotou

An Onassis Stegi Production

Concept: Nikos Athanasopoulos
Editor & Director: Christos Sarris
Screenplay: Elizampetta Georgiadou, Valia Papadimitraki
Creative Advisor: Vassilis Bibas
DOP: Evan Marangoudakis
Drone Operator – Camera Assistant: Orpheas Kalafatis
Editor: Magdalene Martzoukou
Graphic Design: Constantinos Chaidalis
Sound Design: Bounce Music
Music: Pan Pan
Production Manager: Daniel Vergiadis
Production Co-ordinator: Elena Choremi
Video Assistant: Smaragda Dogani
Make-up Artist: Morphi Menemenoglou

As part of the “Athens Home For All” campaign, Onassis Stegi is inviting political organizations and public institutions to raise the rainbow flag high over their buildings. A flag that weighs just 63 grams and yet proves too heavy for some to raise alone. This flag is also being made into a sticker that will transform shopfronts across Athens. The crosswalks around Onassis Stegi will be changing too, as will the building’s lighting, to send out a powerful message of inclusion. The city of Athens is being filled with the colors that make people human. And this is just the beginning.