On behalf of the participating ASPnet schools in Greece, we are pleased to present this report on the activities carried out as part of the international campaign “Gift a Poem”, celebrating World Poetry Day.
Introduction
The “Gift a Poem” campaign provided a unique opportunity for students to explore the beauty and emotional power of poetry, fostering creativity, empathy, and a sense of community. ASPnet schools, across the country, enthusiastically embraced the initiative, organizing a wide range of meaningful activities that touched the hearts of participants and recipients alike. It is worth noting that schools from all levels of education participated (from kindergartens to vocational high schools). One vocational high school implemented its activities through the Library and gifted 54 poems to the local Care Center for the Elderly. Additionally, On World Poetry Day, the Library provided each member of the school community with a handwritten poem photocopied on colorful paper and distributed at the school entrance.
Activities and Highlights
Students, guided and supported by their teachers, engaged in diverse and imaginative actions, both within the classroom and beyond:
- Handwritten and Artistic Creations: Students hand-copied and artistically decorated poems, offering them to classmates, friends, their loved ones, family, teachers, to children of the Educational Priority Zone classes (migrants, refuge children), the elderly, the wider community.
- Original Poetry Writing: Many students composed their own heartfelt poems, inspired by themes such as peace, respect, inclusion, diversity (core principles of the ASPnet community), the environment, friendship and current affairs. The beauty of spring, the blossoming nature, and the joyful emotions this season brings also inspired them.
- Visits and Cultural Exchanges: Students visited local Care Centers for the elderly, hospitals and neighboring schools, where they read their poems aloud, gifted their creations and engaged in intergenerational dialogue.
- Integration of Technology: Students created poetry videos, digital books; they used chatbots for poetry composition in foreign language classes and experimented with AI to set poems to music, combining tradition with innovation.
- Cross-disciplinary Approaches: Poetry was integrated into lessons across various subjects, such as Literature, Modern Greek, French, English, Engineering and Art, enriching students’ educational experiences.
- Interactive and Artistic Projects: Schools organized poetry exhibitions, collaborative word games, “Poetry Trees,” creative workshops and thematic discussions on poetic techniques and devices.
Students’ Feelings and Responses
The students’ involvement was marked by profound enthusiasm, emotion, and pride. Through creating, sharing, and offering poems, they experienced the joy of genuine communication and emotional connection, especially with groups such as the elderly or younger students from other schools. Their poems became vehicles for expressing their inner worlds – their thoughts, dreams, concerns, and hopes – within an environment of acceptance, respect, and solidarity.
Impact of the Campaign
The “Gift a Poem” initiative had a significant and lasting impact on the participating students:
- Enhanced creativity and self-expression
- Development of empathy and heightened social awareness
- Promotion of teamwork and collaboration across age groups
- Strengthened intergenerational and intercultural ties
- Deepened appreciation for poetry as a tool for personal and collective expression
- Cultivation of a spirit of generosity, kindness and active citizenship
Conclusion
The “Gift a Poem” campaign was a resounding success in Greek ASPnet schools, fostering a vibrant culture of creativity, empathy, and community spirit. It confirmed once again that poetry, in its timeless simplicity and depth, has the power to bring hearts together across all boundaries. We thank the organizers for this inspiring initiative and look forward to continuing our participation in the years to come.
Schools involved
- 1st Primary School of Iraklio,
- Attica 1st Vocational School of Agia Paraskevi,
- Attica 2nd Vocational School of Agia Paraskevi,
- Attica 2nd Senior High School of Serres 2nd Model Senior High School of Thessaloniki 3rd Senior High School of Koropi,
- Attica 3rd Primary School of Kifisia,
- Attica 3rd Primary School of Chios, Chios island 4th Junior High School of Keratsini,
- Attica 4th Primary School of Serres 8th Primary School of Thiva 4th Primary School of Mytilene,
- Lesvos island 11th Primary School of Kalamata 18th Primary School of Amaroussio Senior High School of Moudros,
- Lemnos island Ellinogermaniki Agogi,
- Junior High School Junior High School of Eretria,
- Evia island Junior High School of Moudros,
- Lemnos island Primary School Pamfilon,
- Lesvos island Saint Jooseph, Primary School,
- Attica Primary School of Isthmia,
- Corinthe International School of Athens,
- Senior High School Kindergarten Klimatia of Ioannina
- Model Senior High School of Anavryta
- Lycée Brocéliande, Guer 3rd Senior high school, Kavala
- Model Senior High School of Iraklio, Crete
