Social Innovation in Fashion Design: Can Design Provide Opportunities of Inclusion to Refugees in Greece?

Nearly 60.000 war refugees remain stranded in Greece [1], without any plan of amelioration for their living conditions. Design thinking strategy combined with social innovation could generate new scenarios of inclusion in the Greek society through the exchange of culture, knowledge and practical skills. In order to examine this hypothesis, members of Politecnico di Milano collaborated with Ankaa, a social NGO that offers vocational training to refugees in Athens. A one-month pilot period of workshops was organized to share practices of higher education in design of clothes and to awaken the creativity of participants by handmade processes. This period provided feedback for a long term educational offer designed specifically for this group of people. The aftermath planning included also a marketing strategy and entrepreneurial new scenarios to strengthen the organization, generate profit and finally to create a dialogue between the Greek society and this marginalized group.