The Project “Kids 2015-2019” Hellenic Bridge Federation

1. The Project “Kids 2015-2019” Hellenic Bridge Federation 3rd EBL Youth Seminar, Opatija, Croatia July 2018

2. Presented by: Dimitris Papaspyrou • E-mail: dimpapaspyrou@gmail.com • Facebook: Dimitris Papaspyrou

3. A short bio note • Born in 1965 • Studies of Sociology (Athens, 1984-1988) & Political Sciences (Athens, 1992-1996) • M.sc. in Adult Education (2010-2013, Hellenic Open University) • A M.sc. in History, Sociology and Anthropology of Sports (Hellenic Open University) is in progress … • Working as a High School Professor / teaching Social Sciences

4. In the field of Bridge / HBF • Member of HBF since 2010 • Education Consultant of HBF since 2014 • Coordinator of Project “Kids 2015-2019” of HBF Teaching the Bridge Educators how to teach Seminars & Examinations to certify Bridge Teachers Finding kids interested for Bridge Lessons and creating kids groups in Bridge Clubs

5. 2014: Education Consultant for HBF • Seminars for HBF Educators • Main Interests: Pedagogy / Intergroup Processes • We Organize a new series of Bridge teachers exams and produce a new generation of Bridge Educators • And then came the idea of “Kids 2015-2019”

6. The Project “Kids 2015-2019” • Why? • How? • Is it successful? • What follows?

7. “Why?” A text that inspired me… • President’s Gianarrigo Rona Report at the WBF Officers Meeting, Lausanne, 1st – 3rd November 2012 • Agenda – Point 12: Development of Youth Bridge, plans and programs.

8. G. Rona:Basic Problems for NBO’s • An aging community • Limited funding • Lack of a business plan Can we face all these problems together? How can we give life and energy in our NBO?

9. “Why?” … • “…our main challenge is the youth development. I am proud that many NBOs everywhere in the world take care of the Youth, but we have still a lot of work to do. We need to be convinced and strongly believe that this is the only way to guarantee a serene future or our beloved discipline” • Gianarigo Rona, WBF President, Rome 2016

10. “Why?” • According to Emil Durkheim: “For each society, education is the means by which it secures, in the children, the essential conditions of its own existence”.

11. “How?” Attracting Kids in Bridge -Main problems for HBF • Bridge presentations & lessons in schools were rejected by the ministry of education (a 2009 decision after an application by HBF) • A strong prejudice against kids playing Bridge (Bridge is considered a sort of gambling) • 2014: Only 20 kids were registered in HBF.

12. How we fight prejudice? • Facing direct this prejudice by putting the Kids in competition (Pan-Hellenic Championships, Official 3-day Tournaments) • Talking to the trainers / educators of Bridge • Promoting the case “Kids playing Bridge” via Social Networks • Conversations with parents

13. “How?” Kids playing Bridge in a major Bridge Festival in Athens 2016

14. Kalamata’s Bridge Festival, 2016

15. A bid of convince …

16. “How?” For HBF a period of strong interest in Bridge • 2014: 3380 members (total) • 2015: 3708 … • 2016: 4254 … • New entries 2016-2017: 774 “It was a very good year”

17. 1st Pan-hellenic Tournament for Bridge Beginners 2016

18. Break our record: over 140 pairs

19. How “Kids 2015-2019” was done it • Coordinating a small number of Kids all over Greece • Convincing a small number of Clubs to create “Kids classes” • HBF paid the teacher’s fees

20. “How?” October 2015, 1st meeting, a few kids

21. Gathering Children from different locations of Greece

22. “How?” Actions who took place • Regular Bridge Lessons (2 clubs, 1 in Athens & 1 in Kalamata) • A kids tournament (28/12/2015) – the 1st ever happened in Greece • Kids playing Bridge in major Festivals • Pan-hellenic Youth Championship: first time included the “Kids category”

23. A Kids Bridge Fest in Athens

24. “How?” “Money makes the world go round” • What about funding the project? • Our action plan budget • (was sent to EBL)

25. Berlin 2014, 7th EBL NBO Officer’s Seminar • 4. Youth • Young People are the future of the Bridge. We shall all, in each country, give priority to the development of Bridge for youth. • Youth Fund. The EBL has created a Youth Fund. • Yves Aubry, Development and State of the EBL

26. The Budget of “Kids 2015-2019”

30. A letter to EBL • Dear President of the EBL Mr. Yves AubryDear members of the Executive Committee of EBL • … • In the four-year program 2015 - 2019 for Kids, which I have the responsibility and the joy to be a moderator, we are trying to motivate the members of our Federation and external stakeholders of Greek society towards the education of children in Bridge. This is not an easy task, because in our society the idea that children play Bridge is not very acceptable.

31. President Aubry in the 8th seminar of EBL NBO officers in Rome I had the opportunity to discuss with you the possibility of financing this project from the Youth Fund of EBL. Based on your answer we provide to EBL our action plan and ask the help of EBL in order to complete this project, which we believe can change the future of Greek Bridge. • Yours sincerely • Dimitris Papaspyrou Education Consultant HBF

32. The EBL Answer

33. HBF President Alexandros Athanasiadis & Vice-President Lina Mamidaki

34. The Kids tournament in HBF most important tournament

35. April 2016, 2nd review of the Kids Project 2015-2019 • Proposals • Β. We propose the participation of our Kids team in the 26th European Youth Championship to be held in Slovakia in the first half of July.

36. Competing with Adults and Winning

37. A new group of Bridge Kids at Serres

38. The “Trojan horse” was a Greek invention • We had no permission to present and teach Bridge in our schools but … • … we used our official inner-school programs (not part of the curriculum but we organize them as a supplement to the main body of knowledge. Environmental, health, cultural programs).

39. Marina Lantzouni with her Bridge kids

40. A School Program: “Mind Games”of 6th Junior High School at Kalamata • Marina’s “Mind Games” program approved by her colleagues and Headmaster. • And after that experience she attracted many Kids to the Kalamata Bridge Club …

41. Kids from Kalamata Bridge Club

43. Marina’s Contribution to HBF

44. “Open Schools”in Municipality of Athens • In spring 2017 the Hellenic Bridge Federation (HBF) was given the opportunity to present and teach Bridge in 18 schools in Athens under the “Open Schools program”, an initiative of the Municipality of Athens in collaboration with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SFN). The HBF's participation in this program was completed with the 1st Bridge School Championship held at the Primary School of Petralona, ​​Athens on May 28, 2017.

45. A poster of “Open Schools” program

46. Our Mini-Bridge edition

47. Research on Open Schools Program • Evaluation of the 1st Phase of the «Bridge in Open Schools» Program, • February – March 2017 • Dimitris Papaspyrou • Sent to EBL Kids Committee Officers

48. Conclusions • Our first contact with the school environment may have been an experimental attempt that has highlighted problems of malfunction and coordination, perhaps difficult to understand as a complete "training program", but for HBF there are significant benefits in promoting Bridge, in cooperation with external non athletic organizations (Municipality of Athens, SNF)…

49. Preparation for Samorin

50. … and here we are!