Over 100 teachers and parents from across Greece participated on Thursday, 17 July 2025, in the online discussion organised by KMOP, titled “Respecting Boundaries: Consent, Respect, and Empathy in the School Environment”, confirming the growing interest in cultivating the concept of consent from an early school age.
During the event, representatives from KMOP presented good practices from school communities that participated in the pilot phase of the Act4Consent programme, highlighting the need to integrate the concept of consent into the educational process.
Participants were informed about the educational programme designed for students, teachers, and parents, aiming to shape a school environment that promotes consent, respect, and empathy.
Chrysa Sotiriou, Project Manager at KMOP, moderated the event, while Georgia Alexandrou, trainer and researcher at the organisation presented the programme. It is a 30-hour asynchronous Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme for secondary school teachers. Its objective is to develop educators’ knowledge and skills regarding the importance of consent and to provide them with the appropriate tools to discuss issues such as respecting personal boundaries with their students. The programme modules include: Introduction to consent for students, self-care for educators, ethical and legal issues related to consent, cultural norms and consent, communicating consent, as well as drama and storytelling techniques.
Upon completion of the programme, participants are equipped to create an educational environment that fosters safety, respect, and empathy, thereby contributing to the development of healthy and equitable relationships among students. The programme was successfully piloted with 100 students, 20 parents, and the teaching staff.
The panel discussion featured Konstantina Koemtzidou, Headteacher of the 5th Secondary School of Nea Ionia, Konstantina Saratsioti, a teacher at the same school, and Athanasia Gkogka, a parent and programme participant. “The training was particularly interesting,” noted Ms Koemtzidou.
Ms Saratsioti addressed the critical issue of consent and boundaries:
“We were only aware of the tip of the iceberg, unaware of its essence. The first step was our own training by KMOP. The experience was rich and meaningful. It was followed by the training of parents and teaching staff, and then by 100 students who were eager to learn more about these issues.”
Finally, Ms Athanasia Gkogka remarked:
“It is important that we become both transmitters and receivers of these initiatives, so that terms like ‘consent’ and ‘boundaries’ become clear to us as well. Through experiential activities, we parents became children again, and after completing the training, we managed to pass these messages on to our children by setting an example.”
The event concluded with an open discussion and a summary of key conclusions, as well as expressions of interest from teachers who wish to implement the programme in their schools in the upcoming academic year. Their active participation underscored the importance of the issue of consent and the need for wider awareness and sensitisation.
The Act4Consent project, in which KMOP participates alongside organisations from six European countries, is funded by the European Union and aims to empower young people through educational tools that foster healthy, equitable, and safe interpersonal relationships.
The programme is available here.