Hopeart successfully conducted its first training sessions in Athens GR on 31 March, 21 April…
![Photo from book launch event](https://www.hopeart.gr/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/309170308_5302320643154550_3011499941212917640_n-e1668698827250.jpg)
Book launch and panel discussion on “The Art of Connection” (28 Sep 2022, Meropeion Foundation, Athens, GR)
The brand new book “The Art of Connection” written by Hopeartist “Connection Coach” Angeliki-Ariadni Voulgari, is here to explore the meaning of “connection” and brings a promise: to make this world a better place through “connection experiences” and a meaningful interaction with their environment.
The book launch event, organised by iWrite Publications took place on Wednesday 28 September 2022, at Meropeio Foundation (45 Dionysiou Aeropagitou St, Athens, Greece) and consisted of a stimulating panel discussion followed by a reception and a captivating music event.Apart from the author, selected professionals spoke on a panel coordinated by actress Irini Chatova:
Clio Fanourakis (Assistant Professor of Theatrology- Theater Teaching, UOA/EKPA, director-playwright),
Varvara Salavou (psychologist, EAP psychotherapist, EFT Couple Therapist),
Sofia Tsoli (Business and Financial Coach, business consultant, Founder of St Miracle Business) and
Mirsini Chatziliami (educator, mother).The event ended on a high note with a solo concert of Vasilis Panagiotidis, songwriter, spouse of the writer and a Hopeartist, too!
About “The Art of Connection”
The book is a study and a method based on practice and theory, derived mainly from the author’s long experience in dealing with
children with cancer, mental disorders or special skills, but also the elderly (usually with dementia); the author’s journey into human relationships started as a writer and as an actress adapting theatrical performances for people with special skills, such as children with down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, children with visual or hearing impairments, in children’s hospitals, children’s oncology units, in psychiatric clinics for minors and child protection institutions.
As Angeliki A. Voulgari suggests in the book prologue,
this work could be useful to those who feel ‘something is wrong’ in this world, to those who sometimes feel ‘strangers’ and envision a humanity where the system that connects us does not live in the realm of fantasy, but of reality, and it can be realized by practicing certain skills that we all possess and just haven’ been trained to use effectively. In addition, it is a complete toolbox of social and life skills for people who come into systematic contact with vulnerable groups of people, such as caregivers, mental health professionals, but also those who deal with human relations as teachers, trainers, pedagogues, therapists, counselors, and humanitarian organization volunteers, as they may discover new tools in the way they interact.
Finally, it refers to applied theater practitioners, but also to those artists who see their art as a means to create a more cohesive and humane society. It highlights the importance of art, when it is placed at the service of society, when art ceases to be an end in itself and becomes a means for a society of solidarity, where no one lives forgotten and alone.
The book is available to buy online on iWrite bookstore:
https://www.iwrite.gr/