purpose

Díla is an international community that supports young refugee women embarking on creative career paths. Established in Athens in 2021 and working informally in the city since 2018, Díla partners with imaginative and committed individuals who have come to Europe seeking security. Its reach extends across the European continent, following the organic patterns of its network’s movements and needs.

Through one-to-one mentoring, creative spaceholding, and professional practice, Díla helps young women who’ve attained a degree of safety move into the culturally and economically integrative phase of building their confidence, making their mark, and earning a living through the medium to which they feel called.

focus

Mentorships in fashion, jewellery, filmmaking, photography, videography, graphic design, illustration, literature and journalism can currently be offered. Díla prioritises adapting to every new mentee and is guided by finding the right match for each. Mentorships combine in-person and online guidance, leaning towards one or the other on a case by case basis. The first two mentorships are in fashion, with Shafi Style, and literature, with Chink of Light.

network

Díla relies on an international community of contributors sharing their time, talents and resources in different ways. Whenever needed it enlists existing education providers and expert tutoring to help with specific skills-building.

Work in Progress Studios, a multi-faceted arts space in downtown Athens, collaborates closely with Díla to provide studio spaces for individual creative production, group activities and workshops.

Projects have been supported in diverse ways by the World Crafts Council Europe, Greek Ministry of Culture, Melissa Network, Pressure, Angelos Bratis, Simone Rocha, and many generous individuals.

Díla has participated in events with The Economist, Action for Women, Athens Fashion Film Festival, The Cube Athens, and Institut Français de Grèce.

Mentees have received press coverage by Dazed, Vogue Greece, Vogue Germany, Vice Greece, Lifo, ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation), ARD (German public broadcasting), and National Geographic.

team

Díla’s advisory board includes Roddick Foundation trustee and strategist Samantha Roddick, HumanRights360 founder and former Stavros Niarchos Foundation COO Epaminondas Farmakis, creative wellbeing mentor and literary educator Homan Yousofi, and social entrepreneur and NGO consultant Doreen Toutikian.

The organisation is run by founder Kasia Maciejowska and production assistant Ioanna Papagkika. It takes its name from Kasia’s grandmother who was a teenage refugee during WWII from Poland to England via Greece, France and Portugal.

contact

To ask questions / donate / collaborate contact kasiamaciejowska@gmail.com.