European projects.

O.P.E.N. – Opportunities for Women Prisoners through Education and Networking

APICCO is taking part in the new Erasmus+ project O.P.E.N. – Opportunities for Women Prisoners through Education and Networking, which officially started on 30 September 2026 and will run for 14 months.

O.P.E.N. focuses on the education and empowerment of incarcerated women through a learning programme that combines functional communication, democratic and social competences, digital citizenship and reintegration readiness. Its methodology brings together experiential and theatre-based tools, gender-responsive and trauma-informed approaches, as well as an innovative offline-first learning model adapted to the restrictions of correctional settings.

The project brings together the Hellenic Open University, APICCO, Balamòs Teatro APS from Italy and SkillsUp Training & Research Services from the Netherlands. APICCO contributes its experience in prison education and inclusive arts-based practice, with a particular role in trauma-informed and gender-responsive facilitation and in supporting the pilot implementation in Greece.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

IN n OUT – Collaborative theatre in prisons and new creative storytelling to build bridges between inmates and society

Project Title: Collaborative theatre in prisons and new creative storytelling to build bridges between inmates and society

Acronym: IN n OUT

Project Number: 101173530

Call: CREA-CULT-2024

Type of Action: COOP CREA-LS

Programme: Creative Europe – European Cooperation Projects

Duration: 24 months (01/01/2026–31/12/2027)

Project Concept

IN n OUT is a European cooperation project connecting theatre practice in prisons with collaborative filmmaking and new forms of creative storytelling. Three theatre workshops will be developed in three European countries by aufBruch in Berlin, Media Mediterranea in Naples and APICCO in Athens.

The workshops will draw on the story and characters of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth . Each partner will create a distinct performance centred on a different protagonist and point of view, offering three interpretations of the conflicts, choices and consequences explored in the play.

The three creative processes and performances will be filmed and brought together in a documentary. By connecting the work created inside prisons with audiences outside them, the project seeks to encourage dialogue, challenge stereotypes and build bridges between people in prison and wider society.

Project Partners

aufBruch, Berlin, Germany

Media Mediterranea, Naples, Italy

APICCO – Community Based Art, Athens, Greece

APICCO’s Contribution

APICCO will design and deliver the Greek prison theatre workshop, guiding participants through a collaborative creative process inspired by Macbeth . It will contribute original theatrical material to the shared European dramaturgy, take part in the artistic exchange with the Italian and German partners, and support the filming and documentation that will lead to the final documentary.

Project Website

www.inoutproject.com

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

"INTEGRATE – INclusion and educaTional EnliGhtenment with dRAma and ThEatre"

Project Title: INclusion and educaTional EnliGhtenment with dRAma and ThEatre

Acronym: INTEGRATE

Project Number: 101131692

Programme: Creative Europe – European Cooperation Projects (CREA-CULT-2023-COOP-1)

Project Start Date: 31/12/2023

Project Total Duration: 24 months

Project End Date: 30/12/2025

Brief Description

INTEGRATE was a two-year European project aimed at promoting social inclusion and educational opportunities for incarcerated adults through drama and theatre. Theatre organisations from Greece, Italy, France and Romania worked together, applying and exchanging different methodologies for theatre practice in prisons.

As part of the project, theatre workshops were delivered in correctional facilities across four European countries. The Intelligent Collaborative Drama and Theatrical (ICDT) Tool was also developed as a digital repository for theatrical and audiovisual material. The artistic practices and activities of the project partners were documented through short videos and a final documentary.

Partners

● Coordinator: University of Thessaly – Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering / DaSE Lab, Greece

● APICCO – Community Based Art, Greece

● Balamòs Teatro, Italy

● Théâtre de l’Opprimé, France

● Sigma-Art Cultural-Artistic Foundation, Romania

APICCO's Contribution

APICCO delivered theatre workshops at Domokos Correctional Facility with a group of 12–15 incarcerated adults. The activity was developed in two main phases: creative writing and script development workshops, followed by a theatre workshop based on the Process Theatre methodology.

Participants created theatrical scenes, short videos and a collective theatre presentation. The material produced during the workshops contributed to the project's digital repository and to the audiovisual outputs of INTEGRATE.

Links

● Official INTEGRATE Website

● ICDT Tool

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

"the ArT of Theatron As a second CHance Project"

Project Title: the ArT of Theatron As a second CHance Project

Acronym : ATTACH

Field : Adult education

Main objective of the project : Innovation

Project Start Date 2021-04-01

Project Total Duration 24 months

Project End Date 2023-03-31

Partners

● 1st Second Chance School of Domokos Greece (+APICCO – Community based Art)

● PANEPISTIMIO THESSALIAS Greece

● Centre du Théâtre de l'Opprimé Augusto Boal France

● BALAMO'S TEATRO APS Italy

● G.G. EUROSUCCESS CONSULTING LIMITED Cyprus

Apicco's constribution

Artistic Partnership in Community’s Creative Opening (APICCO Social Cooperative Enterprise - APICCO SCE), will undertake the instruction of theatre to the Greek prison inmate participants. They have been vastly experienced with the instruction of theatre within prisons and have taught inmates of the applicant organisation for the last three years preceding this application. As regards the specific project, the APICCO SCE will implement the prison theatre documentation for a duration of 10 months (September 2021 - June 2022) and the joint theatre play for another 6 months (September 2022 - February 2023), comparably to the Prison theatre documentation.

All2gather Project – Observatory for Art in Prison

Within the framework of the Active Citizens Fund Greece programme and the call for the development of networks among civil-society organisations, one of the projects selected for support was the proposal by TRI.ENA Cultural Organisation, as implementing body, together with APICCO Community as partner, to create an Observatory for Art in Prison.

The ALL2GATHER Observatory for Art in Prison was created to respond to the need for a network and archive of artistic and humanitarian actions and initiatives taking place inside and outside prisons, through Second Chance Schools and other support structures, non-formal education, voluntary programmes and reintegration processes. At the time, no equivalent archive was maintained by the relevant ministries or other bodies to record, archive, study, evaluate and make use of such work, nor was there an equivalent network connecting and strengthening participating organisations. The project envisaged an online platform where actions could be collected, published and updated, supporting communication, synergy and interaction among organisations, informing and raising public awareness, and challenging stereotypical perceptions of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. It also included mapping, documentation and ongoing connection among target groups and organisations.

Programme: Active Citizens Fund – Development of networks among civil-society organisations.

Implementing organisation: TRI.ENA Cultural Organisation.

Partner: APICCO Community Based Art.

Funding: EEA Grants 2014–2021.

Fund operators in Greece: Bodossaki Foundation and SolidarityNow.

Watch the All2gather video