In our series “EDSA Talks“ Dinka and Cora had a very nice conversation on 19th January 2026 with our member the Down Syndrome Association of Greece. We spoke with Sophia Voukanci, who is the deputy director of the association and Danai Papadopoulou, who works as a social worker in the organisation.
The association is based in Thessaloniki. It was founded in 1990 on the initiative of parents and initially family-focused. It provided advice and mutual support for families and organised joint activities.
Since 2019 the association started to work with a professional staff and several educational and cultural programmes were developed.
The association has a modern building in Thessaloniki, which is financed by the government, municipality and through EU funding. It houses therapy rooms, dance and art studios, rooms where music, theatre and sports activities are offered, and a swimming pool as well as 8 apartments for supported living.
A staff of 30-35 persons are now working in the association, among them are therapists, psychologists, teachers and social workers. They support nationwide member families with babies and small children. The association tries to build up an own intervention programme.
The association does not have access to birth statistics and to exact data about the number of persons with DS living in Greece, but the estimated number is between 9.000 and 11.000. There is also no reliable data on the impact of prenatal screening/terminations. The DS Association is in contact with ca. 500 families.
Young children with DS attend mainstream kindergarten and primary schools, often in inclusive classes, with a special educator. However from the age of 13, the only option is to attend special schools.
In October 1997, the Association launched its pre-vocational training program, aimed at young people aged 14 and over. This program teaches pre-vocational skills with the aim of professional rehabilitation and the development of independent living skills. There are courses in gardening, hairdressing etc but with limited possibilities to change to the job market.
Working with Adults
The main focus of DS Greece is on working with adults. Around 35 adults visit the center every day for different educational and cultural projects or go out in the community to do voluntary jobs. In the Lab various handcrafted products are manufactured and sold, including shopping bags with the Association’s logo.
There is also a housing project, 8 adults are trained to live as independent as possible. A second project is planned. This is an urgent issue as many families are searching long-term living solutions for their adult children with DS.
Supported living in Greece is highly regulated, making it difficult to find suitable accessible housing. The main challenge is securing accommodation within the community. Although up to 15 people are legally allowed per building, smaller living arrangements are preferred, and proximity to local services is essential.
Employment for adults with Down syndrome in the primary labour market is very limited. This is due to high unemployment, few inclusive job opportunities and weak benefit protections. The association addresses this through vocational training and employer awareness, while stressing the importance of meaningful work and avoiding tokenistic (inclusion just for show) employment.
Not only are employers still not prepared to engage people with DS, but parents also consider it almost impossible for their children with DS to cope in a regular job. As Sophia points out, there is still a lot of work to be done to change parents’ attitudes, overprotection by the family is quite an obstacle. According to the Association’s experience, there is still a need to further support attitude change, as family overprotection can occasionally be a barrier.
The association faces many challenges: establishing EI, promoting inclusion in schools, placing adults with DS in the primary labour market and finding suitable housing. Added to this are urgent financial concerns, as EU funds are set to expire this year
Future plans
For World Down Syndrome Day 2026, the Greece team made a range of inclusive awareness and fundraising activities, including a bowling tournament, public reception, school outreach, and a café collaboration employing people with Down syndrome.
The team participated in the EDSA poster campaign as well as in the next AGA to be held in Istanbul.
For certain topics, the DS Association of Greece could use the EDSA Programme “Invite an Expert“. Through more and better communication with other members, they would like to exchange experiences regarding inclusion in schools, supported employment models or living options.
