Lora Pappa
PRESIDENT
Lora Pappa Lora Pappa is the founder of METAdrasi. She has studied at the University of Geneva and the Institut Universitaire des Hautes Etudes Internationales (HEI), where she received her undergraduate degree and a Master’s degree in International Relations. Since the early 1990s, Lora Pappa’s main interest and focus of work relates to the reception and integration of refugees and asylum-seekers. Through all her extensive experience in the field, Lora Pappa was aiming to find the best possible ways for consolidating efforts and facilitating life conditions of refugees and asylum-seekers, and, particularly, unaccompanied minors.
Lora Pappa worked for a number of humanitarian organisations including the Greek Council for Refugees and the UNHCR. While at the National Youth Foundation, she piloted and established the first accommodation facility for unaccompanied minors in Greece, in Anogia of Crete, which is acknowledged as a model facility due to the services provision and the successful prospect of integration of children into the local society. She also initiated the opening of the first shelter in Greece for unaccompanied girls and single mothers in Athens. In 2010, Αfter 25 years of work in the humanitarian sector, Lora Pappa founded NGO METAdrasi – Action for Migration and Development.
METAdrasi addresses long-standing gaps in the reception and integration of refugees and migrants in Greece through innovative activities that include the provision of communication and interpretation in the context of asylum procedures, and of other State and IGO/NGO services for migrants and refugees, as well as the protection of unaccompanied minors and other vulnerable groups.
Lora Pappa was awarded the 2015 North South Prize of the Council of Europe in a ceremony that took place in Lisbon in 2016. The prize was awarded for her outstanding dedication in promoting North-South solidarity, human rights and democracy. In 2016 the Hellenic Initiative (THI) granted Lora Pappa the THI Leadership Award, while in 2017 she was honored by the French state for her social contribution and exceptional work with the “Legion of Honour” decoration. In 2018, METAdrasi was awarded the “NGO of the Year” award in the category “Society” at the “Hellenic Responsible Business Awards 2018” for the proven innovative work, with strong social impact, as well as the continuous commitment and efficiency, with measurable results.
