On 10 October 2014, Patras welcomed the second C4i visit by Sean O’Siochru, C4i evaluation consultant, and Christina Baglai, C4i project manager. The visit took place in a context of political shifts, after the May 2014 municipal elections, which brought about a change in political orientation and the replacement of the C4i city representative.
Konstantinos Apostolopoulos, Patras C4i coordinator, acknowledged that the main C4i partnerships, specifically the municipal Office of Volunteerism and the Council of Immigrants, had been affected by the political shifts. In this context the support of new C4i city representative Basilis Thomopoulos, newly appointed President of the Cultural Organisation, became critical to ensure the sustainability of the project in Patras.
During the visit, the C4i evaluator and project manager met the President of the Cultural Organisation and the local C4i team. The importance of the project to the city with around 8 per cent of population with a migrant background, mostly Albanian, and high transit migration, as well as political and economic challenges were central to the discussion. Developing partnerships with intercultural mediators, lawyers, the media and the municipal theatre featuring true stories of migrant women was enphasised. Meeting future anti-rumour trainers permitted to re-orient the targets of Patras’ anti-rumour campaign, with potential focus on the media through lawyers’ participation.