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By Jack Allen<\/em><\/p>\n ATHENS – <\/strong>With its graffiti, posters and history of activism, the area around the National Technical University declares its political fervor. It is a natural home for an organization like Solomon, a new media nonprofit that covers diversity while simultaneously training young Greeks and refugees to produce their own journalism.<\/p>\n \u201cOur name comes from a Portuguese novel, The Elephant\u2019s Journey,\u201d explained Editor in Chief Elvira Krithari. In the tale, Solomon the Elephant is a wedding present from King Joao III of Portugal to Archduke Maximilian of Austria. Solomon makes a perilous journey from Lisbon to Vienna, tromping through a war-torn, disease-ridden land in a trek that has become a metaphor for the journey that many modern-day migrants take to reach Europe. The name lends itself well to another meaning, Krithari added: \u201cWe write about the elephant in the room, whatever that may be.\u201d<\/p>\n Fanis Kollias founded the website in 2016, focusing on migration issues and investigative reporting. The site, which publishes in Greek and English, publishes two articles a week on topics that range from far-right European politics to Greece\u2019s controversial \u201cgolden visa\u201d scheme, which allows foreigners to obtain Schengen Zone visas in exchange for an investment or house purchase in Greece of more than 250,000 euros ($280,000).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The magazine is only one strand of the NGO, however; the 10-person team also offers classes in photography, writing and video production through its \u201clab.\u201d Kollias said he is excited to be educating and training the \u201cyoung Greek journalists of tomorrow,\u201d and regularly invites alumni of the classes to write stories for the site.<\/p>\n \u201cSolomon has given me incredible opportunities,\u201d says one alum, Khaled Suud. He fled the Syrian Civil War in Damascus and is waiting for the \u201cvery slow-moving\u201d bureaucracy<\/p>\n to process his application for asylum. Meanwhile, he takes classes at Solomon and works as a writer and Arabic translator for the site.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re really excited to be expanding our reach and readership by publishing more articles in Arabic in the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n To fund operations and expand its audience, Solomon does writing, graphic design, filming and photography for other nonprofits and businesses in Athens. Krithari said that does not affect the organization\u2019s ability to publish stories, stressing that \u201cindependence is very important to all of us at Solomon.\u201d To avoid conflicts, the team does not take money from companies or NGOs that it covers as journalists, she said. Much of their work is funded by the Open Society Foundations and the Engaged Journalism Accelerator.<\/p>\n With looming national elections where anti-immigrant parties are expected to gain votes, Krithari sees sites like Solomon as key to countering negative public opinion on diversity in Greek society. \u201cWe are not biased, but we are progressive, inclusive and pro-refugee,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Jack Allen ATHENS – With its graffiti, posters and history of activism, the area around the National Technical University declares its political fervor. It is a natural home for an organization like Solomon, a new media nonprofit that covers diversity while simultaneously training young Greeks and refugees to produce their own journalism. \u201cOur name<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/commons.princeton.edu\/globalreporting2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/122\/2019\/06\/IMG_1375.jpg?resize=676%2C901\")
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