Press Release
We are thrilled to announce the resounding success of the European Wool Day 2024 on 9th April highlighting the theme “New Routes of Wool Towards a Sustainable Future” and the local Greek Wool Weekend Celebrations held from April 6 to 8, 2024, in Metsovo-Greece!!!
This year’s local events were organized by the Greek organizations EGNATIA EPIRUS Foundation, EcoMuseum Zagori, and Natural and Cultural Association of Metsovo “Amintzio” and the 4th European Wool Day was organised by the European Wool Exchange (EWE) Foundation.
The four-day festival saw an exceptional turnout, with enthusiastic participation from wool lovers and visitors from all over Greece and various European countries.
The Greek Wool Weekend Celebrations started on the 6th April with the “Circle of Wool” by The POKARI Project, where participants could learn about the local, traditional way of scouring, carding by hands and by drum carder, spinning and natural dyeing. Attendees explored a series of vibrant activities including hands-on workshops (wet felting, needle felting, tufting, finger knitting, needle knitting, embroidery felting, weaving and painting with wool in collaboration with talented artists and craftswomen from Croatia, Greece, Hungary, North Macedonia, Serbia and Spain, art and crafts exhibitions, and discussions centered around the sustainable practices of wool usage. A workshop on preserving woollen and knitted textiles was also conducted by the University of Thessaly in collaboration with the Larissa based company Wool Story.
The local Greek round-table discussions provided a deep dive into the potential usage of sheep wool to redefine its role in a circular economy, making this event not only a celebration but also a platform for vital dialogue on wool’s importance in Greek, Europe and beyond.
We are especially proud of the 5-hour live-streamed 4th European Wool Day event with more than 30 videos and interventions, which connected wool enthusiasts across Europe not only focusing on the main topic of new routes of wool towards a sustainable future, but also on issues such as wool used in the health sector as a therapeutic tool, wool in education, and wool in fibre crafts. European Wool Day celebrations over the weekend in other parts of Europe were also shown.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our hosts and sponsors whose collaboration made this event a spectacular success: the POKARI project, TELEGLOBAL Ioannina, the Region of Epirus, the Municipality of Metsovo, the Tossitza Foundation, the Metsovo Day Care Centre for the Elderly (Κ.Η.Φ.Η.), the Metsovo Weaving School, the Metsovian Interdisciplinary Research Center (ME.K.D.E.), the Society for Psychosocial Research and Intervention and the Katogi Averoff Winery.
The 4th European Wool Day is available on EWE Foundation’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ewefoundation-europeanwool255
Stay tuned for more updates and keep weaving the routes of sustainability into our future!
See you next year on 9th April 2025 in Rome, Italy for the 5th European Wool Day.