The Hellenic Retina Society (HRS) has recently completed two major initiatives designed to strengthen education, awareness, and support for people living with visual impairments and retinal conditions.
1: MELITI
The Hellenic Retina Society has finished a five‑year project creating a new olfactory education program called MELITI. It teaches people, especially those with visual impairments, how to use and develop their sense of smell through structured workshops.
The project:
- Started during COVID‑19 as an idea to help people with visual impairments build everyday skills through smell.
- Ran workshops from 2022 to 2023, then organised all the material into a full training manual by 2025.
- Identified 90 different smells, grouped into 23 categories, and created 9 appendices to help others run the workshops.
- Showed that the program can help many groups: children, older adults, people with disabilities, people with memory issues, and even employees in workplace training.
The manual is now printed (800 copies) and available on the Retina Society website. Many organisations- including ministries, universities, disability groups, and Alzheimer’s associations – have officially supported or approved the program.
MELITI is now a fully developed, approved program ready to be used widely to support skills, inclusion, and rehabilitation.
2: GLAFKI Campaign
HRS has also completed GLAFKI, a nationwide information campaign on Geographic Atrophy (GA) and Age‑Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), which ran from October 2024 to the end of 2025.
Working with national partners, including KEAT, the Healthy Cities Network, ophthalmology and geriatric societies, and the National Federation of the Blind, the campaign delivered:
- Printed and digital information materials
- A dedicated online resource hub
- Training presentations for professionals and the public
- 5 online seminars for healthcare staff
- 7 regional online events
- 6 in‑person public events across major cities
- Media outreach and social media engagement
- A data‑collection tool to track impact
- Policy collaboration to strengthen guidance on ageing, safety, and visual impairment
The campaign reached thousands of people and strengthened cooperation between healthcare professionals, local authorities, and civil society. Its core message guided every activity: “Awareness, collaboration, and responsibility contribute to the promotion of healthy vision.”
