REACT is an integrated refugee accommodation and support programme launched in May 2016 by the Municipality of Thessaloniki, in northern Greece. It was developed as refugees increasingly moved from camps into urban areas, where accommodation could offer better access to services, learning, employment and community life.1
The municipality runs REACT in partnership with the UN refugee agency UNHCR and with European Union funding, working with local non-governmental organisations and the municipalities of Kalamaria and Neapoli-Sikies.1 Its multi-stakeholder structure emerged from Thessaloniki’s URBACT Local Group, established through the Arrival Cities network. The group brought public authorities and specialist organisations together to coordinate refugee inclusion and integration; the URBACT account describes this consortium model as a first in Greece and notes it was regarded as good practice by UNHCR.1
The programme set a target of 888 temporary accommodation places in private apartments, collective centres and host families. It also provides basic support to accommodated asylum seekers, including people pursuing relocation or family reunification, alongside social-integration support.1 The URBACT initiative connected this operational work with the city’s broader effort to develop an Integrated Action Plan for refugee inclusion, coordinating state and non-state actors.1
The cited project page identifies the Municipality of Thessaloniki as the programme’s launching and managing authority; it does not name an individual project director or give a specific founding day.1