Category: Χωρίς κατηγορία @en

Our vision is to prototype new methods of Civic Engagement for Greece that may lead to new models of governance. Our mission is to create the space, the networks, the tools and the processes that will enable citizens to envision and create a place worth living in – together. Our challenge is to create the conditions that may engender Systemic Change through creativity, experimentation and innovation.

The past two years of Place Identity NGO have been challenging, inspiring, and somewhat overwhelming, characterised by breakthroughs but also turbulences during the pilot phase.

Building on informal networks and projects developed since 2009, we have established a non-profit organisation made of clusters, ready to scale its impact at local, national and international level.

None of the achievements presented in this report would have been possible without the commitment, the cooperation and inspiration of hundreds of active, creative citizens across Greece that joined our journey towardsan exciting exploration of new possibilities.

As we catalyse the development of diverse communities and projects for urban regeneration and political innovation, we experience personal and collective leaps of faith, risk-taking and often, collapse. Yet, there is always the flame of those not afraid to take risks, to experiment, to be exposed, to question, and finally to be questioned. Committed to a shared set of values and a common objective, diverse teams, working under difficult conditions, managed to build trust a synthesis of ideas, and bring about social impact in their neighborhoods, cities, regions, country.

To all those “local doers” in Athens, Thessaloniki, Messologi, Kozani, Korinthos, Patras, who in the past two years have exemplified their readiness to be the change they would like to see in the world, we can only express our deep gratitude and respect.

We are equally thankful to the foundations and individuals that supported our projects financially, to the dozens of small and larger businesses that offered precious services and goods in kind, and to the universities and public authorities that continuously show their eagerness to scale the generated know-how.

Slowly but steadily, we are contributing to the creation of new processes, new knowledge and new experiences of being a Citizen (Politis) reconnected to the polis, politismos, politiki and politeia (city-culture-politics-state). From reviving an abandoned square, to rewriting the Greek Constitution, we remain committed to enabling participation, experimentation, mutual learning, social and political innovation.

We invite you to discover the highlights of our journey through the images and the words of our members, participants and partners. And we challenge you to join us and support our efforts for the exciting times ahead.

Thank you all,

Mary Karatza & Stephania Xydia
coFounders of Place Identity NGO

1. Citizens’ Workshops

We engage diverse communities in physical deliberation workshops for issues of local or national importance. Using participatory methodologies, citizens and relevant stakeholders co-create solutions for issues that directly affect their lives.

2013-2015: 7 Citizens’ Workshops held in Athens, Mesologgi, Kozani, Volos and Thessaloniki:

PEDIO AGORA: Shop owners, municipal officers, activists and inhabitants of Varvakeios Square in Athens co-designed 6 proposals for the revival of the neighborhood

SYNTAGMA 2.0: Experiencing the World Cafe method, Citizens in Athens, Messologi and Thessaloniki took part in the bottom-up creation of a New Constitution for Greece

2. Urban Events

Through public exhibitions, urban dinners, open air activities and artistic interventions, we engage local communities to learn about each city, imagine its future and take action in the present to redefine and regenerate public spaces.

2013-2015: 96 Urban Events held in Athens, Kozani, Thessaloniki, Korinthos and Patras:

IMAGINE THE CITY: exhibitions revealed existing proposals by architects, designers and urban planners for concrete urban spaces in Kozani, Korinthos, Patras and Thessaloniki. Through presentations, 3D models and digital material as well as several parallel events, local teams opened the dialogue about how Greek cities and urban culture are shaped.

3. Trainings

We host experiential training programs in participatory leadership, process design and new methods for citizens’ engagement and physical deliberation, building the capacity of practitioners in different sectors across Greece.

2013-2015: 7 trainings held in Athens, Mesologgi, Kozani, Volos and Thessaloniki engaging 265 participants from 15 Greek cities.

BE PART! Public servants, NGO leaders, Social Entrepreneurs, teachers started to implement participatory methods in their own projects and communities.

4. Consulting services

We work with private companies to redefine Corporate Social Responsibility strategies and make the necessary shift from consumer to citizen, developing creative urban regeneration interventions. We support local authorities that wish to engage citizens in decision-making processes and develop innovative tools for participatory governance.

SYNATHINA: We supported the bid-writing process of the Municipality of Athens that won the Mayors Challenge Competition by Bloomberg Philanthropies and a prize of 1 million euros for its new Department for Civil Society.

5. Interdisciplinary Conferences

We invite international researchers and activists to share best practices on Civic Engagement and Participatory Design and to develop strategic partnerships with local initiatives and organisations.

15 experts from 6 countries got involved in the POLITEIA 2.0  International Forum for Citizens Engagement held on 21/03/2015 in Athens to discuss “participatory design from the public square to the national constitution” . Watch all presentations here

6. Digital Tools

We partner with high-tech companies in order to design open source digital tools that can empower translocal community building and improve open government platforms.

ACTIVE COMMONS (under development) is a platform that facilitates cooperation between translocal communities  working on the same cause. Through shared maps and calendars of activities and shared files, different civic initiatives can exchange know-how and scale up their impact.

DEMOCRACIT is a tool developed by Scify in order to make existing open gov platforms in Greece more effective. It improves the process of commenting, provides summaries of bills and facilitates data analysis.

Cross sector collaboration for Innovation

Brainstormings for Inclusion

Communication for Engagement

International networking for Extroversion

Tools for Openness

[Tools currently available only in Greek]

• Training Toolkit for Participatory Μethods
• PEDIO_AGORA: Citizens’ Workshops’ Harvest Reports
• PEDIO_AGORA: Citizens’ Toolkit for Participatory Urban Design
• SYNTAGMA 2.0: Citizens’ Workshops’ Harvest Reports
• SYNTAGMA 2.0: Citizens’ Toolkit for Participatory Constitutional Design

Research for Advocacy

We undertake Action Research and Comparative Research to question the status quo, identify trends and perspectives so as to generate new knowledge, raise awareness and advocate for institutional change (i.e. New Constitution, electoral law, political rights, Civil Society empowerment).

Mentoring for Transferability

We facilitate members of our network to launch their own projects for urban regeneration and social innovation in different neighborhoods and communities, by providing access to funding, know-how and partnerships.

Α. Media

“Greece has been suffering a financial crisis for years. Some have lost hope, while losing jobs. Yet people on Varvakeios Square are standing up against depression. They are bringing new life to their abandoned square. Meet the Greek Actors of Urban Change”

A place in the sun | Stadt Magazin (Germany), October 2015

“There are those who are tired of being jealous of what happens elsewhere…abroad. They build teams, they take initiatives and they intervene in the public space, providing solutions to improve our collective ling. They are the shapers of a new life.”

New Life | Athens Voice, February 2013

“It’s time to start talking to each other and to deal with each other! […] The keyword: Processes. To change them, by incorporating fresh ideas and thinking methods, and with the newest tools. To make this transformation finally happen in Greece. This is the goal they are working towards continuously. […] and for this they deserve our greatest respect”

Special on Greek youth: We can do things differently | GEO Magazine (Germany), February 2015

“There is a symbolic dimension around the Constitution, because it represents our Social Contract, a document that should inspire unity. It brings together people who seek common ground, to share values, priorities and their visions for our country beyond the crisis”

A Constitution by the citizens for the citizens | Vima, March 2015

“10 women (of all ages, with or without stable employment, with and without family and/or children) participate in the projects of Place Identity, a non profit organisation based in Athens which aims at empowering the institutional role and efficiency of Civil Society in Greece. The common thread is political innovation; research and experimentation on redefining decision making processes, at both a local and national level.”

10 women working for political innovation in Greece | The Press Project International, March 2015

“The organization […]  recruits Greeks to dream up urban regeneration proposals. Pittaki is the first physical manifestation of their ideas. “This is very small scale; it’s not a revolution.But since the crisis, more Greeks want to be involved in the revival of urban spaces.”

Whimsical project puts Athens’ Pittaki Street in a better light | Los Angeles Times (USA), October 2013

“Citizens’ participation in decision-making processes ought to be a way of life, as well as a right of all citizens that is institutionally recognised […] The role of Civil Society should ideally be that of the inspirer and mobiliser, as well as  the sleepless watchdog of society over national government”

Can a team of young people redefine Democracy? | Lifo (Greece), March 2015

Β. Members & Participants

”The unique opportunities experienced during the citizen workshops have had a great impact on me. Today, I think of these workshops as reflections of the future political sphere…As a member of dynamic team which seeks to work horizontally, and by witnessing the difficulties of the transition into a non-hierarchical working model, I was able to experience the challenge posed by the application of equality in practice”

Elisavet Spyridou, 56, Psychologist, Athens

“I gained new knowledge and new tools which can be applied for better dialogue and collaboration. I learned how to map the collective intelligence of the group I was involved in, something which I had never imagined was possible…These projects were very exciting because every word that was being described  could be translated into practice…I believe that Place Identity dealt with one of the most difficult areas of action: activating the citizen, awakening the individual as well as public consciousness, during a period of turmoil and crisis for the nation.”

Olga Daskali, Lawyer, 35,  Mesologgi

“At the age of 32 I read the Greek Constitution for the first time, understanding the true essence of Democracy. My participation in the Syntagma 2.0 offered the political education that society has deprived me of”

Christoforos Eleftheriadis, 35, Sales Operations freelancer, Athens

“ My Master in Urban Regeneration lead me to seek a 6-month  internship at  Place Identity. In the context of the project PEDIO_AGORA I had the opportunity to work with diverse groups aiming to implement innovative practices of urban planning, participation methods, and experience in practice the positive impact on the city and its inhabitants.

Maria Kikidou, 27, Urban Planner, Chalkis

“I came to the workshop without knowing what to expect. What followed was truly a surprise, both in terms of citizens’ presentations and in terms of how all the ideas came to form concrete proposals”

From book of impressions (Kozani)

“At the end of the day, solutions for the improvement of our lives exist, as long as we take action as responsible citizens. We tend to forget that citizens are the soul of every State, every institution…Thank you for this wonderful experience which creates hope in such difficult times.”

From facebook comment (Athens)

“I learned to listen to others. I broadened my horizons. I was able to leave behind my prejudices and silos if understanding”

From book of impressions (Thessaloniki)

C. Partners

“These projects are full of novelty, ideas and creativity. I believe that in the context of the Greek and European crisis, and the upsurge of Eurosceptic or Europhobic movements throughout the Union, civil society has a specific role to play in revisiting the values of the European project and determine a new vision for its future. I believe Place Identity ΝGO can play a particular role in achieving this goal.”

Jimmy Jammar, Head of Representation, European Commission “12 hours for greece”

“Τhe efforts undertaken by the Politeia 2.0 team are of vital importance, not only for Greece, but in a  much wider context. They have shown great courage and resilience making meaningful experiments in inventing new ways of reconciling the population to seek a constructive way going forward. I have admired relentless efforts and enthusiasm of the Politeia 2.0 team to follow through on their commitments.  It has been both a pleasure and a privilege to have been able to contribute to the process.”

Bjarni Jonsson, Systemic Change Advisor to the bottom-up constitution building process in Iceland

“I am impressed by the extraordinary commitment of the Athens team, both for the local community and within the European Network of Actors of Urban Change. PEDIO_AGORA demonstrated how to create a laboratory for participatory decision-making processes and was a great inspiration for other initiatives in Greece and across Europe.”

Agnieszka Surwillo-Hahn, Robert Bosch Foundation

“Place Identity gave us an encouraging prototype of how cross sector collaboration can look in practice. They managed to carefully forge bonds between committed individuals in the administration, business and civil society and to lead these to a constructive and fruitful outcome.”

Darius Polok, Managing Director, MitOst e.V

“We had an excellent collaboration with Place Identity NGO during the implementation of the “Platform for Political Innovation”, which was funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Grants Greek NGO Programme “We are all Citizens”. The implementation of the project was successful and had achieved the provisional goals. It is always a pleasure to cooperate with such a motivated and dedicated team of young people!”

Fay Koutzoukou, Deputy Programme Director, EEA Grants NGO Fund for Greece, Bodossaki Foundation

“Place Identity as a core partner in Athens gave a fine example of how citizen´s participation can work. They were able to step back from their initial project plan and gave way to the process and open negotiation. Now it is important that the administration and other involved stakeholders value this process and its outcomes in order to maintain the carefully developed trust.”

Dr. Martin Schwegmann, Program Manager, Actors of Urban Change

We openly share with you both our successes and our failures, as they can be best explained by numbers:

The EEA Grants funding was made possible thanks to a) a strategic partnership with CulturePolis who provided administrative support to its younger partners Place Identity and SciFy and b) the provision of private loans of 50.000 euros in order for Place Identity to respond to the cashflow restrictions of a funding framework that refunds expenditures after project completion. The difference between income and expenses for 2015 is expected to be covered by upcoming EEA Grants installments.

We are deeply grateful to our partners and supporters for enabling us to successfully tackle the challenges and opportunities of our first funding programme.