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
