As part of the Municipality of Kozani’s preparations for submitting its application to the EU Mission for 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030, a series of consultations was held with civil society and, in particular, with local stakeholders.

More specifically, three thematic workshops were held on the following topics:

– Urban transformation

– Energy, resource management and the circular economy

– Digital transformation

Representatives from the public and private sectors participated in the workshops. Participants included financial institutions, such as the EBRD, the Ministry of Environment and Energy, as well as academic and research institutions, including the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas and the University of Western Macedonia.

The first workshop was held on 16 November 2021. It was moderated by Antonis Tourlidakis, former Rector of the University of Western Macedonia, with Apostolos Agrafiotis from the Municipality of Kozani’s Planning Office as the speaker. The workshop focused on urban transformation towards achieving climate neutrality, with particular emphasis on improving citizens’ quality of life, including the atmosphere, water resources, public spaces and the urban environment.

The second workshop was held on 26 November 2021. It was moderated by Georgios Marnellos, Professor at the University of Western Macedonia, with Periklis Kafasis, Head of the Directorate of Programmes, Procurement and Services at DIADYMA, as the speaker. The workshop focused on the energy transition and the sustainable management of natural resources towards achieving climate neutrality, with particular emphasis on energy production and storage, resource efficiency and the circular economy.

The third workshop was held on 7 December 2021. It was moderated by Georgios Karagiannidis, Professor at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, with Nikos Ploskas, Assistant Professor at the University of Western Macedonia, as the speaker. The workshop focused on digital transformation towards smart solutions and applications, with particular emphasis on improving citizens’ quality of life, facilitating business activity and upgrading the Municipality’s digital services.

The workshops were implemented with the support of the Cluster of Bioeconomy and Environment of Western Macedonia (CluBE), under the coordination of Giannis Fallas.

The workshops were organised following a relevant initiative and were attended by the Mayor of Kozani, Lazaros Maloutas.