“How do you evaluate the evolution of Digital Governance so far and through what actions will your Municipality gain a great position in the new digital world of your citizens?”
The Digital Transition is a necessity in order for the state to simplify its procedures for the greater good and for the cities to become friendly to the citizens, facilitating their daily life on many levels. It is the vehicle that will lead cities and citizens to the next day, with prosperity and economic growth.
The covid-19 pandemic accelerated the processes of this transition by “pushing” local authorities and national governments to their limits. Our country in the last two years has made huge progress in this field, while the effort to eliminate digital illiteracy and improve digitization of the State and its functions continues at a rapid pace.
In this context, the Municipality of Kozani adopts and implements every national strategy and action, while developing initiatives to facilitate its citizens by simplifying their daily life and the procedures in their transactions with an interactive and efficient administration.
In collaboration with an interdisciplinary think tank, we designed and captured our vision for the smart, attractive, functional Kozani of the next day: the strategic plan “Kozani – Smart City”. Following a public consultation, this plan is now at the implementation stage.
Through important collaborations and by using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) we proceed to actions and projects that aim at the transformation of the Municipality of Kozani into a smart Municipality. We are implementing targeted interventions in key sectors, promoting growth and innovation, while protecting the environment and our resources, by reducing our energy footprint.
The areas of interest we have defined are the Environment and Energy (Smart Environment), Mobility and Transport (Smart Mobility), Smart Living, Smart Citizens and Smart Government.
Focusing on the user and taking into consideration parity and unimpeded access for all, we give emphasis and priority to people with limited mobility (elderly, people with disabilities, etc.) and their access to services and any public space. At the same time, we work for smarter urban transport networks, more efficient electric lighting systems, safer public spaces, modern education infrastructure, research and innovation.
Kozani is currently in the process of transforming its development identity. We do not intend to be just “fast followers”, but we aim at innovation and the creation of good practices. Our goal is to attract entrepreneurship and facilitate its development, offering facilities and solutions that will make our Municipality attractive to employees and companies.
At the moment, the effort to transform our Municipality into an innovation pole, into a Smart Municipality, is in progress.
A prerequisite for the success of this project is the participation of the citizens, who should be informed of the “smart” practices and functions that we propose and adopt them in their daily lives in order to enjoy their benefits.
