The Municipality of Kozani will accelerate its green transformation, following the selection of the European Commission for the inclusion of the project “EHHUR- EYES HEARTS HANDS Urban Revolution” in the New European Bauhaus, in which the Municipality participates as a partner.
Following the European Commission’s announcement on Wednesday 4 May 2022, the five selected projects will be funded with 25 million Euros. They include the project “EHHUR- EYES HEARTS HANDS Urban Revolution”, in which the Municipality of Kozani participates as a partner, in a proposal submitted jointly with CERTH (national partner coordinator) and the Cluster of Bioeconomy and Environment of Western Macedonia (CluBE), coordinated by the Italian company RINA.
Among the 33 partners of the consortium are the University of Rome 3 (Italy), the Center for New Energy Technologies – CNET (Portugal), the University of Zagreb (Croatia), the Center for Sustainable Building and Development Support in Antwerp, Belgium Milio Environment and Energy Center (Denmark), the Izmir Institute of Technology (Turkey) etc.
The proposal was evaluated among 47 other proposals. It concerns demonstration projects, which will serve as beacons of innovation for the sustainability of the urban environment, the upgrading of aesthetics and inclusion, involving citizens in the direction of green transition at the local level.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said; “I look forward to seeing these New European Bauhaus works come to life. They will show what the future may look like and bring the European Green Agreement into our daily lives and living spaces. These projects should become the starting point for a European and global network of new European projects under the New European Bauhaus.”
These five projects will receive funding of 5 million Euros each for the implementation. They will concern energy and aesthetic upgrade of existing infrastructures, circular economy, arts, cultural heritage, smart cities, urban and rural transformation.
The project for which Kozani was selected concerns the pilot application of new technologies for energy, aesthetics and digital upgrade of an area which extends to two municipal school buildings (2nd and 6th), the park of Agios Dimitrios, the municipal building which houses DIPETHE and the services of the University of Western Macedonia, as well as the surrounding roads between Rousiados – Cyprus – Stratilaton – Three Hierarchs – Icarus streets.
These new projects are expected to contribute to the Mission of 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030, as the New European Bauhaus initiative is in line with the principles and objectives of the Mission, in which the Municipality of Kozani has been selected to participate.
The New European Bauhaus (NEB) aims to bridge the world of art, culture and education with science and technology. The Horizon Europe Program, which will fund the project, has a key role as a key driver of new ideas, prototypes and products, as research and innovation are key elements in the design, delivery and dissemination of NEB.
