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Greece Forward III: Progressive Policies for the Cities of Today and Tomorrow Athens, 4 October 2017 FEPS Activity Report FEPS October 2017 Our third annual conference in Athens, 'Greece Forward III: Progressive Policies for the Cities of Today and Tomorrow’, co-organised with DIKTIO - Network for Reform in Greece and Europe, focused on all key issues related to the future of cities and their citizens, at a political, social, cultural and economic level. Hosted in Athens, one of the world’s most important and creative cities since the ancient times, the intention was to ignite a meaningful debate on how we envision the present and future of large urban centres, taking into account the Greek and European experiences. To this aim, ‘Greece Forward III’ aimed at investigating the increasingly significant role that modern cities can play not only as epicentres and catalysts of growth, development, and democratic experimentation. The conference took place on Wednesday, October 4th, at the Acropolis Museum, in Athens. It featured the participation of H.E. The President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos, the Mayors of Athens, Florence, Lemessos, Thessaloniki, and Pireaus, as well as a number of leading policy-makers, policy experts and academics from Greece and from Europe. Introductory remarks Dr. Ernst Stetter, Secretary General of FEPS, highlighted in his opening remarks that the very course of urbanization and modern urban organization have rendered cities the dominant social, economic and demographic structure of today’s world. Dr. Stetter marked that the future of cities coincides with the very future of nation states, as cities are now the main environment of growth and social progress, especially in an era when experiments of democratic innovation and urban planning have paramount impact to a national and supranational level. In the modern world, Dr. Stetter mentioned, notions such as diversity, multiculturalism, tolerance and sustainability are primarily tested in an urban level before being tested in broadened environments. The Secretary General of FEPS concluded that 21st century will be “The century of the City” and that as much as cities grow, we will be asked to give progressive responses to emerging challenges related to them; responses that must be substantially human-centred and not based on consumerist models and profit-chasing goals. The President of DIKTIO Network for Reform in Greece and Europe, Mrs Anna Diamantopoulou, in her inaugural speech, tried to provide the audience with answers to the question of whether a FEPS | Rue Montoyer 40, B-1000 Brussels | Tel + 32 2 234 69 00 | Fax + 32 2 280 03 83 | [email protected] 2 progressive framework for crafting urban policies does ultimately exist. Mrs Diamantopoulou identified the IV Industrial Revolution, the all growing refugee flows and the shift of the planet economic equilibrium as the major challenges introduced by the 21st century. At the same time, she pointed out the locality is the major factor from which both the EU as a whole and each member state separately should begin with analyzing, so as to efficiently be tackling modern- day problems. Furthermore, Mrs Diamantopoulou referred to the structures and the model of governance a 21st century model city should be based upon, reminding the deadlock created by institutional and economic dependence of regional governments on central bureaucracies. The President of DIKTIO concluded that economic self-governance, broader power and support for high technology and organized innovation are prerequisites of cities’ being adapted to new realities. Opening remarks Η.Ε. The President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos The President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos, referred during his speech, to the paramount importance of cities as the major politically and culturally organized institution, defending democracy all and those values the Western civilization stands upon. Mr. Pavlopoulos marked that cities can constitute substantial pillars of, not only cohesion and coexistence but also eradication of nationalistic threats, mentioning indicatively, the paradigm of the Catalonian referendum. He also highlighted that cities can contribute to deeper and more democratically legitimized European integration, functioning as bridges between supranational organizations and nation-state, “the main actor structured according to the principles of representative parliamentary democracy”. Last but not least, Mr. Pavlopoulos, referred to the role of cities when it comes to development of innovation and to their potential to drive ahead the whole country which they belong to, without jeopardizing welfare state and the rule of law. FEPS | Rue Montoyer 40, B-1000 Brussels | Tel + 32 2 234 69 00 | Fax + 32 2 280 03 83 | [email protected] 3 First Session: Organising the Demos in Democracy: Cities as Labs of Democratic Innovation and Governance Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence, Italy Olga Zrihen , Vice President of the PES Group in the Committee of the Regions Kostas Bakoyannis, Regional Governor of Central Greece Amalia Zepou, Vice Mayor for Civil Society and Innovation, City of Athens Panagiotis Vlachos, Head of ‘Mprosta’ (Forward), Lawyer, Institute for Local Governance and Policy Innovation, EPLO The Mayor of Florence, Mr. Dario Nardella, highlighted that the global economic crisis had two main consequences to cities: the dramatic reduction of public resources available and the growing popular disenchantment towards the political system, which in turn paved the way for populist movements to emerge, in a European level. Mr Nardella pointed out that the “Great Recession” managed to radically transform the center- periphery relations, because cuts in public expenditure have reinforced centralization, thus countering a previous beneficial trend. Furthermore he supported that the main questions needing responses are, on the one hand, how to deliver goods and services of quality, though with restrained resources and on the other hand, how to relegitimize traditional parties. Mr. Nardella concluded accentuating that the first challenge is related to our achieving the goal of economic efficiency without applying abstract austerity policies and that the second challenge is a matter of leadership, political vision and citizens’ involvement to political processes. Mrs Olga Zrihen, Vice President of PES to the Committee of Regions, marked the imperative for closer cooperation between citizens and authorities when it comes to decision-making processes. Mrs. Zrihen highlighted that citizens cannot be treated as plain consumers but as actors definitive of policies related to issues crucial to their very everyday life, such as environmental problems, housing and local investments. She concluded supporting that transparency, the promotion of participatory projects (such as participatory budgets) and the empowerment of cultural initiatives can reinforce citizens’ collective conscience and can function as tools of social cohesion. FEPS | Rue Montoyer 40, B-1000 Brussels | Tel + 32 2 234 69 00 | Fax + 32 2 280 03 83 | [email protected] 4 Mr. Panagiotis Vlachos analyzed the concept urban innovation and its characteristics. He pointed out that innovation cannot be happening in a state of political void, that it is not “colorless”, while requiring organizational efficiency and social legitimization. Furthermore, he supported that innovation in essentially generated in a local level, as it expressed primarily local needs, being based at the same time, in participation and inclusivity. Lastly, Mr. Vlachos mentioned the notion of “smart cities” and their ability of using and synthesizing knowledge and information so as to regulate the implementation of targeted policies, taking also into consideration all the new consumerist models and the existent fiscal incapacities. Mr. Costis Bakoyannis, Governor of Central Greece talked about the inherent contradiction in terms characterizing the Greek local administration, as locality is actually eliminated by the “hyperlocal” character of the existent problems such as inequality, unemployment and poverty, with local authorities powers being also restrained by a bureaucratic and centralized government. Mr. Bakoyannis marked that economic decentralization as well as and the loosening of the ties between the various local governments and the central one, constitutes the major and most important institutional reform to be made. Mr Bakoyannis suggested, indicatively, that the duty of ENFIA tax collection be transferred right under the jurisdiction of regional governments, recognizing though, that such a measure might create multi-speed municipalities, it would enhance competitiveness and productivity nevertheless. To conclude, Governor Bakoyannis highlighted that local authorities can contribute to a great extent to effectively addressing the challenge of populist emergence exactly due to their immediate trust and accountability relations with constituents. Mrs Amalia Zeppou, Vice-Mayor of Athens, focused herself to presenting the sinAthena initiative the Municipality of Athens has been running since 2013. sinAthena is a platform aiming at chartering and coordinating the innovative human capital existent in civil society as well as the “phenomena of spontaneous self-organization in the public sphere.” Mrs Zeppou marked that, from the very beginning of the initiative, the structures of sinAthina have supported over 2500 activities, realized by over 340 different