At the BEYOND International Exhibition of Digital Technology and Innovation in Thessaloniki, the Municipality of Heraklion | Press Releases | The municipality

At the BEYOND international exhibition of digital technology and innovation in Thessaloniki, a meeting point for innovative companies and cutting-edge technologies, the Municipality of Heraklion was invited, represented by the Deputy Mayor of Technical Works Giorgos Sisamakis.

The position of the Deputy Mayor of Technical Works focused on the importance of utilizing information data and digital technology for the benefit of the Citizens and the Municipality of Heraklion as a whole, as these have been prioritized by Mayor Alexis Kalokairino and the Municipal Authority. Giorgos Sisamakis spoke about the value of creating informational data and how it is used for the planning and implementation of strategies by the Local Government Organizations and the Municipality of Heraklion.

The Deputy Mayor of Technical Projects noted that the digital strategy horizontally intersects all the responsibilities and strategies of the Municipalities in every field such as sustainable mobility, energy and the circular economy, but also in social policy, education, civil protection, and tourism . The information data is necessary for the formation and implementation of the strategies of the Municipality of Heraklion and consequently, for their use for the benefit of the economy and the citizens.

Specifically, as mentioned, the Municipality of Heraklion, particularly active in the field of technology, has 80 kilometers of optical fibers that interconnect public buildings as well as the largest wireless network in the country. At the same time, digital transformation interventions worth 5 million euros are underway, the results of which will be visible and beneficial to the Citizens. Characteristic examples are smart mobility applications (smart crossings, smart stops), civil protection applications, energy index monitoring applications in public buildings and energy saving applications.

The Deputy Mayor of Technical Works made special mention of the important role of tourism in the local economy and in the development of the sector which is expected with the creation of the new airport and the BOAK. After reminding that Heraklion is part of UNESCO’s “Creative Cities” international network in the field of Gastronomy, he emphasized that currently 18 billion euros of tourist investments are underway while the infrastructure is being prepared to welcome the doubling of visitors to Crete as it is estimated that the 6 million visitors per year today, will reach 12 million by 2030. In this context, the objective of the Municipality of Heraklion is to enhance the digital experience of visitors through VR and AR systems but through the integration of digital applications.

As stated by the Deputy Mayor of Technical Works “Municipalities have been transformed both in terms of data, responsibilities and the level of services they offer to citizens. Heraklion is in the midst of developments, if you like it is a pioneer in many fields, producing data-information such as GIS, geospatial data of the Municipality but also urban data, open data, in order to be used by citizens and businesses. Mayor Alexis Kalokairinos and the Municipal Authority emphasize the creation of data, we want to plan based on input-output indicators and evaluate our interventions both at the stage of implementation and results. We try to achieve the best result with the least possible inconvenience to the citizens but also the greatest benefit to them.”

It is noted that the BEYOND international exhibition of digital technology and innovation, which takes place in Thessaloniki from 25 to 27 April, is a meeting point for innovative companies and cutting-edge technologies that develop, among other things, applications and solutions for smart cities, for cyber security, health , intelligent agriculture but also e-commerce.