Ομιλίες

Είχα την ευκαιρία να συζητήσω με επισκέπτες φοιτητές του Πανεπιστημίου του Sheffield σχετικά με την τοπική διακυβέρνηση και τον ρόλο των πολιτών. Μιλήσαμε για τις πρωτοβουλίες που καλούνται να αναλάβουν ιδιωτικοί και δημόσιοι φορείς για την κοινωνική δικαιοσύνη και την ενσωμάτωση των πολιτών αλλά και την απαραίτητη συνεργασία ανάμεσα σε φορείς και πολίτες: «Οι δημόσιοι και ιδιωτικοί φορείς μπορούν και πρέπει να αναλάβουν πρωτοβουλίες για περισσότερη κοινωνική δραστηριοποίηση και ενσωμάτωση των πολιτών. Αυτοί οι φορείς πρέπει να εμπνεύσουν και να παρακινήσουν τους πολίτες να γίνουν ενεργοί πολίτες ώστε να αντιληφθούν την πόλη ως δική τους ιδιοκτησία. Πρέπει να δημιουργούνται διάφορες δράσεις και πολιτικές όχι για τους πολίτες αλλά με τους πολίτες.  Ενώ εστιάζουμε στους πολίτες και τον ρόλο τους, αγνοούμε ότι μια εποικοδομητική και παραγωγική συνεργασία μεταξύ των πολιτών και τον φορέων απαιτεί σοβαρότητα, υπευθυνότητα, και κατανόηση από τους υπεύθυνους λήψης αποφάσεων». Κάθε συζήτηση, και ειδικά με νέους, ιδιαίτερα από μια άλλη ευρωπαϊκή χώρα, είναι για όλους μας μία καλή ευκαιρία να προσφέρουμε αλλά και να αποκτήσουμε νέες γνώσεις. Κομμάτι της παρουσίασης μου στα αγγλικά, στις εγκαταστάσεις του GLOSS Project by the The University of Sheffield and CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield. : In all of my positions, private or public, I tried to include and engage citizens of any age group. When you create something for someone, it might have a temporary impact, but when you create something with someone, the impact can be long lasting. I strongly believe that local governance is not an exclusive competence of the local authorities. In my opinion, local governance must be conducted by all the entities that exist, operate and affect, directly or indirectly, citizens. In my opinion, local governance is a broader concept and is defined as the formulation and execution of collective action at the local level, therefore, it cannot be perceived without the citizens’ participation. For a politician is a win - win situation. On the one hand he (she) is close to his (her) potential voters. They can come close to their favorite politician, appreciate his (her) efforts for the common good. On the other hand the politician educates civilians towards social awareness, administrational procedures, and social responsibility. Public and private authorities, must and should take initiatives for social engagement and inclusion. These authorities must inspire and motivate citizens to become active citizens and perceive the city as their own ownership. Anyway Greece not only founded democracy but also established the direct democracy in Athens almost 25 centuries ago. Fortunately, the technological evolution nowadays provides us, for free, all the necessary tools and means of communication to create projects, activities, you name it, not for the citizens but with the citizens. It is very important to note that during my service as a deputy mayor, I confirmed that a respective amount of responsible and professional citizens that offer themselves, and they are willing to devote an enormous amount of their time in order to improve their city and the quality of the city. This usually happens among younger people! But sometimes that might prove tricky because people nowadays are more suspicious, more cautious, but that's why we have to try harder to prove their suspicions wrong. To make them a steady part of our community. It is an effective mechanism for participation in public processes where decisions affecting their lives are made, and for exercising their rights and obligations. To end my presentation, local governance, again according to my personal ethical framework, - so if you like something that I said, please quote me-  is a dual concept. On the one side, there are willing citizens to offer and on the other side, there are the decision makers of private and public entities. We tend to focus on citizens and their role, while we neglect that a fruitful and productive partnership of these two sides, requires seriousness, responsibility, understanding and professionalism from the decision makers. Everyone ‘s personal spare time, especially during the difficult years of economic depression in my country, is the most important thing that we can build on the field of social trust. Therefore, when someone devotes his or her spare time, and energy in favour of the city, we should respect it, and transform it into the changes for common good. Thank you for your attention, Now I am open to your inquiries or questions!