Each year, Bloomberg Philanthropies hands out innovation awards, accompanied by a large money donation to various cities across the world. Athens was among the five cities awarded in 2014.
The grand prize went to Barcelona for creating the “Trust Network,” a digital community aimed at assisting the elderly. The award is accompanied by a prize of 5 million euros.
The remaining awards went to Athens, Stockholm, Warsaw and the English city of Kirklees. The cities will receive a one-million-euro donation each. More than 150 cities from 28 countries participated in this year’s competition.
The award was given to Athens for the creation of a new online platform, “SynAthina,” which aims to connect citizen groups that organize activities to improve the city’s quality of life.
“The devastating financial crisis adversely affected the labor market, infrastructure, and life in the urban centers of Greece. Athens will create an online platform that helps civil society, local institutions, and local government to collaboratively devise solutions to local problems, which in turn will help ensure the development of sustainable neighborhoods for the revival of Athens,” said Bloomberg.
“SynAthina” was created by the Municipality of Athens and has been running for almost a year, offering Athenians the opportunity to register their activities and learn about one another.
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