Begone 2021!

 Not in much of a mood for celebration, I’m afraid. 2021 cast us one last, cruel blow in its final few days. My oldest Greek friend, of well over 40 years, departed this life after battling with a health issue. She was a dynamic lady of great warmth and dignity whom I was honoured to call my ‘sister’ and without whom this world is a poorer place.

 The pandemic has forced us to perhaps adapt our perspective and not take things for granted to such as an extent as we previously did.

Our neighbours will be kind enough to share our Hogmanay table as they usually do and I shall be making a toast to dear friends and family members no longer with us – may we cherish the times we spent together with them. But we need to balance our perspective and be thankful for the benefits 2021 provided us with. In my case, being granted Greek nationality was certainly one of the memorable events for me.

 Looking ahead to 2022, like those beautiful beasts below, let us hold our heads high without fear and regrets. Let us embrace life with a heightened sense of who we are, and what we want to achieve in the time that is allotted to us.

                             

We wish you health, happiness, and good cheer in the new year. May 2022 be kind to us all!

Greece on the move - go gov.gr!

 In the area of technological development, Greece has been lagging: classified as ‘emerging ‘ by the World Economic Forum so  far as its readiness to participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution – 4IR- is concerned; as well as a low performer in the EU Digital Single Market.

 But things are changing and here are two of the men who greatly shoulder that responsibility. First off is the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Born in Athens in 1968, his family – his father was a well-known politician who was later to become Prime Minister – was under house-arrest by the Greek military junta. He studied in America, obtaining two Masters in Social Studies and International Policy at Harvard and Stanford Universities, respectively. As leader of the New Democracy Party, he won the elections in July 2019, and became Prime Minister.                                           

  He speaks English, French and German so is well equipped to represent Greece in Europe.One of Mitsotakis’ aims was ‘to establish a ministry with a start-up culture that would use the resources of the state to bring about change.’ That could be defined as being an environment which values problem-solving, open communication and a flat hierarchy. Merging already existing different departments and areas of responsibilities in different ministries, in 2019 he formed what is now known as the Ministry of Digital Governance, Greece.

 Heading up this ministry was another Athenian: Kyriakos Pierrakakis, born in 1983, he is the youngest minister in the cabinet. He also went to the States to further his education:  to Harvard for a Master’s in Public Policy, then MIT where he gained Master’s in Technology Policy.

 Previously, data as stored in different departments and information systems which could overlap or even impede projects, resulting in inefficiency and time being wasted. The Ministry of Digital Governance is attempting to correct this fragmentation of units and systems and improve cost-effectiveness and service quality. Administrative procedures have been simplified and made more user-friendly to the public.

                                           
 Pierrakakis’ goal is open government, whereby citizens can access documents and governmental procedures allowing for a degree of public oversight, in turn promoting government coordination and civic engagement.  In a recent interview with the Kathemerini newspaper, he stated that the number of types of online transaction offered by the gov.gr portal had increased in the past 18 months from 501 to 1,300, while his projections are for more that 350 digital transactions as opposed to the 2018 figure of 8.8 million. 

 What has been accomplished in the last two years is remarkable: Greece is now placed in the top three countries in Europe in developing its 5G network, and is planning to have 99% of the country covered by 2026. In addition, in November the ministry won the 2021 Digital Opportunity/Inclusion Award (Public Sector) at the Global ICT Excellence Awards organized by the World Information Technology and Services Alliance.

Certainly, the pandemic  - because of related restricted mobility, working at home, setting up systems to deal with vaccination procedures - necessitated rapid developments on many fronts.  This was a catalyst in dismantling old systems of red tape and bringing state and citizen closer together, which in itself merits a separate log post.  

 Suffice it to say, that the night of January 11^th – January 12^th 2011 will be forever etched on the mind of Mr Pierrakakis. He and his ministry staff worked overnight – he ordered countless pizzas to keep them all going! – so that at 7am,  when the pharmacies opened, the vaccination program would be up and operating smoothly. With the system we have been able to book vaccination appointments and download both national and European certification of our status.  This vast undertaking was impressive in its outcome. Here is all my documentation affording me a degree of freedom of movement thanks to their efforts – and those of the health service workers, of course!                                           

  Mindful of the upcoming festivities I send you the outcome of some of my own efforts!

May my robin be a herald of health, happiness and good fortune over the festive season!