Thessaloniki, a city off topic?

For whom is Thessaloniki today? Could it become in the future a city that offers quality of life, employment opportunities, and prospects for personal development? How do different communities coexist? What does the degradation of public, especially green, spaces signify? These pressing questions were the focus of an open discussion about the city’s needs, the changes it requires, the challenges it currently faces, and the priorities it must set for the future to reverse the trend of people leaving or the underutilization of its potential.

Participants in the discussion: Sofia Christoforidou, journalist at “Makedonia” and “Inside Story” - Evi Athanassiou, professor at the School of Architecture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - Vasiliki Kartsiakli, tour guide and co-founder of the cultural company dot2dot - Victor Benouzilio, actor - Narration by: Sofia Nikolaidou, author - Moderation: Michalis Goudis, director of the Thessaloniki Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation

Olympion, Pavlos Zannas Hall, Sunday, February 18, 2024
Organized by: Heinrich Böll Foundation, Thessaloniki Office

The discussion is part of the conference titled “Where is this city going?” (organized by Parallaxi).

The video is available in Greek.

Evi Athanassiou

Title of Contribution: Thessaloniki ad hoc

Key Points: New processes of urban space production, absence of an overall vision and metropolitan-level strategy, green spaces as infrastructure for climate change adaptation, need for information and resident participation.

* Evangelia Athanasiou is an architect-engineer (AUTH) and a professor in the School of Architecture at AUTH. She completed postgraduate studies at the University of York (MA) and the University of Edinburgh (PhD), where she specialized in the environmental sustainability of cities. She has taught at the Hellenic Open University, at the Department of Architecture, University of Thessaly and at the Department of Spatial Planning and Development, AUTH. Since 2009, she has been teaching urban planning and design with a focus on the environmental dimensions of planning at AUTH. Her publications in international and Greek scientific journals and conferences center around a critical approach to the concept of urban sustainability, the relationship between the city and nature, and contemporary urban transformations with an emphasis on public space.

Sofia Christoforidou

Title of Contribution: Thessaloniki and us: Public spaces, individualism & claims

Key Points: Individualism, lack of participation and care for public spaces in the city, intense localism which does not lead to paths of assertion, the identity of Thessalonians.

* Sofia Christoforidou was born in Kavala and lives in Thessaloniki. She studied European Civilization at the Hellenic Open University and Journalism and New Media at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She worked for seven years in local media in Kavala. Since 2007, she has been writing for the Thessaloniki-based newspaper “Makedonia”, and since 2016, she has also been publishing investigative reports on Inside Story. She has collaborated with TV100 and ERT3, the Thessaloniki Film Festival, and the National Theatre of Northern Greece (NTNG), and hosted shows on the online radio station amagi, etc. Her texts have been published in Greek and international magazines.

Vasiliki Kartsiakli

Title of Contribution: Memory and History: Foundations for the development of a city

Key Points: Crucial issues in the management of memory, cultural heritage, tourism, and sustainable development.

* Vasiliki Kartsiakli, born in Trikala, moved to Thessaloniki in 2001 to study History and Archaeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She continued with postgraduate studies in Byzantine Archaeology and Art, while also completing studies in Byzantine Greek Paleography and the Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art. Before co-founding dot2dot, she worked as an archaeologist for the Ministry of Culture, the Teloglion Fine Arts Foundation, and collaborated with AUTH’s Research Committee on various projects. Certified as a tour guide (AUTH) since 2013, she has been part of the founding team of dot2dot since November of the same year. Since then, she has served as the lead scientist for the research, design, and implementation of thematic and immersive tours, as well as educational programs. Finally, responding to the company’s expanding activities, she has also been certified as an adult educator (National Organization for the Certification of Qualification & Vocational Guidance) and has specialized in drafting and managing European project proposals.

Victor Benouzilio

Title of Contribution: Departure as a prerequisite for creation

Key Points: Factors driving young people to leave the city, lack of opportunities and infrastructure in the artistic sector, difficulties in the everyday life of a young person.

* Victor Benouzilio is a graduate of the Artistic School of Ampelokipi-Menemeni and the Drama School of the National Theatre of Northern Greece (NTNG). He is an actor, DJ, and waiter.

Sofia Nikolaidou

Narration title: Saloniki_Salounga_Solun_SKG. My city, Thessaloniki

* Sofia Nikolaidou has published short story collections, novels, essays, and translations. Her novel Tonight We Have No Friends (Metaixmio, 2010) won the Athens Prize for Literature and was translated into Hebrew (Kester Books) and Romanian (Editura Omonia). Her novel Elephants Are Dancing (Metaixmio, 2012) was released in the U.S. and the English-speaking world (The Scapegoat, Melville House) in 2015. Her book All Good Today: The Chronicle of Cancer in My Breast (Metaixmio, 2015) received the Greek State Literary Award for promoting dialogue on sensitive social issues and was also translated into Romanian (Editura Omonia). Her theatrical play For Greece: The Polk Case on Stage was performed at the National Theatre of Northern Greece in the 2018–2019 season. Her most recent novel is Vor. Beyond the Law (Metaixmio, 2021). She teaches Creative Writing at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and at the Postgraduate Program “Creative Writing” of the Hellenic Open University.