First working meeting of consultants-contractors for the Reconstruction of Northern Evia Programme

On Wednesday, 29 September 2021, at the Central Archaeological Council’s conference room at the Ministry of Culture and Sports in Athens, the first extensive working meeting of all the relevant bodies and institutions, consultants-contractors and sponsors involved in the implementation of the Reconstruction of Northern Evia Programme took place. The meeting was convened by Mr Stavros Benos, appointed Head of the Special Committee for the Reconstruction of Northern Evia by the Prime Minister of Greece, Mr Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Culture and Sports, Ms Lina Mendoni; Deputy Minister of Culture and Sports, Mr Nicholas Yatromanolakis; Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister for State Aid and Natural Disaster Recovery, Mr Christos Triantopoulos; Alternate Minister for Fiscal Policy, Theodoros Skylakakis; General Secretary for Public Investments and NSRF, Mr Dimitris Skalkos;  Regional Governor of the Region of Central Greece, Mr Fanis Spanos; Deputy Regional Governor of the Region of Central Greece, Mr Giorgos Kelaiditis; Mayor of Istiaia-Aidipsos, Mr Yiannis Kontzias; Mayor of Mantoudi-Limni-Agia Anna, Mr Giorgos Tsapourniotis; President of the Evia Chamber, Mr Yiannis Gerontitis; Mr Skalkos’ advisor on matters of financing, Ms Eva Gialantzi; General Secretary of the Municipality of Mantoudi-Limni-Agia Anna, Ms Mina Kyriakou.

The meeting was also attended by consultants-contractors  Mr Nikos Drakonakis,  President and CEO of ΕΤΑM S.A., and his associates Ms. Gianna Vlachaki and Ms Teresa Karpathiotaki;  Mr. Konstantinos Zekkos, Transport Engineer, Founder and CEO of Dromos Consulting; University of Thessaly Professor and former Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy Mr. Dimitris Economou and his associates from the National Technical University of Athens Mr Vasilis Gkoimisis and Mr Stelios Tsakiris, along with Ms Dimitra Della, Mr Kostis Nikolopoulos and Mr Yiannis Lialiaris; Mr. Elias Apostolides, Forester and Co-founder of “YLI”; Mr. Xenophon Kappas, Director at “Captain Vassilis & Carmen Constantakopoulos”​ Foundation, along with Mr. Panagiotis Chatzinikolaou and Mr. Alkiviades Alexandrou; Mr. Dionysis Nikolaou, General Manager of diANEOsis; Dr. Fay Makantasi, Senior Research Analyst at diANEOsis; Mr Manos Matsaganis, Professor at the Polytechnic University of Milan; Mr George Petrakos, Professor at the University of Athens, Mr Tasos Polydorou and Ms Christianna Papageorgaki; Ms Ioanna Dretta, CEO at Marketing Greece SA, and Ms. Irene Skouloudi; Toposophy CEO Mr. Manolis Psarros; Mr. Prodromos Tsiavos, Head of Digital Development and Innovation at the Onassis Cultural Centre  and the director of Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation Institute (IPR-i) at the European Public Law Organisation; Mr. Aris Kozirtis, Professor of Computer Science and Computer Engineering; Mr Aggelos Tsakanikas, Associate Professor of Economic Evaluation of Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Systems at the National Technical University of Athens; Dr. Haris Doukas, Associate Professor at the School of Electrical & Computer Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens.

Representatives of the sponsors funding the studies commissioned also attended the meeting, specifically:  Mr Konstantinos Kanavos, Head of Business Banking at the National Bank of Greece; Mr Aris Syggros, Director of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation; Ms Eva Lianou, General Manager of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation; Ms Erietta Papadogianni, Communication Director at VIOHALCO; Mr Giannis Koufopanos, Sustainability Director at Elval (the aluminium rolling division of ElvalHalcor S.A); Mr Yannis Kantoros, CEO of INTERAMERICAN; Mr Giannis Rountos, Director of Corporate Affairs and Responsibility at INTERAMERICAN; Mr Fotis Papoulias, Vice-president of ELLET- Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage.

The meeting was also attended by Mr Yiannis Zirinis, Electrical and Mechanical Engineer, an expert in the field of Development and European resources and Deputy Head of the Committee for the Reconstruction of Northern Evia; Mr Panagiotis Ntais, former president of ODAP (Hellenic Organization of Cultural Resources Development) and member of the DIAZOMA Board of Directors; Dr Elisabet Preza, economist and regional development scientist and executive at the Managing Authority of the Regional Operational Programme of the Region of Central Greece; Ms Eva Gialantzi, adviser on funding matters to the  General Secretary for Public Investments and NSRF, Mr Dimitris Skalkos; Mr Sotiris Foteas, lawyer; Ms Daphne Tsalkarda, senior manager at PWC; and DIAZOMA members Mr Evdokimos Fregkoglou, Ms Maria Kourasani, Ms Katerina Avramopoulou and Ms Vereniki Vasileiadi.

The working meeting was followed by journalists Mr Pavlos Tsimas and Ms Argyro Bozini.

After the warm welcome extended by the Minister of Culture, Ms Lina Mendoni, and the very interesting statements of the Ministers, the Regional Governor and the two Mayors attending the working meeting, the Head of the Reconstruction Committee, Mr Stavros Benos, briefed the participants about the Reconstruction Plan in detail. The presentation is available at: https://prezi.com/view/FaKmbyMJo8W2I3gTzkmQ/.

According to the Roadmap presented by Mr Stavros Benos, a small team including a representative of the sponsor, the relevant ministry and the consultants-contractors carrying out the study will be formed for each of the ten studies to be commissioned under the Programme. This team will develop the study’s scope and specifications, which will be included in the relevant sponsor-contractor agreement. In the case of studies where the sponsor and the contractor are the same entity (e.g., Toposophy), a text of principles and specifications will be delivered to the President of the Reconstruction Committee.

Mr Benos informed all the participants that the aim is to conclude all the agreements commissioning the studies by the end of October. He also added that all studies would follow a schedule of two phases:

PHASE A: 4 months to arrive at a first strategy formulation and select actions that can be implemented immediately based on maturity and utility.

PHASE B: 6 months to formulate project strategy, project actions and the selection of eligible beneficiaries. This phase will be strongly characterised by PUBLIC CONSULTATION.

The teams carrying out the commissioned studies then presented the subject of their studies, followed by a very productive discussion.

The working meeting will be repeated on the last Wednesday of every month to maintain frequent and close contact and a fruitful dialogue throughout the preparation of the studies with the Head of the ITI MASTERPLAN and the relevant groups carrying out studies.

All the necessary covid protection measures were observed during the meeting.