Empowering Athens: A Collaborative Response to Urban Challenges

This was recorded during NYU Solving Public Problems on March 10, 2021

Podcast duration: 26 minutes. Audience Q&A: 15 minutes

synAthina is an online-offline public platform where the City of Athens supports citizens in developing and implementing projects that improve the quality of life in the city. While an activist working outside of the city’s government initiated the project in 2013, the city’s government has owned the project since 2014. synAthina has achieved widespread participation. A network of nearly 450 social impact groups have shared  almost 4,000 activities on the online platform. According to the synAthina manager for the City, the project’s greatest contribution has been fostering a creative and collaborative ecosystem that engages both civil society and Athens's municipal government to face the city’s challenges in innovative ways. 

Case study: https://collective-intelligence.thegovlab.org/case/synathina