Athens City Branding Project 2020
4th Part: INTERVIEW & INSIGHTS ABOUT ATHENS’ CITY
Interview with Mr Kostis Bitzanis, CEO of Texnopolis
Having started the research part on the analysis of Branding of Athens, as well as of the SWOT as analyzed in the previous part, the next stage of design thinking about the brand of Athens’ city is to receive the appropriate insights through interviews with experts in the field of culture, innovation and creativity. Our interview was with Mr. Kostis Bitzanis, whom we met at the place where he works and directs, Texnopolis.
Kostis was born in Athens and studied Production Engineering with postgraduate studies in Regional Development. He worked until 2004 in managerial positions in major industrial enterprises. From 2009 to 2011 he headed the Industrial Museum of Ermoupolis, while from 2011 he is the Managing Director of the Texnopolis of the Municipality of Athens. He has also been the President of the Organization of Culture, Sports and Youth of the Municipality of Athens (OPANDA) in the recent past.
A multi — insightful interview
In the light of this information, we had the feeling before we even started the interview that we would receive a lot of important information about our city, Athens. The interview took place in one of the Texnopolis venues, InnovAthens, a venue for innovation and entrepreneurship. So, our first question to Mr. Kostis Bitzanis was how his personal involvement with the Technopolis organization came about, with him answering us that for the past 9 years he has been the CEO of Texnopolis, which is a local government company, a societe anonyme, in other words a shareholder of the Municipality and which is one of the two cultural institutions of the Municipality of Athens, together with OPANDA. According to him, Texnopolis has a mission to take advantage of this industrial archeological park, of the old gas plant, which is one of the best surviving in the world and to operate it on three axes. The first is to make it a museum, and one that has been achieved, the second is to hold cultural events of all kinds and the third is to have an educational-research scientific pillar, which will enable the development of this type of operation within space. In fact, the third goal was achieved through the creation of InnovAthens, which is one of the most well-known nodes of innovation and entrepreneurship in Athens.
Our second question was about the driving force of Texnopolis, as it is a Cultural Organization and an Innovation Organization. Mr. Bitzanis replied that the mission that one must fulfill by coming here, is first of all to highlight the industrial archeological park, as this museum, this old factory must tell its history to the inhabitants of the city and give the opportunity for children and adults to get to know the industrial history of Athens and Greece in general, through the stories related to production and all that is intertwined with an old factory, an important part of modern Athens. The use of old industrial sites, as he pointed out to us, is one of the concerns of many cities around the world, as it is a very difficult process, which requires delicate handling so that such sites with a huge history do not end up “just carcasses”. In the case of Texnopolis, the way chosen and even considered very successful, is in addition to this first pillar of the museum (as an educational music pedagogical activity), to do all kinds of cultural activities that touch all areas of modern life (for example concerts that are and the trump card of Texnopolis, co-organization of various festivals of modern life related to cycling, vegan nutrition, coffee, bar shows, meet markets, etc.). All these festivals give a special character to Texnopolis, while serving another very important goal, the large attendance of the public, which reached 1,000,000 visitors, making it among the 3 most crowded places in Athens, after the Acropolis and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
Our third question had to do with how he perceives the success of the Organization and whether it is based solely on the data. Mr. Kostis Bitzanis, answering honestly, told us that the data play a decisive role in the “measurement” of success, since his job was and is to highlight this space by making it accessible and dear to visitors, offering them leisure and education. Since these are elements that are covered, he considers that Texnopolis and he are on a successful course, which, however, has not yet been completed. Through the research that is done and measure the traffic of the cultural spaces, as he had told us before, Texnopolis is above the Archaeological Museum and many other places of Athens. He then spoke to us about the funding and sustainability of cultural spaces, which he described as a “big talk”! Referring to the organization of Texnopolis, he told us that they are struggling to have a mixed model, with a small percentage being an indirect financial support from the Municipality and the largest percentage being the same income, coming either from renting premises or from private sponsorships. or from the cafe-bars and various shops that operate within the space. In the past, they had lived 100% subsidized by the State, with him believing that the current model is the most sustainable.
The next question concerned the interaction that Texnopolis has with the inhabitants of Athens, in addition to the cultural events mentioned above. Mr. Bitzanis replied that obviously the 1,000,000 visitors have an interaction in the space as everyone will see something and hear something. Naturally, each museum has a narrative, that is, its story is told in some way! The gas museum, one of Greece’s two industrial museums, has a special role to play in the cultural heritage since the industrial revolution brought radical changes to society and all modern countries must watch industrial history with great attention. In this context, according to him, the interaction is found mainly in the part of children’s participation with museum education programs, children’s festivals and games, in the part of guided tours in all languages but also for deaf and blind, in the festivals that take place mainly during the summer months in which the interaction is obvious, especially if one participates in a concert of Malamas or Papaconstantinou as he jokingly told us.
In relation to the collaborations, the vision and the actions of Technopolis, Kostis answered the following questions:
What is the relationship of Texnopolis with the other Organizations of the Municipality of Athens?
“It simply came to our notice then. That is, so far a comprehensive view of culture has not been achieved by the Municipality. This has historically had to do with various things. But now we are at the gates, this municipality to submit a comprehensive plan for the Culture of the city, in which both Texnopolis and OPANDA will have distinct roles but also very close cooperation”.
Can you give us a more accurate picture?
“It simply came to our notice then. Of course, this is just around the corner, in a couple of weeks it may be over. So if we can update it. Don’t tell me now and it won’t be voted on”.
Are there other collaborations in general?
“We have partnerships in principle with a whole network of producers, organizers, musicians, all the people of the culture we say. We support Art Workers. All the people, the lights, the sound engineers, all the good people. Now, with other cultural institutions so far with OPANDA, we obviously have some collaborations. We work together at the Olympia Theater, we work together, at Christmas, we have some collaboration, but not a product of an overall design. More excerpts and with specific reasons. We have worked with the House of Letters and Arts several times in the past. With the Acropolis Museum we have done an exhibition on the History of Lighting from Dada to Electricity and visitors started from the Museum and came here to see what happened to Tources. There is still a lot of room for the cultural institutions of the Municipality of Athens to cooperate with each other”.
Is it easy to pass on your vision for Texnopolis to the employees?
“Now, after 9 years, it’s very easy. In other words, I think that everyone who works here shares the vision of Technopolis. They are a very strong team. There is the team for the Museum that produces incredible things. There is the team of Events which also holds dozens, hundreds of events and there is also the Communication Team which is also very strong because Texnopolis is known to everyone and this was not done by itself. It’s a product of hard work, social media, digital marketing and all that we keep trying to get better. Now we communicate with our eyes. But this collaboration was built over the years and built with each different pillar. In the beginning we did the Museum that no one thought would become a Museum here. Then Innovathens was made with startups, with this whole community, the ecosystem of innovation and the people involved in this thing. Many young people who could not find a job and in those years the story with youth unemployment was even more dramatic, a place like this can not help but do something about youth unemployment. And then the issue of cultural activities and events was constantly enriched and we started to have a filter. That is, nothing can come here. We want the one who comes to add something to our identity and be consistent with it. What we are trying to do now is to maximize the interaction between the three pillars. Innovation node is an old gas storage. And we’ve already made a link between the past and the future, and we’ve put out a slogan that says “we have an industrial past, a cultural present and an innovative future.To tie all three”.
Should there be a central direction from the Municipality in the actions of Texnopolis? Is the vision common or is there room for autonomy?
“It simply came to our notice then. That is, everything I describe to you was built from below. It’s not that the then mayor came and said “take this step …”. We went and told him to make a Museum and he supported us etc. Now Texnopolis is a good practice of the Municipality therefore it has the full support but it is now walking on rails that have been set and there is always room to enrich its vision and adapt in the new data, and we do not feel that we have restrictions on autonomy. What is now at the gates is a more general plan for the Culture of Athens that will give Texnnopolis a more central role outside the borders of Gazi”.
When we asked him if he had in mind a European city that he would consider a model, he replied that there are so many and each one has its own peculiarities. The first city that came to his mind was the Prince in Denmark, as there has seen the most modern library and a Museum of Human Species that starts from Lucy, the monkey and reaches to this day which is the most impressive he has seen, in terms of architecture etc. He even mentioned that 70% of RES in the area is shaped by culture. And it is with hotels, restaurants and everyone else, it is an ever-present city canister designed by all these visitors how to use the other services of the city. Following this answer, we asked him if he believed that there should be cooperation between the services and Kostis replied that there should be cooperation. To offer a complete experience of what the visitor wants to have, it does not help, for example, to see a nice museum and eat miserably, sleep badly and leave. This requires a total experience. Of course, visitors to Athens are increasing year by year, and the question is to see what will happen after the pandemic of Covid — 19. Based on this answer we asked:
What is foreseen after the pandemic, in these conditions that the foreign visitor-tourist will hardly approach Technopolis and the Municipality of Athens, will have to address other audiences, not abroad, but to the formal public?
“Because safety and health of people has come to the fore, the whole issue revolves around the observance of health rules, the rest is very secondary at this stage. For example, a concert that we go to set up with seated spectators (where here it states that all the artists will come) and will be done with a reserved ticket so that all the artists receive the ticket price so that they can earn an income. Everything we do financially is not sustainable, the Municipality is subsidizing the culture this summer so that we can overcome this year and enter the next one, so everything is done with safety and health in mind, so everything else goes into the second fate. They will make reports and they will come in 10–10 etc.”.
Do you think that Athens in the outside world is a sustainable city, how do others see Athens, outside of Athens?
“I think it’s a very popular destination, but the ancient civilization still attracts people, the infrastructure and services have definitely been improved and while Athens was originally a passage for the islands and other destinations, now it has grown, it becomes one reference point, a position in which the other stays 3–4 nights ”.
Are you worried? if something in the operation of Texnopolis worries you? if you have concerns about how things will turn out and what they are?
“We are very much looking forward to this overall plan for culture, because it will clear up the landscape and when you have a plan 3–4 years ahead you know what is happening to you, you can take corrective action, etc. And most of all it will give another dimension to the work we do, because it doesn’t make much sense now for the Municipality of Athens to have 3–4 of the oldest buildings in the city unused and we here to say that we have 1,000,000 visitors, one of them is above, the Municipal Nursery on Piraeus Street — is the first building in the city in 1836 and is unused. So it will be very reassuring for me to implement a comprehensive plan and then for the municipality to play a clearer role in the political map of the city together with the other interlocutors. And I strongly believe that if something like this happens, the modern history of Athens will be able to converse with ancient history and greatly strengthen its narrative in terms of culture and how attractive it is to visitors”.
Because Kostis you had the same position in the previous administration and in the current one, there is continuity in the work of the organization and in general if there is continuity in the municipality of Athens, in the decisions because we usually observe as in the central political scene some people do a project, let’s go again back ?
“I considered myself very lucky that the new Mayor asked me to stay in this position, and in this sense there is continuity in Texnopolis and in fact if this plan that I tell you to move forward will not only continue but also progress. Now this transition from the town hall of Kamini to the town hall of Bakoyannis in relation to the previous one I lived in was the smoothest that has ever taken place, that is, everyone welcomed their successors, of course there are differences such as how the municipality operates now and how then, of course to draw many conclusions, but I think it is one of the best transitions and the central political scene should be taught from that as well”.
Because you had the experience from OPANDA, what differences and what similarities in the administration, in the vision of the two organizations, do you see, observe and in general what comparisons would you make?
“OPANDA is a giant organization that has 1000 employees, 260 infrastructures in the city, stadiums, playgrounds, theaters, libraries, galleries, etc., obviously it lacks a comprehensive treatment program and also has the cultural centers we see in the neighborhoods. OPANDA should have and I tried to have, its vision should be culture and sports for all, that is, it should be an organization that will go to the neighborhood, it will be oriented to the person who does not have access to these goods for many reasons, either because it is not updated or because it is poor, or because there are people who are excluded from many modern goods. So he has to try to find them and help them gain access. So this differentiates the mission, it spreads all over the city, it is not a specific place that proposes, makes cultural proposals. The other is that OPANDA has emerged from a hasty contraction of the Organization of Culture with the Organization of Sports, with the result that the common vision does not emerge easily, it is common to all, but so far, because Sports has very different characteristics and what is required is very different and what is common is different, so there is a need for work so that this merger of the two organizations can result in something unified, with a common vision and a single dynamic. Now also 1000 employees, the number says it all, is a huge number and when an organization has so many employees and so many infrastructures only a big growth path can save the situation and that is not easy. In other words, an unbearable burden is created for the citizen who pays, has 250 musicians, 5 different orchestras, all this in order for the citizen’s money to take place must be used to the fullest extent possible, for this Olympia theater was a move in this direction, without this meaning that it is enough, it wants a lot more. At Texnopolis, we are all about 50 employees”.
Our insights
The insights we got were varied and interesting. Through our discussion, we realized, understood and considered that Athens must take advantage and develop the highlight of its modern achievements, to create a narrative with which it connects the past with its present and future. In order to achieve this, similar to Texnopolis, areas of Athens should also be used to the fullest as Texnopolis is a shining example of successful operation and has a significant cultural impact on the city. However, this also depends on the Municipality of Athens, which should focus more on a policy that has continuity in its work, and is not determined by the end of the term of office of each municipality so that there is a vision that favors citizens and tourists. At a time when Covid -19 turned everything upside down, Greece set a good example abroad, which must be continued with a plan and future practices that favor Athens as an example not only of cultural heritage but also of a wider cultural resilience, innovation and youth with continuity in time and new data. A good insight for Rebranding. But this also has to do with the people of Athens. A successful Rebranding is based on a new — positive recruitment for the city by the residents themselves, where access to local cultural services is equal for all and with a positive result also in relation to the fact that what the citizen pays takes place. Also, the Municipality of Athens must focus on being more than just a hub, a stop for tourists. Her narrative must be connected to other destinations, such as islands. What is their historical, cultural, connection? all this in one narrative. Thus, for example, spaces — buildings of historical importance, belong to an unused zone by the Municipality, which now becomes more necessary than ever its contribution to the Rebranding of the city of Athens. This is first because it connects the ancient narrative with the classic and newer, but also because it favors the contribution of long walks in the city and precisely because Kostis believes in cultural walks, considers them a very strong paper, and focuses on the possibility of a total experience. provide the visitor with services through a collaborative economy. We need to invest in the fact that the number of tourists visiting is increasing year by year.
The interview ended with photos we took with Kostis, but also ours in the area of InnovAthens and the facilities of Texnopolis. The next and final step was the implementation of the smart city business model of Athens and the development of our business idea for the Athens City Branding Project 2020.
Team: Zinovia Sapouna, Areti Tatsi
