#ADandPRLab x Impact Hub
Kypseli’s Challenge
Hello! We are the Labers and this is our story about the Agora of Kypseli and how we worked on this project.
What’s the challenge you accepted?
Afrodite Georgakopoulou: Due to Startup Lab at Panteion University we had to deal with a challenge, so me and my team chose the one about Agora of Kypseli, that Impact Hub gave us the opprtunity to have among the choices. Agora is a building with great history for the area and the neighborhood and it was renovated. Our challenge was to make this building alive again, so we wanted it to be a place where people can express themselves, learn, cooperate, co-create and be entertained. We had to do with two types of problems: firstly the ones that is difficult to be solved in the near future like racism incidents, accessibility and the fact that it is not an economical progressive area. The second problems are the one about socialization between different cultures, the bad reputation of the area, the lack of facilities and to make agora useful again with a good econimical development so as it can be independent of third economical factors. The last one was also our bigest challenge and opportunity at the same time.
What solution do you suggest?
Afrodite Georgakopoulou: Our solution is divided into the inside of the building and the public area of Kypseli generaly. As far as the inside is concerned, there will be a shop with handmade products, workshops such as painting and sculpture, extended variety of lessons, a puplic library and rent spaces inside Agora for commercial cause. On the other hand, at the rest of Kypseli there will be galleries, live music and movie nights.
How did you gather your insights? Did they help you?
Iliana Chalimourda: In order to understand in a better way the condition in Kypseli we decided to visit the area and the people that live there.
At first, we just walked around the neighbourhood and in the building of Agora. We saw a renovated building with some flowers in it. Only the ΚΕΠ, one of the municipal services, is housed there, so there were some people, waiting in the queue.
After that, we started talking with the people that were in the building or sitting at the square and the cafes and shops, located on the pedestrian line. We asked them about their neighbourhood, if they knew what Agora was before, what facilities they want to have in the area and what changes they want to see in Agora and Kypseli in general.
It is tue that the most of the answers were predictable but there were some that was unexpected. We can say that the insights that the cizitens of Kypseli gave us, helped us very much.
So, we focused more on what they actually need and we tried to make a plan oriented to them, according to their answers.
What is the value proposition of your project?
Konstantinos Madias: To begin with talking about value proposition we have to refer at “Why? How? What?”:
- Why? As we have previously said Kypseli and more specific the build of Agora has some main problems. So, our main answer to the question why is to find the perfect way to upgrade the area, not only economicaly and culturaly but in a socialization way as well. In the same time, we want to make Agora building useful once again, full of life and facilities.
- How? So, how are we planning to do that? How are we going to upgrade the area? Well, our main thoughts stand to public free facilities. Facilities that can connect people make them socialize, and most importantly, cover their real needs. In that way, with our facilities we are going to attract new customers, new markets and, last but not least, new people will visit the area.
- What? What are those facilities being refer to? First of all, we are planning to rent some spaces of Agora building to new shops. We are going to attract them easily as Agora stands in one of the most central roads of Kypseli. The reason of renting those spaces is mostly because we want to make Agora an economical independent place, not a place that needs charities to “survive”. Secondly, with our income of the rents we are going to make our facilities come true. Our main facilities inside the building of agora will be: Library, DIY workshops, extended-range courses, shops with handmade products and outside of Agora: galleries, live music concerts and cinema nights.
What did you learn in the past 3 months, building your startup initiative?
Ioanna Chatzimanolaki: Working on this project for 3 months we had the chance not only to learn a lot of new things and meet many new people but also to see the whole idea from other perspectives. Through the research we did, we understood the way that residents of Kypseli think, the needs they have and want to be solved and the way they prefer Agora to be used. This project made all of us realize how difficult it is to make a thought and an idea reality since the action is way more difficult than simple theories. We got to learn how to create something from the start, step by step without having any clue about it. Also, we realized how much work and effort you have to give for a project that has to do with real people and their needs. Last but not least, it was a pleasure to work on something that could make this world a little bit better and participate all together so we can have the best results.
What are your next steps?
Konstantinos Madias: Well, first of all we have to upgrade Agora building and Kypseli. After exposing our facilities and our events to the area of Kypseli we will be able to held the same events to some unprogressive areas as well, trying to modify them in the same way as we plan for Kypseli.
Many thanks to Betty Tsakarestou, Spiros Kapetanakis and Katerina Vlassopoulou for making this semester really special and to Dimitris Kokkinakis, from Impact Hub, for giving us the opportunity to work with them.
Our team: Ioanna Chatzimanolaki, Afrodite Geo, Konstantinos Madias and Iliana Chalimourda
