Τhe "2nd Climate Innovation Workshop", organized by the UNICEF Office in Greece on October 14-17, was successfully completed.
The Workshop was held at the Municipal Library of Komotini, in collaboration with the Municipality of Komotini and the Exagono Youth and Volunteering Center, within the framework of the actions of the National Youth Capital 2024 and the Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) by UNICEF.
The Workshop was coordinated by UNICEF, based on the internationally recognized UPSHIFT Program, implemented in 43 countries, and now for the second time in Greece, aiming to empower young people through skills development, social innovation, and entrepreneurship.
During the four-day interactive workshop, young people aged 15-24 discussed the challenges of climate change and proposed solutions to reduce the impact of natural disasters in their community.
Specifically, under the guidance of an experienced instructor and the contribution of mentors - Sokratis Grigoropoulos, Head of the Rhodope Ecological Group, and Konstantinos Houvardas, Head of the Directorate of Civil Protection of the Region of Eastern Macedonia/Thrace - the participants discussed in groups and developed the following innovative project proposals:
- FRECTORIA - Reducing the effects of fires by utilizing the energy transmission network and with the parallel development of an application that will allow citizens to record and communicate potential threats to competent authorities promptly.
- A smart city - Early warning system through a special construction with a thermal camera in the forest area of Nymphaea Komotini.
- PYROTEFITI - Creation of an autonomous fire detection and extinguishing system using drones with thermal cameras, rainwater storage tanks, and formation and training of voluntary fire safety communities.
- Water measuring station - Network of water measuring stations in rivers and streams around settlements with a high risk of flooding. The data will be sent to and processed by Civil Protection.
- Polyanthos - Proposal for an intervention in an area that has recently had a fire and there is a high risk of landslides due to heavy rains. The intervention includes an early warning system with a water level detection system aimed at early warning for settlements.
- The solution to the flood - Create an underground water collection network on the cycle paths and redirect the water to the new Komotini aqueduct.
Afterward, the young people presented their ideas to a group of representatives of the private and public sector, consisting of Nikos Doulakakis, Forester - Landscape Architect, Professor Alexandra Gemitzis, Environmental Engineer of Democritus University of Thrace, Chrysa Varvatou, Environmental Engineer - responsible for FollowGreen programs of the Municipality of Komotini, Yiannis Kyriazis, Deputy Mayor of Culture and Youth of Municipality of Komotini, Lefteris Kapsalis, Forester - Society for Protection and Biodiversity of Thrace.
The most innovative and creative ideas selected by the jury - Project FRECTORIA, A Smart City, PYROTEFITI - will be supported by the Exagono Youth and Volunteering Center of the Municipality of Komotini to submit their proposals, within the framework of the European Solidarity Corps-Projects Solidarity.
