The Municipality of Chania, playing a leading role in the digital transformation of local government and committed to innovation, transparency, and security, successfully organized today, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at the Mediterranean Architecture Center, the conference titled “Artificial Intelligence in Local Government: Opportunities and Threats.”

The Mayor of Chania, Panagiotis Simandirakis, welcomed the event, while the presentation of the actions of the Municipality of Chania was carried out by the Deputy Mayor of Finance and Digital Governance, Tasos Aloglou, and the Head of the Planning Department of the Municipality of Chania, Sevasti Polychronaki. The coordinator of the conference was Manolis Papadakis.

The conference was attended by the Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou; the Head of the National Cybersecurity Authority, Michalis Bletsas; the President of the Regional Association of Municipalities of Crete, Giorgos Marinakis; Charalampos Karras, representing the Cybercrime Division; as well as Christos Porios, the creator of the Municipality of Chania’s platform, opencouncil.chania.gr.

The conference was attended by the Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou; the Head of the National Cybersecurity Authority, Michalis Bletsas; the President of the Regional Association of Municipalities of Crete, Giorgos Marinakis; Charalampos Karras, representing the Cybercrime Division; as well as Christos Porios, the creator of the Municipality of Chania’s platform, opencouncil.chania.gr.

In his statements, the Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou, expressed his satisfaction with participating in the conference, adding that artificial intelligence can bring citizens closer to the Municipality. “Having experience obviously from the Municipalities, I know very well how important it is to use new technologies and new tools in order to gain something much more important than any funding tool or infrastructure, and that is trust,” emphasized Mr. Papastergiou, noting that “we want technology to bring citizens closer, to show them that the Municipalities are ultimately there and listening, feeling, so that citizens can see that their opinion matters in the participation and planning of the next steps of each Municipality,” as he specifically stated

The Head of the National Cybersecurity Authority, Michalis Bletsas, referred to the challenges and problems arising from the digital era in the public sector, the “battle” at the cybersecurity level, as well as the capabilities of artificial intelligence to improve situations directly affecting citizens. Mr. Bletsas also stated, among other things, that the defense against these issues is the utilization of the natural intelligence possessed by citizens

“Today is a very important moment for the Municipality of Chania, as the result of an effort that has lasted the past five years becomes evident. This effort began with a comprehensive intervention and upgrade of all computing systems, continued with the utilization of all funding tools, and then with the creation of innovative applications to enable the Municipality to operate even better with greater transparency and accountability,” emphasized the Mayor of Chania, Panagiotis Simandirakis.

Moreover, the Mayor of Chania emphasized, “We will show how new technology, artificial intelligence, comes to answer the questions posed by citizens regarding procedures, participatory planning, and the monitoring of the highest democratic body, which is the Municipal Council, and how, ultimately, through collaboration with the relevant Ministries, it manages to do innovative and pioneering things.” He also noted that throughout this effort, the key element is investment in human resources, as elected officials and civil servants have worked over the past years “so that we can achieve the result we will present today to the foremost and competent Minister, an exceptionally experienced and successful local government official, the good friend Dimitris Papastergiou, who is here to certify that the direction the Municipality of Chania is taking in the digital sector is the right one and, above all, pioneering,” concluded Mr. Simandirakis in his statements.

For his part, the Deputy Mayor of Finance and Digital Governance, Tasos Aloglou, described it as an important day for the Municipality of Chania, as the platform https://opencouncil.gr/chania is being launched and presented. “This is a platform that uses artificial intelligence, making our Municipality democratic and outward-looking. It gives residents and citizens the right to have direct access to the discussions taking place in the institutional bodies of the Municipality of Chania, and most importantly, it enables our citizens to be participatory and to develop their interest in any topic that concerns them, in any area within the administrative boundaries of our Municipality,” Mr. Aloglou stated

“The Municipality of Chania is a pioneer in digital transformation issues. We have made significant progress and leaps in recent years in this direction. We have utilized every available funding tool in order to upgrade the quality of the work and services provided by the Municipality to the citizens, as well as to improve the daily work environment for our employees,” added Mr. Aloglou, noting that this entire vision and goal of the past five years would not have been possible “if we had not relied on the human resources, the municipal staff of our Municipality. Therefore, this is a success, a goal that has been achieved, which is also owed to the municipal staff who have shown willingness in this direction,” added the responsible Deputy Mayor.

Among others, the conference was attended by the Member of Parliament for Chania, Alexandros Markogiannakis; representatives of authorities and organizations; the President, Manolis Karagianakis; deputy mayors and members of the Chania Municipal Council; as well as members of the Municipality’s Day Care Center for the Elderly.