Plásmata II: Ioannina | The new Ioannina

Through a series of discussions on the arts, innovation, and the society of knowledge, the emerging new facet of Ioannina is presented as a current condition and future perspective. "Plásmata ΙΙ: Ioannina" exhibition becomes the canvas on which the question of what kind of city the residents of Ioannina want is unfolded, both in relation to the environment of innovation and the ever-evolving role of universities as ecosystems of knowledge and culture. In our first meeting, we discuss the role of technology and locality toward the transition to a more just and inclusive development model. In the second and two-day meeting, the potential of innovation actions and initiatives in the city of Ioannina is presented as an organic segment of a wider effort for a sustainable, participatory, and open ecosystem of knowledge.

Artificial Intelligence – Entrepreneurship – Art

As Artificial Intelligence becomes increasingly apparent in more facets of our lives, the way we utilize it both in entrepreneurship and ultimately art becomes a central issue in relation to the future of our society.

In the first panel, we examine the use of Artificial Intelligence within the business world, especially in these cases that apply to university spin-offs. The question of how research on the use of AI is combined with service provision is examined both from the point of view of spin-offs as well as innovation hubs, while at the same time, we tackle the issue of the limits of their use in the framework of the rules derived from AI ethics.

In the second panel, we return to the case of art and how it employs immersive technologies and Artificial Intelligence. We discuss how these two technologies were implemented in the works of the “Plásmata II” exhibition and at the same time how can digital art as a whole become a part of the dialogue around public space. In addition, we contemplate what the distribution and disposal of the artwork mean for a digital artist today. Have these technologies finally brought the artist closer to their audience or contributed to their distancing from it?

The third panel surveys what the “Plásmata” exhibition leaves behind as a legacy and how can the processes, issues, and perspectives engaged during the exhibition can take us to the next stage. Bringing together speakers from the three previous days and posing anew the issue of what the continuum of nature, technology, and culture amounts to, the “Plásmata” exhibition repositions itself within the public place and time. Whether discussing startups and digital nomads, or the commons, art and the digital, we commit ourselves to seeking how the potential for something better can become a possibility and finally a reality.

Keynote | 17:30-17:50

- Dimitris Kalavros, Co-Founder & Partner, Foundation & Velocity Partners VC

First panel | Artificial Intelligence, University, and Entrepreneurship
17:50 – 18:35

Participants:

- Dora Kotsaka, Researcher
- Dora Vougiouka, Head of Networking and Strategic Partnerships, Onassis Stegi
- Isidoros Sideridis, CEO, PobucaModerator: Yorgos Goletsis, Associate Professor, Scientific Officer at the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit, Employment & Career Centre (DASTA), University of Ioannina

Moderator: Yorgos Goletsis, Associate Professor, Scientific Officer at the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit, Employment & Career Centre (DASTA), University of Ioannina

Second panel | Public Space, Art, and Technology
18:45-19:30

Participants:
- Medea Electronique, Artist Group
- Daphne Dragona, Curator
- Varvara Angeli, Journalist
- Polyxeni Mantzou, Professor, Department of Architectural Engineering, University of Ioannina

Moderator: Prodromos Tsiavos, Head of Digital Development and Innovation, Onassis Foundation

Third panel | Ioannina after Plásmata
19:30 – 20:00

Participants:
- Theodoros Karounos, Researcher at NTUA – Member of the Board of Directors of Open Technologies Alliance GFOSS
- Dimitris Kitsikopoulos, Electra Energy Cooperative - member of the energy community “Commonen”
- Tassos Koutlas, Deputy Director of Digital Solutions Europe FFW & Co-Founder of C.Ioannina
- Christina Panagiotakou, Head of Educational Programs, Onassis Foundation

Moderator: Georgia Chalatsi, Journalist

1st Meeting: Discussion
What kind of technological development do we want?

The climate crisis is here. Ecosystems are collapsing and our reaction needs to be immediate and the changes drastic. The question is how? How can technology become the catalyst for the transition toward a more just and inclusive model of development? What is the role of locality in a global environmental disaster?

Minas Liarokapis (Founder of New Dexterity Lab, University of Auckland) and Sotiris Tsoukarelis (The High Mountains Social Cooperative Enterprise) share practical examples of open, sustainable, and inclusive technologies. They discuss the problems, challenges, and opportunities of a new mode of production where robots, automation, and artificial intelligence meet the loom, the watermill, and the hand-operated tiller. Join us to discuss the different existing models of technological development and see which ones ultimately serve people and the planet.

The discussion shall take place at the Cultural Multispace; however, it will resume and conclude later at the lake, where a demonstration of a remote-controlled boat collecting environmental data shall take place. The boat constitutes an open technology designed in New Zealand by the team of Minas Liarokapis and was built at the public library of Konitsa, Epirus, in the framework of the project “Incultum,” to remain in the region as a monitoring tool for its sensitive water ecosystems.

2nd Meeting: Discussions Cycle
How can we devise an inclusive and open innovation system in Ioannina?

The trigger for the second cycle of discussions on innovation in Ioannina is the extremely dynamic and multifarious activity of innovation groups in Ioannina, which, regardless of their different points of departure and respective objectives, converge on the need to create a holistic knowledge and development environment that combines innovative entrepreneurship, sustainability, and environmental justice and wellbeing. Through two days of presentations and discussions, we seek the synthesis of ideas and practices that can summon this future into today.

Ioannina: The transformation of the city into a hub of digital economy and technology

Through two thematic discussions, the issue of how Ioannina will evolve into a regional hub of digital economy and technology is addressed. On the one hand, representatives of businesses, whether local with a global presence or multinationals, discuss with people from the ecosystem the widening of the production mode, the linkage of the University to the labor market, the importance of locating the proper personnel, their development, and the challenges they face as the “reputation” of Ioannina begins to grow. On the other hand, representatives of the government and innovation describe and analyze the strategies they implement to strengthen the ecosystem’s development, approach investments, and support innovation production.

First panel | Ecosystem enhancement policies

Participants:
Alexandros Kahrimanis, Governor of Epirus Region
Dimitris Papageorgiou, Mayor of Ioannina
Theodoros Matikas, Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation & Development
Tasos Koutlas, Deputy Director of Digital Solutions Europe at FFW & Co-Founder of C.Ioannina
Charalampos Vassiliou, Head of Strategic Planning & Coordination Department, Digital Governance Directorate at GRNET

The discussions are moderated by Yiannis Papadimitriou, journalist for the newspaper "Kathimerini"

Second Panel | Ioannina: Is it the Silicon Valley of the Balkans?

Participants:
Stelios Gkouskos, Chairman, Terracom
Thanasis Navrozoglou, CEO of Natech
Harry Tsavdaris, Managing Director, PwC Greece
Giorgos Goletsis, Associate Professor at the Department of Economic Sciences, Scientific Officer at the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit of the University of Ioannina

Third panel | Bridging innovation, culture, and environment

This panel will discuss how it is possible to formulate an innovative environment equipped to confront the environmental challenges of the region, taking into consideration and utilizing the cultural depository of Ioannina and Epirus. We will navigate the ways in which the innovation ecosystem of Ioannina may contribute to highlighting and strengthening the region’s comparative advantages and forging sustainable solutions in service of the environment, the city, and its citizens.

Participants:
Victoria Kalfakis, Head of Public Sector, GR Google Cloud
Christos Carras, Senior Consultant, Networks & Sustainability, Onassis Stegi
Nikos Patsavos, Associate Professor at the Architecture Department, University of Ioannina, Director of CRISIS (Critical Strategies Interdisciplinary Studio) laboratory
Katerina Vini, Associate of the Mayor of Ioannina, Coordinator of “Ioannina 2030 Climate Neutral and Smart City"

The discussion is moderated by Vasiliki Besiou, Sustainability and Climate Change Expert, Member of the Board of Directors of Tink Tank "The Network for Reform in Greece and Europe"

First panel | The mountainous workshop of Tzoumakers

Tzoumakers: From the prefix “Tzoum” (i.e., Tzoumerka is a mountainous region in Epirus) and the word “makers.” In 2018, a team of researchers and farmers decided to create a mountainous workshop in the Municipality of North Tzoumerka, to produce in situ the technologies they need. In a few years, the team expanded and today Tzoumakers is a supra-local team of individuals that devises the technologies (and the world) it wants, within a world they wish to surpass. The discussion will further include a demonstration of tools and other achievements of the Tzoumakers community.

Second panel | Innovation Above and Beyond the Mountains!

We are at a critical point in history. Economic inequalities are deepening, while climate change is leading us to an unprecedented crisis. At the same moment, new modes of organizing labor and society are emerging. From the movements of free software, energy democracy, and food self-sufficiency, to the manufacturing of wind turbines and agricultural equipment, a constellation of societal innovation sheds light on new modes of production, ownership, and governance.

This open discussion on practical examples focuses on how a new ecosystem of social and solidarity economy is being created this very minute in Ioannina. Together with Christina Priavolou from the mountainous workshop of “Tzoumakers,” Dimitris Kitsikopoulos from the energy community of Epirus “Commonen,” and Sotiris Tsoukarelis from the Association of Social and Solidarity Economy Organizations of the Region of Epirus, “Koino Kalo,” we discuss how this new ecosystem may change our lives in the here and now.