From ideas to actions:
- Utopia 500
- 1 day ago
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Updated: 10 hours ago
SynAthina brings the citizens closer to the city
“How can you feel included in the community when the society you live in is huge and chaotic?” +Αθηνά (SynAthina) has found the answer.
Purpose of SynAthina
SynAthina is a program developed by the municipality of Athens for residents of the City of Athens. Its purpose is to be a space where individuals and diverse communities come together to support one another, to feel included and heard, and, most importantly, to improve the quality of life in the city of Athens.
It was founded in 2013 in Athens, Greece, and operates under the auspices of the Vice-Mayoral Office of Civil Society. It originated as a suggestion for the global competition called “Mayors Challenge” and was selected amongst the 21 cities with the most fascinating and helpful innovations.
Initially, it was a web platform where everyone could explore the town's events and offer suggestions for improving life during the severe economic recession. Now they use their online website to organize offline events. Today, the connections have expanded, allowing them to work with City Hall, non-governmental organizations, and private businesses, thereby achieving everything necessary to bring the ideas and plans for this city to reality.
Who is addressed by SynAthina?
The program is directed at every civilian in Athens who cares about the community, specifically those who want to be informed and actively participate in society, who feel the need to improve the environmental situation, and everyone dedicated to creating a safe space for all.
The essence of this program is that a community group can implement an activity for a specific group of civilians, and the subject areas they explore, as well as the citizens they aim to serve, are very diverse. They provide activities for people with disabilities, children, older people, LGBTQIA+ minorities, refugees/immigrants, as well as initiatives in culture, education, technology, the economy, and gender equality, among others. SynAthina is not only for people in the categories above and many more, but also a way to craft your own programs, books, apps, and more about societal topics, to organize festivals or awareness days, and to promote them via their social media and web platform.
El Sistema Greece Youth Orchestra
One of the most interesting events is an orchestra named “El Sistema Greece Youth Orchestra ”, and its purpose is to provide music lessons and education to young students, welcoming aspiring teachers, musicians, researchers, and activists to this project. This action is not limited to Greece; it is a universal program that brings people from all over the world together and facilitates communication.
The cost is very minimal, or sometimes it’s free. The lessons for this youth orchestra began in 2016 with only 380 hours of violin and choir classes. Today, there are over 1,331 hours of instruction per year, and more than 1,500 participants, aged 5 to 26, have seen the results and benefits in their lives.
The most notable aspect is that two of the leading teaching centres in the Athens region are located in refugee camps, making inclusivity for young refugees and immigrants even easier. In general, this orchestra actually brings people together and makes a big difference in the lives of many kids and young adults.
The home project
Another honourable mention is “The Home Project”, which collaborated with SynAthina for World Refugee Day, and established a supportive environment for people living in both organizations.
This action took place on a day filled with music and dance, where everyone had the opportunity to connect with others and celebrate the similarities and experiences that unite us, even though we may come from different backgrounds.
As the Chief Development Officer at The HOME Project, Stelios Vellis, said:
“Music is a universal language — one that speaks directly to the heart. Even when we don’t share a common language, we can share a rhythm, a melody, a dance. On World Refugee Day, it was essential to celebrate what unites us as a community: joy, resilience, and the simple act of gathering around food and music. These are the shared experiences that create a sense of belonging”.
The mission of “The Home Project” is critical nowadays due to the worldwide situation that has been unfolding over the last few years. They save unprotected children from refugee camps, police stations and even from the street and offer them a shelter to live in. It is a holistic support network that also provides education, legal assistance, emotional support for the kids and employment opportunities for their members when they come of age.
Actions for the elderly
Another very prominent problem in Greece, and especially in Athens, other than the lack of protection of immigrant and refugee minors, is the solidarity of older people. They usually are very lonely, and they don’t have many options for entertainment.
Connect Athens Festival
That’s why SynAthina’s volunteering team participated in a festival called Connect Athens Festival, which is part of the national Connected We Stand Festival. This festival lasted all day and featured many workshops for different generations to attend together, as well as music and dancing. Their motto was #πάρετηγιαγιάσουκαιέλα, which in Greek means “take your grandma and come here”.
Health care lectures
They also connected with “Alzheimer Athens” and hosted a lecture for Alzheimer’s disease, mostly about how to prevent it and “treat it” so you can live a respected life. The primary focus was on the caregivers, though, because they had the opportunity to speak about their experiences and stories, taking care of people with Alzheimer's and dementia.
“Alzheimer Athens” is a non-profit organization that came together in 2002 by people with this disease or dementia, their caregivers and health care professionals. Today, it has more than 150 volunteers, including psychologists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, nurses and many more and about 5.500 members.
SynAthina and eco projects
Health care lectures
They also connected with “Alzheimer Athens” and hosted a lecture for Alzheimer’s disease, mostly about how to prevent it and “treat it” so you can live a respected life. The primary focus was on the caregivers, though, because they had the opportunity to speak about their experiences and stories, taking care of people with Alzheimer's and dementia.
“Alzheimer Athens” is a non-profit organization founded in 2002 by individuals with Alzheimer's disease or dementia, their caregivers, and healthcare professionals. Today, it has more than 150 volunteers, including psychologists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, nurses, and many more, and approximately 5,500 members.
SynAthina and eco projects
SynAthina is also a space for ecological ideas and actions. This can be demonstrated by the zero-waste initiatives they organize.
One example is the action of the Cleaning & Recycling Directorate of the Municipality of Athens for the International Day of Zero Waste, where they invited everyone, regardless of their age, to collect trash and reuse it in their artworks. This is a common exercise, especially for younger people, that helps them understand the value of recycling and reusing.
However, their ecological mindset doesn’t end with just one day of action, because they realize that in reality, we have to be cautious about our waste every day. In our day-to-day lives, one-third of the food we produce is wasted, resulting in 1.3 billion tonnes of lost food. Diversity United decided to take action and make a change in this department, so they designed an app called Eco-RestoRATE, and SynAthina promoted it.
Eco-RestoRATE aims to reduce food waste and make the food industry more sustainable.
This app is divided into two parts. The first one is for customers, who can rate a restaurant based on its sustainability, emphasizing the use of single-use plastics or their absence. The second part is for the restaurant, café, or bar to create a profile, where they can freely express their efforts towards sustainability and earn an eco-friendly label. By using this application, Athenians and tourists can choose a more eco-friendly option for their food and support establishments that minimize environmental harm.
In a few words…
SynAthina is a significant and helpful project for Athens, and it can serve as an inspiration for the rest of Greece to create something similar to this website.
The ideology of community, entertainment, and awareness all in one project is truly unique and desperately needed in this society. Especially in larger cities, such as Athens, the lack of communication and social interaction has become a pronounced and serious problem over the last few decades, which means the mission of this organization has a significantly greater impact than we initially believed.
At the same time, it hosts numerous diverse and innovative events and projects that everyone can be affected by or participate in. It was and still is a handy tool for the city and its people. The power and connections that SynAthina has can be a way to bring citizens closer, make the city more sustainable, and make equality possible by educating and representing every community group and minority.
Bibliografy and links
Photo gallery of SynAthina: https://www.synathina.gr/acsf-gallery/
SynAthina’s website: https://www.synathina.gr/en/synathina/about/
SynAthina’s social media: https://www.instagram.com/synathina/
Crowdpolicy. (n.d.). SYNATHINA.GR.
Biskos, H. (2021). synAthina: Athens Public Platform for Civic Engagement.
Biskos, H. (2022). synAthina: City of Athens participative platform.
https://www.nationale-stadtentwicklungspolitik.de/NSPWeb/EN/Projects/Europes-Cities-Fit-for-Future/synAthina-participative-platform.html#:~:text=synAthina is an online and offline public,the policy making process of the municipality.
The home project’s website: https://www.homeproject.org/
The home project’s social media: https://www.instagram.com/homeprojectorg/
El Sistema Greece Youth Orchestra’s website: https://www.sistemaeurope.org/Network-Members/El_Sistema_Greece/
Municipality of Athens. (2025). Municipality of Athens: zero waste, infinite fun with Plato’s academy.
Diversity United. (n.d.). Environmental community engagement platform and app with a sustainability rating system for dining venues.
SynAthina. (2025). Athens unites its generations – The “Connect Athens Festival” on the Fokionos Negri pedestrian street!
Alzheimer Athens’ website: https://alzheimerathens.gr/
Dou, Z., & Toth, J. D. (2021). Global primary data on consumer food waste: Rate and characteristics–A review. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 168, 105332.
Written by Ioanna Tzarou
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