First steps in Greece
Greek cities are face to face with a major challenge posed by the Action Plan eEurope 2005 of the European Union. (This aims at developing modern online administration, education and health services and a dynamic e-business environment through the widespread availability of broadband access at competitive prices and a secure information infrastructure.) The question is whether they will manage to take advantage of the opportunities offered for modernizing daily life in towns and cities and hence reduce transport needs. Some individual efforts are under way, especially in the fields of tele-medicine and tele-education (on Anafi and in Kastellorizo) and of digitalized tours (on Corfu). In the last municipal poll, there were also interesting proposals – for the first time during elections – for municipal access to databases, the electronic acquisition of permits and certificates, monitoring residents’ applications and helplines. Information on health, administrative, educational and work-linked issues, culture and tourism, online concert broadcasts and virtual museums, and matters concerning the local market are other applications that create a two-way relationship between the municipality and municipal resident. These are some of the first steps.
