Interview with the Mayor of Trikala, Dimitris Papastergiou

“I think with the strength and madness of the team you always find the strength to keep going.”

Dimitris Papastergiou was born in 1973, studied Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, was involved in radio, computer programs, and renewable energy sources. In 2002 and 2006 he was elected municipal councilor, while he was elected Mayor of Trikala in 2014 and 2019, now serving his second term. At the same time, in 2019 he was elected president of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDKE).

1. Mr. Papastergiou, what is the dream of a child who, growing up, became the mayor of a city and the president of KEDKE?

I can’t say that it was my dream to become a mayor. I probably had better dreams, but it wasn’t something that came to me in my 40s. It was something I was thinking about, and since I grew up in a house that had a relationship with the commons, getting involved in the commons wasn’t a bolt from the blue. My dreams have always been to deal with electronics, programming, radio. These were – and remain – my big passions. It would be rather “disturbing” for a small child to dream of becoming a mayor. Dreaming of doing nice things and being creative, I think, is more in line with what I’m trying to remember that I had in mind.

2. How did your journey to who you are today begin?

At about 17 I left Trikala to study at the Technical University of Athens. I was crazy about radio, so I only applied to schools in Athens, because I was planning to combine it with university – something that I eventually did. At the Polytechnic I was… carefree, as at then we had opened the Hot Mix radio in Trikala and I almost followed the path that everyone does. I finished the Polytechnic rather late, but I was not in a hurry, because in the meantime I did other things that I wanted. I had already started programming, I had released my own program, a software for radios, which I was selling. The army followed, the return to Trikala, the private sector. Between 2002 and 2006 I was elected municipal councilor. Then I started a company with photovoltaics and at some point it was time to do what I really had in mind from a certain age onwards. That is, to find people, to create a large group and to engage with the commons. I believe that this desire of mine was definitely influenced by the fact that my father was elected mayor when I was two years old. I am not ashamed to say it, although I know that there is a lot of nepotism in Greece, but I think it is something that influenced me. On the other hand, each of us proves every day whether they’re a product of nepotism or they really deserve to be where they are. From a young age I felt that you can not whine about things you do not like without trying to deal with them by yourself. I was one of the kids that were always involved with the student council, I liked to get involved.

3. What are the obstacles in this path? Did you go through experiences and deadlocks that made you think of giving it all up?

Getting involved with the commons is not an easy task. First of all, you need to get on your feet financially. Let’s face it; if you have not solved at least the basics of life, many times you will probably be tempted. I’m not implying that colleagues submit to such temptations, but I don’t think you can make a living from the commons, it is not a job. Secondly, sometimes you start thinking if what you do is what people need, what the times need. Maybe in the end you are at a different frequency from society itself. Because when the signals are not at the same frequency, then they may not be tuned and achieve the desired result. But I think with the strength and madness of the team you always find the strength to keep going. Madness, of course, was in the beginning, because now it is a mixture of experience, madness, and intuition together.

4. What are the current difficulties that you have to face first in the city of Trikala and then in all the Municipalities of the country?

The difficulties are many, but I don’t want to use them as an excuse not to do things. It’s very easy, especially nowadays, to blame it all on the financial crisis, on the pandemic, etc. Difficulties are unbalanced factors that, when you start, you do not have in mind. That is, when I decided to run in the elections, I knew that the country was in crisis. On the other hand, I will not say every obstacle is a blessing in disguise. You look at what your goal is, your vision, where you want to steer the Municipality and you look with your team to find ways to maneuver. Know where you are and what your destination is. The point is to get where you want to go. You might need to make some detours — depending on the situation and the obstacles — but you shouldn’t lose your goal, your destination.

5. Tell me a personal and a professional-political goal that you have achieved and are proud of it?

A personal goal was that I managed to have two professions that I loved very much: firstly radio (which I continue to do, but much less), and then electronics and energy, which was the greatest opportunity of my life.

It was due to my job as an engineer that I managed to get a career and stand on my own two feet financially. And I feel proud, because I entered the energy field in 2006, I was very busy, I did seminars, I worked and I was not afraid of work. I did everything I needed to do in my job.

On the other hand, as far as the commons are concerned, I am proud because we managed during these 7 years, to help Trikala — which has always been a well-known and beautiful city — to get out of its shell and to highlight the beauty that the city and the local community radiates. We got to the point where people are amazed when you tell them that you are from Trikala. I think this is, to a large extent, a big accomplishment of our team.

6. What have you gained from your contact with young people today and what differences do you think exist between our generation and yours?

I’m afraid of losing what made the difference 7 years ago when I first started working in the commons with my team. That is, the fact that we entered a space, which was occupied mainly by people of an older age and a different mentality. As a matter of fact, the only contact I have nowadays, is with a generation younger than yours, that is, my children, who are about 10 years old. I have a better understanding of that age because I see how and what they think. We try to maintain this contact, because, in order to be consistent in what you do, you have to satisfy society at its total: from elderly to children.

7. Do you think that young people can actively participate in the community and how do you think this can be done in each Municipality?

The problem with your generation is that you are usually not in the city. Unfortunately, our cities lack a critical age, which is yours. The age of 18-24, which is an age that matures, has madness, has momentum, appetite, passion, has gone to university. I would very much like – and I still insist – for Trikala to get its own university. This generation is something priceless for society, precisely because it sees things differently and wants to participate. If the big cities have a different mindset in culture and arts, it is because there are students who group, bring out their inner world in different ways. I wish young people would return to their hometowns after their studies and join such groups, understand what the situation is like and take on responsibilities. I would very much like to find younger children to continue in the commons. This is what the region and society need today; to see things completely differently. Therefore, you must participate!

8. Tell me something positive that the pandemic brought to your life.

I think we have managed to redefine some of our needs: what we consider important — now and in the past — and what we don’t, the importance of our health, and finally that nothing is a given. We took it for granted, but we probably overestimated our potential. We thought we were invulnerable. We realized that everything we took for granted could be at risk at any time. On the other hand, we went back to the human, to family, to ourselves, we experienced a little differently the city and the public space, the parks. I hope parks continue to live and I’m glad we built three more new parks in the city. To relive the city as it should be.

9. Tell me which are going to be the positive effects of the pandemic in the country.

It is finally possible to change habits and everything that we thought impossible, eventually happens just fine and in fact very quickly. The most obvious benefit of the pandemic is digitization — and I think things we need to keep. We should keep showing interest in our fellow man, which I think we did very strongly at the beginning of the pandemic. There are positives, maybe too small compared to the damage it has done to our psychology or the finances of many people, but they are there.

10. Are Trikala “smart” after all or is it the people promoting them that are “smart”?

I believe that a smart city is one that has smart citizens. Of course, smart is not a correct metaphor in Greek for a smart city. I believe that a city must be modern and “smart” in listening to the needs of the citizens and satisfying them, but also the citizens should express their needs and participate in the commons.

When we took over, we had a lot of debt to manage. I think that the city behaved smartly and took advantage of situations or rather took advantage of what it had, that is, its central position in Greece. For example, the Mill of Elves (Greek: O Milos Ton Ksotikon) was made without money, we just took advantage of the fact that we are in the center of the country.

The work we did in the area of ​​​​intelligent systems was done again at no cost, based on our development company, e-trikala. We took initiatives that also did not require money and we assessed that our society is a smart society, which listens and judges.

The implementation of the anti-smoking law had zero campaign costs, we just took the political responsibility to say something self-evident. That is, it is not possible to smoke indoors. And this went out with great success. The same with refugee management. We took it for granted, we handled it with great dignity and I consider it a medal for every citizen of the city.

We also highlight a habit that we had anyway, the bicycle, which makes an impression, but is part of the DNA of Trikala. The driverless bus story also resulted in an influx of money without paying anything. And of course, it offered huge advertising and put us at the center of technological developments.

These achievements, which are very important, were done with little to no money, but with a lot of work, enthusiasm, and of course the willingness to sometimes clash with old — I will not say wrong — mentalities.

11. What are the innovations that you intend to implement soon in Trikala, but also in all the Municipalities of the country?

I am very concerned about the fact that here in Trikala we still don’t have so many employment opportunities for young people. I’m not saying this to tell you something you like, but young people are leaving and going to the biggest urban centers or abroad to find work. Therefore, I want the actions and initiatives we take, to fit with financial and business aspects.

For example, the new public market that we reformed, might be for some just a popular market with nice tents. However, for me, it is like an obligation to the people of the land, to the farmers, who are doing something praiseworthy. On the contrary, we want to put them in the city’s hall of fame. We submit additional proposals in financing programs. We want to become a timeless museum for Trikala, to create a park of local fauna and flora, to be able to talk about energy, to see domestic animals, and at the same time to highlight the local flavors. Because, without a question, our area is famous for its cheese and meat products. We do the same with the Digital Asklepieion so that the children — and not only — can learn about the origin of Asclepius, to walk in the paths of Koziakas, where the myth or history wants Asclepius to gather his herbs. All these are projects that open new horizons for the professional career of young people in Trikala.

As for the other Municipalities, I think we need to manage the challenges we face in the same way. There are now three financial tools available that we need to leverage. Let’s not take renovations simply as an opportunity just to change tiles and throw blocks of cement. To see multiplicative benefits from the initiatives we will take so that we can make a regeneration, but at the same time, this regeneration will give a new way out to some people. Our goal is to give better opportunities to the people and the environment, to think a little differently, to look at things from another angle, and not to take anything for granted. It is important to make a sidewalk, but I prefer having an employed person walk on a sidewalk that won’t be dangerous or perfect, rather than having armies of unemployed people walking on the best sidewalks. Therefore, to find initiatives that will be beneficial for us in the near future.

12. What would you say to your younger self if you could advise him on something?

I don’t know if I would change many things. I didn’t regret the university I went to, because I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I probably could have done a bit more radio, I definitely should have gone abroad for two years, which I didn’t do, but I was so invested in radio that I didn’t want to leave. I would tell him to continue chasing his dreams and not to easily reconcile with situations, difficulties, or with data and stereotypes created by society itself. Always be critical of things.

13. Tell me a dream you want to achieve.

I haven’t philosophized it much. My last dream is to start from Agiamoniotis, the tributary, and walk to the Litheos river of Trikala. To be able, after cleaning the rivers, to do this route. Another dream is for young people to be able to come back to the city and be able to have good and quality jobs. With this madness and love we have for technology and sustainable development. To create a city and a Municipality, in which someone will want to return to live, will have a good time and will not miss anything. To create a safe city with business outlets.

I warmly thank Mr. Papastergiou for the immediate provision of the interview, as well as Eleni Abrazi for her help and presence there!

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