Young people driving new ecosystems in cities, AmCham chief says
New ecosystems are popping up in cities, as mostly young people are driven by their dreams to make money and also offer something valuable to the community, Elias Spirtounias, executive director of the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) said on Tuesday in Thessaloniki, opening the 1st Thessaloniki Future Thinking Dialogues (TFTD) hybrid conference.
Introducing the AmCham’s conference and its theme, “A hub of talent, innovation and technology in the making”, Spirtounias said that the northern city is an an example of such an ecosystem.
“We live in a drastically and rapidly changing world in which we all are called to adapt and operate faster and more efficiently,” he said, and science and technology can help in key ways to resolve challenges and succeed in areas “where other policies and actions have failed such as in confronting impoverishment, inequalities, health and others.”
Such mainly urban ecosystems are “providing the best shelter” to incubate such ideas and to interact with others, he noted. The chamber’s commitment is to help educate young entrepreneurs about the business aspect of their projects, the right practices and the constraints of the real economy so they may fulfil their dreams.
Spirtounias said that the collaboration between AmCham and the US Embassy at the Thessaloniki International Fair in 2018 was a catalytic event for the city and the region, affording visiting American businesses a clear vision of the prospects of investing in the city and in young Greek people, and inspired the two-day conference.
[ANA-MPA]
