Event showcases Israeli tech for smart cities

The Embassy of Israel in cooperation with the Greek Ministry of Interior and the Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE), with the support of the Israel Export Institute on Wednesday March 24th, organized a virtual event on “Smart Cities: Greek-Israeli Technology & Innovations Cooperation: Sharing & Learning.” 

Nine Israeli companies presented state of the art technologies for smart cities, ranging from wasting and infrastructure management to transport and virtual solutions for finance management, as well as opportunities for cooperation with Greece.

Here’s the rest of the Israeli Embassy’s release:

“The Ambassador of Israel, Mr. Yossi Amrani, the Mayor of Trikala and President of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE), Mr. Dimitris Papastergiou and the Greek Minister of Interior, Mr. Makis Voridis, addressed the event. The moderator was journalist, Sotiris Yiannatos, Editor in Chief of “Startupper MAG.” 

In his address, the Israeli Ambassador Yossi Amrani said: “This is a unique opportunity to strengthen our cooperation not only in economic terms but also in local governance. He pointed to the excellent relations with Greece, which are constantly improving. Mr. Amrani said KEDE and its Israeli counterpart, the Federation of Local Authorities have begun a good working relationship. The Ambassador referred to the development of digital services in Greece noting that the country was digitally organized during the lockdown with systems introduced for use by the Ministry of Digital Governance. Ambassador Amrani noted that this lends room for even further cooperation. 

Mayor Dimitris Papastergiou said that the world is changing. He emphasized that we must be involved in transforming cities into smart cities focusing on green energy and innovation. The President of KEDE said the event was an opportunity to learn about technologies from Israel and promote cooperation. He added that he will convey information from the event to all Greek municipalities. 

The Minister of the Interior, Makis Voridis, said that financing worth 2.5 billion Euros will be directed to municipalities. The Minister said the funding has been allocated to make cities smarter, greener and to achieve goals set by the EU and the government. He thanked the Israeli Ambassador and pointed to the potential for cooperation with Israel in building smart cities. 

The companies and technologies presented at the event included:

· Ayyeka: Smart Infrastructure Monitoring- Technology that connects infrastructure with the aim of managing and exchanging information.

Adasky: Thermal Sensors Vision- Use of the unique properties of thermal vision technology to make roads safer for all. 

· Green Q: Optimization of Waste Collection- Smart waste management systems that reduce contamination. 

· HopON: Mobile Payment for Public Transportation- System which facilitates the lives of citizens when moving by public transport

· Kando: Wastewater Management Solutions-Focuses on helping water utilities gain knowledge and control over their wastewater networks to reduce pollution.

· Octopus Systems: Command & Control Security Software- A comprehensive Smart City Solution that enables cost effectivity city management and provides advanced analytics to identify and manage city resources. 

· Radwin: Wireless Broadband Solutions- A purpose built smart city network solution with its carried grade wireless broadband solutions. Data exchange through wireless networks. 

· Urban Digital: Digital Platforms- Digital platforms to improve residents’ sense of orientation while reducing the city’s operational costs and resources. 

· Takadu: Event Management Solutions for Water Utilities- Provides event management solutions for the water industry. Its cloud based service enables utilities to detect analyze and manage network events and incidents, such as leaks, bursts, faulty assets, water quality status and more. 

The virtual event was attended by Mayors from all over the country, representatives of different regions, government officials and others. In his closing remarks Minister Voridis expressed his impressions from the technologies presented and called for an expedited effort to connect cities with Israeli companies and startups. The Minister said the event is just the beginning and he called on all parties to engage in active follow up.”