Connecting with the Greek digital diaspora

There has been much talk, in this space and elsewhere, about the importance of courting digital nomads. Today, Greece is in heavy competition with many of its southern neighbors to attract those with the means and capacity to live and work from anywhere. Portugal has demonstrated particular success in this area.  

Separately, in recent years, there has been understanding of the need to better engage the Greek diaspora.

These twin objectives might meet somewhere in the middle in a dedicated effort to engage the Greek digital diaspora. Attracting this specific niche offers great potential for Greece’s short, medium and long term.

These members of the Greek diaspora have a “built-in” connection through their heritage, a connection the country could readily tap into. As digital nomads, they tend to skew towards a younger age. They also tend to be more entrepreneurial. As Greece positions itself for the future, these characteristics would all serve the country well. Attracting young innovators and trailblazers of Greek descent could help counter the country’s overall population decline, the effects of the heavy brain drain attributed to the decade-long economic crisis and the looming impact of an aging citizenry.

However, engaging Greek digital nomads offers a more practical benefit for them and the state. It involves recognizing that many may have properties or inheritances they will ultimately need to tend to, whether they spend time in Greece or not. Though successive Greek governments have taken steps to streamline some of these processes, there is room to do more.

What could engaging Greek digital nomads look like?

In short, it could involve creating a Greek Diaspora Center – a one-stop shop where members of the diaspora (digital and non-digital alike) could obtain key documents, including an AFM (tax identification number), Greek ID, Greek passport, and AMKA (social security number). Working with officials fully fluent in both Greek and English, this “clearing house” would help members of the diaspora navigate the complex bureaucracy by having a coterie of dedicated representatives from the various departments and agencies all in one place. For those requiring additional services, the center could connect diaspora Greeks to trusted external providers for critical services such as dual-speaking lawyers, engineers, health insurers and tax advisers. Ideally, the center would offer links to professional Greek language instruction so they could better integrate into their neighborhoods and local life. To tap into their ideas and expertise, the center might also facilitate a knowledge exchange program with locals.

With an initial launch in Athens, the Greek Diaspora Center could subsequently be expanded to other locations based on population size or centrality, such as Thessaloniki, the Peloponnese, Crete and Syros.

While it could be argued some or all of these documents can be acquired through Greek embassies and consulates worldwide, the reality is that obtaining them on the ground in one place in Greece would render everything sufficiently easier, faster and more cost-effective for the diaspora and the state.

There are also implications for the longer term, namely engaging the diaspora in the political process. Recent efforts have yielded minimal results, evidenced in that only 22,857 diaspora Greeks (of millions) registered to vote in the May 21 election (and only 18,203 cast a ballot). As such, any effort to better engage the diaspora (digital and non-digital) should resonate with decision makers. There is no better time to advance the argument for a Greek Diaspora Center.

In making this case, by no means should efforts to attract non-Greek digital nomads slow or cease. Indeed, the success of the New Democracy government’s efforts to attract digital nomads through the Digital Nomad Residence Permit and the Work from Greece website should be applauded and furthered.

As Greece looks ahead, five, 10 and 20 years, the time is now to engage the Greek digital diaspora across the globe in getting them to think and choose Greece.

Andrew Tzembelicos is a Greek-Canadian writer, editor and communications consultant currently based in Athens.