By Alexia Vlachou
ATHENS, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Abandoned closed shops located in the center of Athens revive and give impetus to degraded areas hurt badly by the eight-year economic crisis under the pilot program of the municipality of Athens POLIS² (Polis squared).
Behind the City Hall and near the most popular and central market of Athens, known as "Varvakeios Market", the first seven shops opened their doors to the public on Friday evening with a feast in the Theater Square after being closed since 2009.
"The Theater Square revives; the whole area revives as well. The municipality introduces a well-designed boost-shot in the region," the mayor of Athens, Giorgos Kaminis said.
"We bring light and life in an area that has suffered a lot," he added.
In the city's commercial triangle, as the capital's central retail district is known, the surge of business closures led also to the rise of illegal activity and extreme criminality in dingy streets and squares. The Theater Square was among the areas that were affected by the crisis.
As Greece is leaving the crisis behind with the end of the bailout era on Aug. 20 this summer, initiatives as the one undertaken by the municipality aim to give a new lease on life.
The numbers show that the consumer confidence starts to return. According to a survey by the Institute of Commerce and Services of National Confederation of Hellenic Commerce (INEMY/ESEE), the percentage of closed shops has dropped below 25 percent from as high as one-third for the first time since September 2012.
The city joins its efforts with residents and local businesses and try to revitalize certain spots across the city that have been abandoned under a certain theme.
"In particular, here we are giving the theme of cultural creative industries and we have invited businesses which work with kids and books and bicycles routes and role playing and a number of other things to revive the neighborhood for a given amount of time during which we cover all costs of endeavors," Alex Galinos, Managing Director of the Athens Development and Destination Management Agency (ADDMA) which implements the pilot project told Xinhua.
With the support of the municipality, a large, collective, open workshop is being created in the Theater Square, where artists and creators can network and collaborate, contributing to the co-creation of the modern cultural identity of the city.
"The Theater Square has a historical significance. The creative industries in Athens started here where people were trained in becoming designers, and furniture builders and a number of other professions. So, we try to revive this historical identity of this square," Galinos explained.
Ioanna Nisiriou, co-founder of NGO "We need books" collaborated with Giannis Brouzos co-founder of "Challedu" to open one of the seven spaces in the area called "Book & Play".
"It is used as a multilingual playhouse and a multilingual library at the same time. We have games and books in many languages ranging from English to Chinese and we have a lot of projects and events that have to do with empowering certain vulnerable groups in Athens like immigrants, refugees, people with autism, people with dementia," Brouzos said.
Regarding the challenges the area posed, both Ioanna and Giannis knew that it would be difficult, but they felt that "Book & Play" would fill in a gap since the wider area lacked in cultural spaces, especially for migrants and refugees.
"It is a difficult area, we know that, we acknowledge it and we are hoping to be able to make a difference in the daily lives of people. And, also to put it back on the map for everybody else who has been afraid to come down here for the past maybe ten years," Nisiriou stressed.
For Marios Chatzidamianos, another shopkeeper of the pilot project, POLIS² will help the local community to feel more participative in what's take place in the square through the different endeavors that are being developed and the plurality of the different cultural backgrounds.
Chatzidamianos, Director of Commercial Development and Communication of "Creators of Cosmos SMDC", represents the first Greek company that introduces the live action role playing games community in the country.
"For us, it was a huge opportunity to open our store in the city center and try to give a total different view regarding the historical center of Athens by creating scenarios that the visitors will have the opportunity to watch or play all through the year and upon which they will have the opportunity to identify with the history of the area," he explained.
For a period of six months, the municipality will cover the rent and the running costs of the seven shops in order for the businesses to develop their activity, to experiment and present their products and services.
The pilot program will extend also to other neighborhoods more centrally located. Near the city's main square, Syntagma Square there is an abandoned building of the Merchants' Insurance Fund that used to be a merchant gallery. They invite social enterprises to reopen those closed shops aiming to create a productive hub, which up until now remains inactive and isolated.
"Though the municipality initiative and its own funds, we are opening 18 shops. We are doing fundraising to scale up this initiative and start intervene with the know-how we are developing along major avenues within the city," Galinos said.
The municipal authority believes that by introducing new forms of commercial activity will revamp the city' once thriving trade area and increase tourist flows.
"To be an attractive destination for visitors, which is one of the core aspects of the local economy. To make it safer, make the city friendlier. We generate businesses and jobs, and we push one of the main sectors of local economy which is tourism," Galinos noted.
