As the world grapples with the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's crucial to shed light on its profound effects on mental health. A literature review we conducted has revealed some eye-opening findings.

The Global Shapers Thessaloniki team contacted Krist Bakiu, Community Champion of the entire Balkan region as well as Malta and Cyprus for his comments on what it means to be a Shaper and how he experiences being a part of this Global Community of Change Makers.

In this short research report a small introduction into the concepts of digital transformation, e-government, and digitalization was made for the better acquaintance of readers with the terms in order to better grasp the details that followed. Moreover, it was clearly demonstrated and undoubtedly proven that Greece has remained at the bottom of the European Countries list on matters of digitalization and has a long road to walk and a lot of ground to cover in order to synchronize itself with the rest of the EU on the fields of connectivity, human capital, internet services, integration of digital technology, and digital public services. Importantly, however, it was shown with clarity that slow, but steady, steps have been noted since 2014, with the COVID-19 pandemic offering a unique acceleration boost to broaden and expand government policies towards the modernization of bureaucratic and public services.

Who are, really, the Global Shapers? What do they represent and which purposes do they serve? What can they offer and why should anyone take serious notice of them? What distinguishes them from other international groups and what exactly makes them special? Evangelos Paspalakis, curator of the first, biggest and most active local Global Shapers Hub in Greece, located in Athens, answers eagerly, sincerely, analytically and boldly to all the possible questions that you may have at an illuminating interview with Thessaloniki Hub!

After analyzing the results of our first hub research project, we understood that one of the key challenges in Thessaloniki was related to a lack of opportunities to build skills related to the workplace. This included both skills for understanding expectations in workplace culture, like how to put your best foot forward in an interview and how to know if a job opportunity is a good match for your skills and career goals, as well as skills for navigating challenges and managing conflict in a workplace setting.

Our curator Ilektra Makridou and hundreds of other curators from around the globe were invited to Geneva for the Annual Curators’ Meeting. Each year, hub curators are given this amazing opportunity to learn, share experiences, build community, and be inspired. Check out her responses about her experience here.

Our first project as an organization involved interviewing more than 50 diverse Thessaloniki residents and surveying more than 100 more in order to listen to their perspectives on the the biggest challenges and the biggest opportunities in Thessaloniki. We have used this research to guide our actions and we will continue to listen to the community of Thessaloniki as we plan actions to fulfill our vision.